Guide · United States

US personal exemptions and duty-free shops when returning from Canada

General information, not official or legal advice. Customs, immigration and border rules change and every situation is different. Check the linked official sources and the agency’s current page before you travel. This site is not affiliated with CBP, the CBSA, DHS or any government.

Steps

1. CBP's guidance starts with how long you were outside the United States. It says the exemptions apply to a stay abroad of at least 48 hours (not required when returning from Mexico or the U.S. Virgin Islands),^[4] and that the $200 exemption is for travelers who cannot claim others.^[1]
2. CBP says the goods must be in your possession; items to be sent later cannot be included.^[4]
3. CBP says to declare everything you bring in, including gifts and anything bought in a duty-free shop.^[5][3]
4. CBP says one liter of alcohol may be included in the exemption (for adults 21 or older, for personal use, and subject to the arrival state's laws).^[6][2]
5. CBP lists the ways to pay duty, and says duty is paid before your CBP processing ends.^[6]

Which exemption applies

CBP's "Types of Exemptions" page describes three tiers. The $800 exemption applies if you arrive from anywhere other than a U.S. insular possession (U.S. Virgin Islands, American Samoa or Guam) and you bring the items with you. The $1,600 exemption applies on return from an insular possession. The $200 exemption is available if you cannot claim others because you have been out of the country more than once in a 30-day period or less than 48 hours.^[1]

A different CBP page, aimed at returning US citizens, says exemptions will be $200, $800 or $1600 depending on the countries visited and does not say which applies to Canada, and the 48-hour rule it states "does not apply if you are returning from Mexico or from the U.S. Virgin Islands".^[4] CBP's Canada and Mexico travel page gives the $800 figure for articles acquired in Canada and Mexico.^[2] The pages do not reconcile these in a single table; if your trip is short, the Types of Exemptions page is the one that states the 48-hour and 30-day conditions.^[1]

The $200 exemption is all-or-nothing

CBP says that if you bring back more than $200 worth of dutiable items, or if any item is subject to duty or tax, the entire amount is dutiable. Its example is a $300 piece of pottery after 36 hours abroad: you cannot deduct $200 and pay on $100. Unlike other exemptions, family members cannot combine their $200 exemptions.^[1]

Conditions that apply to every exemption

CBP lists the conditions: items are for personal or household use or gifts; merchandise is in your possession; it is declared; you have not used any part of your allowance in the past 30 days; and items are not prohibited or restricted.^[4] If you do not declare something that should have been declared, you risk forfeiting it.^[4] All travelers complete CBP Declaration Form 6059B, on paper or through a Global Entry or Automated Passport Control kiosk.^[4]

Alcohol and tobacco

One American liter of alcoholic beverages may be included in the exemption if you are 21, it is for personal use and it does not violate the law of the state where you arrive. States may allow more than one liter, but you pay applicable Customs duty and Internal Revenue tax on the extra.^[6] Amounts beyond what is treated as duty-free are taxed even if your exemption is not used up; CBP's example is $800 of exemption with three liters of wine, where two liters are dutiable and taxed.^[6] If a state limits the amount that can be brought in without a license, CBP says it will enforce that state's law even if it is more restrictive than federal rules.^[6] For tobacco, the same page says returning residents may import only the quantities in their personal exemption, "not more than 200 cigarettes and 100 cigars" from other than a beneficiary country or insular possession, available to adults 21 and over.^[6] Note that this page has older passages; confirm at the port.

Duty-free shops

CBP says goods bought in a duty-free shop are not automatically free of duty on return to the U.S., and that you must declare everything you bring in "even if you bought it in a duty free shop".^[3][5] Its customs duty page explains that duty-free shop goods are free only in the country where the shop is located, and that goods bought in a U.S. duty-free shop are subject to duty if you bring them back, with the example of alcohol bought in a New York duty-free shop before entering Canada and then returned.^[6]

Gifts, shipping and household items

All gifts received abroad and items bought to give as gifts must be declared and may be included in the exemption, except business gifts, and gifts worth more than $5 that contain alcohol, tobacco or perfume containing alcohol.^[3] Gifts worth up to $100 may be sent duty- and tax-free to friends and relatives if one person does not receive more than $100 of gifts in one day; alcohol and tobacco cannot be sent this way.^[3] Household items used abroad for at least a year can be duty free; clothing, jewelry, photography equipment, electronics and vehicles are personal effects, and CBP says you must pay duty on all vehicles.^[3]

Families

Family members residing in one household and returning together can file a joint declaration; for returning U.S. residents, CBP's example is a family of five returning directly from Paris combining $800 each for $4,000; for international visitors CBP says only that a single family declaration can be filed and that visitors have certain exemptions.^[7]

About this guide

Officers decide at the border; this is general information, not official guidance. travel.tnaado.ca is not affiliated with CBP, CBSA, DHS or the Government of Canada.