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Tool · import duty calculator

Import Duty Calculator: What Customs Adds to a Haul Now That PandaBuy-Era Allowances Are Gone

Checked · the PandaBuy Alternatives desk

Short answer

In PandaBuy's busiest years, a small parcel to the US or the EU often arrived with little or nothing to pay. That's over. The US ended its $800 allowance in 2025; the EU has charged €3 per item category on every parcel under €150 since July 1, 2026, on top of VAT; the UK charges 20% VAT on parcels up to £135, collected at checkout on a tax-included line or by the carrier before delivery; Canada taxes most parcels above CAD 20; Australia adds 10% GST. This calculator works out the import charges on an agent parcel, or several. In the worked example, a €120 haul with €30 freight to Germany lands at €192.78 with four categories in the box and €185.64 with two. It runs in your browser.

€3per category, per EU parcel
$0US allowance left
£135UK duty-free line
10%Australian GST
Open the calculatorWorked example💬 Want an exact quote? Ask

8 finds to try in the calculator

Add a few of these up and enter the total as goods value. Tiles open repbuysheet.com. The shop behind a tile usually sells the whole range, and the catalog holds 10,000+ products across those shops.

Sponsored links. Photo, name and button all open one listing on repbuysheet.com, where the seller's full photo set, the size options and the source shop link live. Dollar and yuan prices are copied from that catalog on the check date and move with the exchange rate.

Work out what customs will add

Enter amounts in the destination's currency. An estimate, not a customs decision: standard VAT/GST rates; product-specific duty above thresholds, reduced rates and carriers' handling fees aren't included. Goods are assumed to be split evenly across parcels.

One haul to Germany, packed three ways

A typical post-PandaBuy haul to Germany (VAT 19%): €120 of goods and €30 of agent freight. Three ways of packing it:

One haul to Germany, three ways
PackingDutyVATLanded
1 parcel, 4 categories (tees, hoodie, trainers, cap)€12.00€30.78€192.78
1 parcel, 2 categories (tees, hoodie)€6.00€29.64€185.64
5 parcels, 1 category each€15.00€31.35€196.35

Computed with the calculator's formula; goods and freight are illustrative. In the 2-category row the same €120 is assumed to be tees and a hoodie only.

The number of categories inside a parcel is the lever you control. Leaving the trainers and cap for a separate later order doesn't help (that order pays its own €3 per category), but grouping similar items does. Splitting into several parcels is the expensive option: five single-category parcels pay €15.00 in duty against €12.00 for one mixed box.

Verdict: In the EU, ship one box and keep the categories few. The agent's single parcel is your best tool.

The small-parcel rules by country

Small-parcel rules for goods from China
DestinationRuleIn practice
United StatesThe $800 duty-free allowance is gone: China-origin parcels lost it on May 2, 2025 and all countries on August 29, 2025.Expect an import charge on every parcel.
European UnionFrom July 1, 2026 a €3 duty applies per item category in each parcel under €150; VAT is collected on top through IOSS.Fewer categories per box, lower duty.
United KingdomNo customs duty on consignments of £135 or less; 20% VAT on parcels up to £135, collected at checkout on a tax-included line or by the carrier before delivery. GOV.UK plans to end the relief by October 2028.Stay under £135 per parcel.
CanadaPostal and non-CUSMA courier shipments become taxable once they pass CAD $20.Most hauls will be taxed.
AustraliaGoods worth A$1,000 or less carry 10% GST collected at the point of sale.GST is in the checkout price.

Council of the EU (Dec 12, 2025); GOV.UK; CBSA; Australian Taxation Office; US position from a CBP-based summary.

Three cases the calculator handles differently. UK: at £135 or less per consignment there's no customs duty and VAT is collected at sale, so splitting rarely helps and a single parcel over £135 is assessed at the border. Canada: parcels of CAD 20 or less usually pass untaxed, so tiny parcels can undercut one bigger box. US: the rate depends on the product's classification and current trade measures, so the calculator counts customs events rather than inventing a percentage.

PandaBuy-era tax advice that's now wrong

Plenty of old PandaBuy advice is now wrong on tax. 'Declare it low and it'll pass' was never safe, and under the EU's per-category rule the declared value doesn't change the €3 at all. 'Ship to the US, there's no tax under $800' stopped being true in 2025. If you're following an old guide or sheet, check its tax tips against the table above.

What still holds: one consolidated parcel beats several, declared values should be honest, and the agent's tax-included lines (where offered) move the payment to checkout. For carriers and doorstep fees in each country, see the guides for the US, the UK, Germany, France and Australia; for freight, the shipping calculator.

Verdict: PandaBuy-era tax tips are out of date. Use today's rules and declare honestly.

Import duty questions

Do agent parcels pay import duty now?

In most countries, yes. The US ended its $800 allowance in 2025, so any parcel there can owe duty. The EU has charged €3 per item category on parcels under €150 since July 1, 2026, with VAT on top. The UK adds 20% VAT up to £135, at checkout or by the carrier before delivery, and Australia adds 10% GST. Assume your next haul will pay something and run the calculator before shipping.

What counts as an item category for the EU €3?

A category is a type of goods, such as tees, shoes or bags, not a count of items. Five tees count once; tees plus a cap count twice. In our German example, €120 of goods in four categories pays €12.00 in duty, while the same money in two categories pays €6.00. Group similar items in one box to keep the count low.

Is one big parcel cheaper than several small ones?

In the EU, yes, because the €3 applies to each category in each parcel. Our worked example shows five single-category parcels paying €15.00 in duty against €12.00 for one mixed box, before any extra freight. Canada is the exception: parcels of CAD 20 or less usually pass untaxed. Outside Canada, consolidate the haul into a single box.

Why doesn't the calculator show a US duty rate?

Duty on US imports from China depends on each product's tariff classification and on trade measures that keep changing since the $800 allowance ended in 2025. Any single percentage would be a guess, so the calculator counts customs entries instead, one per parcel. Fewer parcels mean fewer entries. For an actual figure, ask your agent whether its US line includes duty.

Does declaring a lower value avoid the EU €3?

No. Under the EU rule the €3 is charged per item category whatever the declared value, so a lower figure on the label saves nothing on duty. Under-declaring also risks delays, penalties and a parcel held for checks. An honest value costs the same €3 and clears more smoothly. Ask your agent to declare the real price and keep its invoice.

Is this an official customs calculation?

No. It's an estimate that applies standard VAT and GST rates, such as 19% for Germany or 10% for Australia. It leaves out carriers' handling fees, reduced rates and product-specific duty above the thresholds, and it assumes goods are split evenly across parcels. Customs makes the final decision on every parcel. Use the result as a budget figure, not a guaranteed bill.

Does the calculator send my data anywhere?

No. The calculator is a short script that runs entirely in your browser, so the goods, freight, parcel and category values you enter never leave your device. Nothing is stored or uploaded, and no account is needed to compare 14 EU countries plus the UK, Canada, Australia and the US. Try as many packing options as you like before ordering.

Questions that follow Import duty calculator

Import duty calculator — sources and dates

Put together by the PandaBuy Alternatives desk; every claim was checked against the list below on . The PandaBuy history leans on court records, police-side reporting and Wikipedia; agent fees, storage and review counts come from each agent's own pages or the named trackers. Where sources disagree we print both. A finds tile was only published if its main photo and its link showed the same item.