Customs and VAT in International Shipping — Complete 2026 Guide

Customs duty and VAT in international shipping are misunderstood by most people — both senders and recipients. The rules are simpler than they appear, but they differ significantly by destination country and goods value. This guide explains the complete framework, from the EU single market to the major international destinations.

1. EU internal shipments — no customs, no problem

Shipping between any two EU member states is treated as a domestic movement of goods — no customs declarations, no import duty, no VAT on the cross-border transaction itself. This applies to all 27 EU members: Germany, France, Poland, Spain, Italy, Netherlands, Belgium, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, and so on.

No action required from either sender or recipient in terms of customs — just the carrier label with correct addresses. Domestic VAT may apply on the sale of goods, but that is the seller’s concern, not shipping customs.

Note: Switzerland, Norway, and Iceland are not EU members despite being geographically in Europe. Shipments to these countries require customs declarations.

2. EU import rules — the €150 limit and VAT from €1

For imports into the EU from non-EU countries, customs duty and import VAT follow separate rules:

Customs duty: €3 per item up to €150, category rates above

Until 30 June 2026, goods in consignments worth up to €150 were exempt from customs duty. This was the EU’s “de minimis” (Latin: below the threshold). That exemption was abolished on 1 July 2026. Since then:

• Consignments up to €150: distance sales of imported goods — online purchases from non-EU sellers, dispatched from outside the EU after the order — attract a temporary flat customs duty of €3 per item, regardless of the VAT scheme (IOSS, the special arrangements or standard import VAT).
• What an item is: goods in the consignment that share the same tariff classification, description and, where applicable, origin. Items are counted, not units. The European Commission’s examples: five identical T-shirts attract €3; three T-shirts and a watch attract €6.
• What the €150 covers: the value of the goods themselves, excluding transport and insurance where these are shown separately on the invoice.
• Exclusions: goods benefiting from a preferential trade agreement or Customs Union arrangement are outside the flat duty, provided VAT was not collected through IOSS. Goods already released for free circulation and shipped from a seller’s EU warehouse are not dutiable again.
• Consignments above €150: unchanged — customs duty applies at the rate for the specific goods category.
• Until 1 July 2028: the flat duty is temporary. After that date, normal duty rates by type of goods are due to apply to low-value consignments too.

Splitting an order into several parcels under €150 no longer avoids duty: five identical T-shirts in one consignment attract €3, but sent as five consignments they attract €15. More detail in our article on the end of the EU’s €150 duty exemption.

VAT threshold: €1 (effectively no threshold)

Import VAT is due from the first euro of value. There is no minimum. A €5 book shipped from the USA to Germany will attract German VAT (19%).

Before July 2021, there was a €22 VAT exemption. The EU removed it — all imports are now VAT-liable regardless of value.

3. How import VAT is collected — IOSS explained

For e-commerce purchases (buying from an online shop), the EU introduced IOSS (Import One-Stop Shop):

• Online shops registered for IOSS collect EU VAT at the point of sale — you pay the final price including VAT on the shop’s checkout
• The shop remits the VAT to EU tax authorities monthly
• The parcel passes through customs without further VAT charges to the recipient — it is already VAT-paid
• The carrier’s label includes an IOSS number — customs can verify the VAT has been collected

This applies to B2C shipments (shop to individual consumer) for goods under €150. Above €150, IOSS does not apply and standard customs clearance occurs.

What this means for recipients: if you buy from a major international retailer (Amazon, Shein, AliExpress) that is IOSS-registered, your parcel arrives without an additional VAT charge. If you buy from a small retailer not registered for IOSS, expect a VAT bill from the carrier. Either way, IOSS covers VAT only: the €3-per-item customs duty on consignments up to €150 applies regardless, and if the retailer does not collect it at checkout the carrier will ask you for it.

4. How import duty is calculated

For consignments above €150, customs duty is calculated as:

Customs value × duty rate = customs duty payable

“Customs value” is the declared value of the goods plus shipping and insurance costs (CIF value) for most EU countries. The duty rate depends on the HS code:

Check the exact rate for any goods in the EU TARIC database using the HS code.

5. CN22 vs CN23 — which form to use

Every postal item containing goods sent outside the EU customs territory — including to the UK, Switzerland and Norway — needs a customs declaration form (couriers such as DHL or UPS use their own electronic declaration and a commercial invoice instead). The Universal Postal Union rules turn on value, contents and item type:

For the full rules and common mistakes, see our CN22 and CN23 customs declaration guide.

Write all content descriptions in English. Be specific: “cotton T-shirt” not “clothing”; “used Samsung smartphone, model Galaxy S21” not “phone”. Vague descriptions trigger manual customs inspection, which delays the parcel.

6. Country-specific rules — the major destinations

UK (post-Brexit)

VAT (20%) from £1. Duty-free up to £135. Above £135: customs duty + VAT. Genuine gifts sent from one individual to another for an occasion such as a birthday or anniversary are still free of VAT up to £39 (customs duty applies only above £135); labelling a purchase as a “gift” does not qualify. See the full UK Brexit guide.

USA

The US de minimis exemption (Section 321), which let shipments worth up to $800 enter duty-free, has been suspended for all countries since 29 August 2025. Practically every parcel into the US is now dutiable regardless of value. See our guide to shipping a parcel to the USA in 2026; for the opposite direction, see the customs and VAT from USA guide.

Switzerland

Switzerland is not EU but has a customs union with Liechtenstein. Since 1 January 2024 Switzerland has abolished customs duty on industrial goods (HS chapters 25–97), whatever their value or origin; agricultural products and foodstuffs (chapters 1–24 and some goods in chapters 35 and 38) are still dutiable, by weight. Import VAT is 8.1% (2.6% for goods such as food, books and medicines), but tax amounts of CHF 5 or less are not collected — roughly goods worth up to CHF 62 at the standard rate, or CHF 193 at the reduced rate. The carrier adds its own clearance fee. Swiss customs is efficient — DHL and DPD typically clear in 1–2 days.

Norway

VOEC (VAT On E-Commerce) scheme: similar to EU IOSS. Online shops registered with Norwegian Tax Administration collect Norwegian VAT (25%) at checkout for goods up to NOK 3,000 (≈ €250). The recipient sees no additional charge. Above NOK 3,000 or for non-registered sellers: standard Norwegian customs applies.

Canada

For goods sent from Europe, the de minimis is CAD 20 for both duty and tax, whether the parcel travels by post or by courier — very low, so almost all parcels attract Canadian GST/HST (5–15%), potentially provincial sales tax, and any customs duty due on the goods. The higher courier thresholds (tax-free up to CAD 40, duty-free up to CAD 150) apply only to goods imported from the United States and Mexico under CUSMA.

Australia

GST is 10%. Since 1 July 2018 it also applies to consumer purchases of imported goods worth AUD 1,000 or less: GST-registered overseas sellers, online marketplaces and redeliverers collect it at checkout rather than at the border. Above AUD 1,000: GST, any customs duty and an import processing charge are collected at the border. However, Australia’s biosecurity rules are among the world’s strictest — any shipment may be inspected regardless of value. See the prohibited items guide.

7. Who actually pays — sender vs recipient

The party responsible for customs charges depends on the Incoterms agreed between sender and recipient:

• DAP (Delivered at Place) — most common for personal and small business shipments. The carrier delivers and then bills the recipient for customs charges before releasing the parcel.
• DDP (Delivered Duty Paid) — the sender or seller pays all customs charges in advance. The recipient receives the parcel with no additional payment. Used by major e-commerce retailers for a seamless buyer experience.

For private shipments (person to person), DAP is the norm — the recipient pays. For e-commerce businesses selling internationally, DDP or IOSS (for EU) is the professional standard.

8. Carrier customs handling fees

In addition to government customs duty and VAT, carriers typically charge a “customs handling fee” for their administrative work in clearing the parcel:

• DHL Express: typically €15–€20 per clearance event
• UPS: similar, €12–€18
• FedEx: similar, €12–€18
• National postal services: €5–€10 (lower, but slower clearance)

This fee is separate from and in addition to the customs duty and VAT. For low-value goods where the duty itself is small, the handling fee can exceed the actual duty — factor this into whether express carriers are worth the premium.

Do not confuse these carrier charges with the Union handling fee the European Commission has proposed for autumn 2026. That is a separate EU fee rather than a customs duty, and its amount and exact start date have not yet been set.

Summary

EU internal: no customs. Non-EU imports into EU: VAT from €1; since 1 July 2026, a flat customs duty of €3 per item on online purchases in consignments up to €150, and duty by HS code above €150. Always complete CN22/CN23 with accurate English descriptions and real values — never understate to avoid charges (it is illegal and voids insurance). For e-commerce, use IOSS (EU) or equivalent schemes. The USA has suspended its $800 de minimis, so practically every parcel into the US is dutiable; the UK has £135 for duty (but VAT from £1); Switzerland no longer charges duty on industrial goods and waives VAT of CHF 5 or less (goods up to about CHF 62 at the standard rate); Canada’s threshold for goods from Europe is CAD 20. Carriers add their own handling fee on top of government charges.