Import Duty Calculator
Work out what customs will charge on one shipment, and on exactly what base: choose FOB, CFR or CIF, build the import tax base line by line, and apply separate de minimis thresholds.
This tool answers what customs will charge. The landed cost calculator answers what a unit costs once it lands, freight and fees included.
We supply no duty rates. Bring the rate for your HS code and lane; the tool does the arithmetic and shows every base it used.
Everything runs in your browser. No figures are sent to a server.
Calculate Duty and Import Tax on One Shipment
Set the three things most calculators hide: the customs value basis, what sits inside the import tax base, and the de minimis thresholds.
Shipment
Excise or other levy
Import VAT or GST
Tax base — customs value is always inside. Switch on whatever else the destination adds.
De minimis thresholds
Thresholds use the currency selected above. Convert the destination figure at the rate the entry will use.
Breakdown of the entry
| Line | How it was built | Amount |
|---|
The same shipment on all three value bases
Identical goods, freight and rates. Only the basis changes. Your selection is highlighted.
| Basis | Customs value | Duty | Tax base | Import tax | Total to customs | Effective rate |
|---|
Every Step From Invoice to Total Payable
Duty is a chain, not one multiplication, and each link has a rule set by the destination.
| Step | Formula | What decides it |
|---|---|---|
| Customs value | goods value, + freight, + insurance — per the basis you select | Destination valuation law. FOB, CFR and CIF give three different numbers. |
| Duty payable | customs value × duty rate | HS classification, origin, and any preference claimed. |
| Excise or other levy | a flat amount, or a rate × (customs value + duty) | Product type. Alcohol, tobacco and fuel are usual triggers. |
| Import tax base | customs value + the components you switch on | Destination tax law. Duty is usually inside the base. |
| Import VAT or GST | import tax base × tax rate | The destination tax authority. |
| Total payable to customs | duty + excise + import tax | The assessed lines on the entry. |
| Effective total rate | (total payable ÷ goods value) × 100 | What the entry costs as a share of the invoice. |
| Rounding | round once, on each output line | Rounding mid-chain drifts the result. |
Duty Is Charged on the Customs Value, Not the Invoice
The number a rate is applied to matters as much as the rate. On a freight-heavy lane, FOB and CIF are a long way apart.
| Basis | Full term | What sits inside | Effect on the duty bill |
|---|---|---|---|
| FOB | Free On Board | Goods value only | Freight and insurance sit outside the duty base, so an expensive air leg does not raise duty. |
| CFR | Cost and Freight | Goods value + freight | Every dollar of freight raises the duty base. Air freight compounds fastest. |
| CIF | Cost, Insurance and Freight | Goods value + freight + insurance | The widest of the three, and the basis most commonly used across APAC. |
| Ex-works | Ex Works price | Goods value + origin inland charges | Origin haulage and export clearance can enter the value before freight. |
The Import Tax Base Is Usually Wider Than the Duty Base
Import VAT and GST rarely apply to the goods value alone, and the duty you just calculated is normally inside the base.
| Component | Typical treatment | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Customs value | Always inside the base | It is the assessed value of the goods themselves. |
| Duty | Inside the base in most jurisdictions | Tax is charged on the duty, so the two lines compound. |
| Freight | Inside where the customs value did not already include it | Several authorities widen the tax base to a delivered value. |
| Insurance | Follows the same treatment as freight | Small, but leaving it out understates the entry. |
| Excise and other levies | Inside the base where the levy applies | Excise is assessed before import tax, then taxed alongside duty. |
| Broker and terminal fees | Outside the base | Billed by service providers, not assessed by customs. |
Two Thresholds, Tested Separately
A de minimis threshold is the value below which a destination assesses nothing. Duty and tax relief are set independently, so a shipment can clear one and not the other.
| Point | What it means for your entry |
|---|---|
| Two thresholds, not one | A shipment can clear duty-free and still be taxed: the two thresholds are set separately. |
| The test value varies | Some regimes test the goods value alone, others the full customs value including freight. |
| It is per shipment | Thresholds apply to the consignment as presented, so grouping changes the answer. |
| Excise usually survives | Alcohol and tobacco are commonly carved out, so excise stays payable. |
| Low-value regimes replace it | Several markets now collect tax at the point of sale, so relief at the border is not a tax-free purchase. |
Import Tax Rates and Thresholds in Eight APAC Markets
Standard rates, bases and low-value thresholds, each from the destination tax or customs authority. Duty rates are product-specific and are not listed.
As at 14 August 2026. Rates, bases and thresholds change at short notice. Check the linked authority page before relying on a figure.
| Market | Tax | Standard rate | Stated import tax base | Low-value position |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Singapore | GST | 9% | CIF value, plus duties where dutiable | Low-Value Goods are S$400 or below by air or post. From 1 Jan 2023 GST is charged at the point of purchase by registered overseas suppliers. |
| Australia | GST | 10% | Customs value + duty payable + transport and insurance | A consignment of A$1,000 customs value or less attracts no duty or GST at the border, excluding alcohol and tobacco. The supplier collects GST instead. |
| Philippines | VAT | 12% | The value used to determine duties, plus duties, excise taxes and other charges | De minimis of PHP 10,000, set by the 2016 Customs Administrative Order under the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act. |
| Malaysia | Sales tax on imports | 5% or 10%, by HS code | Customs duty value + customs duty + excise duty payable | Air courier and postal goods up to MYR 500 CIF per consignment are exempt from duty and sales tax. Low-value goods sold online carry 10% sales tax from 1 Jan 2024. |
| Thailand | VAT | 7% applied, 10% statutory | CIF price + import duty + excise tax + other prescribed fees | Duty is exempt up to THB 1,500 CIF. VAT on those imports ran under Ministry of Finance notifications from 5 July 2024 to 31 December 2025; confirm the position now. |
| Indonesia | VAT (PPN) | 12% statutory, 11% effective on non-luxury imports | Import value: the duty-computation value + levies under the customs and excise laws | Duty is waived up to FOB USD 3.00 per recipient per consignment, but VAT is still collected. There is no VAT de minimis. |
| Vietnam | VAT | 10% standard, reduced to 8% for most goods to 31 Dec 2026 | Import duty value + import duty + supplementary duties + special consumption tax + environmental protection tax | Postal and express consignments up to VND 1,000,000 customs value are exempt from import duty. The matching VAT exemption was repealed from 18 Feb 2025. |
| Japan | Consumption tax | 10% standard, 8% reduced | Customs value + customs duty payable + other excise taxes where applicable | A total customs value of 10,000 yen or less is exempt from duty and consumption tax. Liquor and tobacco taxes are not, and designated articles are carved out. |
Sources
Indonesia
Vietnam
How to read this table
Where we could not confirm a figure on an official page the market was left out, not filled from a secondary source. For any market not listed, take the rate, base and threshold from that destination's own authority.
DDP or DAP Decides Who Gets the Bill
The arithmetic gives the amount. The Incoterm decides who pays it, and getting that wrong is the most common reason a cross-border delivery is refused.
| Term | Pays duty and import tax | Handles import clearance | Where it goes wrong |
|---|---|---|---|
| DDP — Delivered Duty Paid | Seller | Seller, as importer of record or through an agent | Seller must be able to act as importer there, which is not always permitted. |
| DAP — Delivered At Place | Buyer | Buyer | The classic refused delivery: the buyer was never told a bill was coming. |
| DPU — Delivered at Place Unloaded | Buyer | Buyer | Same exposure as DAP, with unloading on the seller. |
| CIF / CFR — Cost, Insurance and Freight | Buyer | Buyer | Seller covers main-leg freight only. Import charges land on the buyer. |
| FOB — Free On Board | Buyer | Buyer | Buyer controls freight, so owns what freight does to the duty base. |
| EXW — Ex Works | Buyer | Buyer, plus export clearance at origin | Buyer inherits export formalities they often cannot perform. |
200 Cotton T-Shirts, Shenzhen to Sydney
An apparel brand imports 200 cotton T-shirts at FOB USD 4.20 each. The 5% duty rate is clearly illustrative, chosen to show the arithmetic. It is not a rate we state for this product or lane.
Filled fields
Goods 840.00, freight 210.00, insurance 12.00, basis CIF, duty 5%, GST 10%, tax base customs value plus duty.
Threshold
Australia's A$1,000 low-value rule is tested in AUD. This consignment sits above it, so the border assesses.
Result
Duty 53.10, GST 111.51, total payable to customs 164.61, an effective 19.6% of goods value.
| Line | How it was built | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Goods value | 200 units × USD 4.20 | USD 840.00 |
| Freight | Forwarder invoice | USD 210.00 |
| Insurance | Cargo cover | USD 12.00 |
| Customs value (CIF) | 840.00 + 210.00 + 12.00 | USD 1,062.00 |
| Duty | 1,062.00 × 5% (illustrative rate) | USD 53.10 |
| Excise or other levy | Not applicable | USD 0.00 |
| Import tax base | 1,062.00 + 53.10 | USD 1,115.10 |
| GST | 1,115.10 × 10% | USD 111.51 |
| Total payable to customs | 53.10 + 0.00 + 111.51 | USD 164.61 |
| Effective total rate | 164.61 ÷ 840.00 | 19.6% |
The same shipment on all three bases
| Basis | Customs value | Duty at 5% | Tax base | GST at 10% | Total to customs | Effective rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FOB | USD 840.00 | USD 42.00 | USD 1,104.00 | USD 110.40 | USD 152.40 | 18.1% |
| CFR | USD 1,050.00 | USD 52.50 | USD 1,114.50 | USD 111.45 | USD 163.95 | 19.5% |
| CIF | USD 1,062.00 | USD 53.10 | USD 1,115.10 | USD 111.51 | USD 164.61 | 19.6% |
What the spread shows
Nothing changed but the basis, yet total payable moved from USD 152.40 to USD 164.61. Scale that 1.5 points of effective rate to a container and it is a four-figure difference on one entry.
Lowering the Declared Value Is Fraud, Not Optimisation
It gets suggested often enough to state plainly. A value below the price actually paid is a false declaration, and the ways it unravels are ordinary.
Under-declaring is fraud
A value you know to be below the price paid is a false declaration, not a tactic.
The exposure is not small
Reassessment, penalties, seizure and loss of trusted-trader standing all follow.
The paper trail is checkable
Payment records, contracts and prior entries all sit against the declared figure.
Legitimate reductions exist
Preferential origin, correct classification and separated non-dutiable charges reduce duty lawfully.
The lawful levers
Classification, origin and separable charges are where duty actually falls, and each survives a post-clearance audit. Marking a commercial sale as a gift or sample is the same false declaration in another form.
Duty Is Charged per Shipment, So Consolidation Changes the Answer
The unit of assessment is the consignment presented at the border, which makes order grouping a real variable in the duty bill.
Duty is assessed per entry
The unit is the consignment presented to customs, not the purchase order.
Consolidation crosses thresholds
Merging four parcels into one shipment can push the value over a threshold each parcel cleared.
Splitting is not a strategy
Breaking one order into several consignments to duck a threshold is a pattern authorities look for.
Fixed fees favour bigger entries
Brokerage and entry fees are per-entry, so consolidating usually lowers cost per unit.
Six Steps Before You Type a Percentage
The calculator is only as good as the rate and bases you feed it. Record where each answer came from.
- Classify the product firstEverything downstream hangs off the HS code for the goods as presented.
- Fix the country of originOrigin is where goods were produced or substantially transformed, not where shipped from.
- Check preferential eligibilityAn agreement can cut the rate to zero, with valid origin evidence at entry.
- Read the destination tariff scheduleTake the rate from the destination schedule for your code, not a similar product.
- Confirm the tax base compositionAsk whether duty, freight and insurance sit inside the import tax base.
- Record the source and dateNote the schedule version and the date. Both move without notice.
Use This Alongside the Rest of the Import File
Import Duty Calculator Questions
Make the Customs Bill Predictable
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