Understanding De Minimis Values in International Shipping

De Minimis Value refers to the threshold below which goods can enter a country without incurring customs duties or taxes. This value plays a critical role in international e-commerce, as it impacts shipping costs, delivery timelines, and customer satisfaction. Knowing each country’s de minimis value helps businesses manage expectations, set prices strategically, and avoid surprise charges for customers.

Recent changes have impacted this landscape significantly. For example, the United States has removed the $800 de minimis exemption for imports from China, meaning low-value shipments from China now face duties and require formal customs clearance. Meanwhile, the EU and UK continue to apply VAT on nearly all imports, regardless of value, but still maintain customs duty thresholds.

How De Minimis Values Impact Your Business

Cost Savings for Customers

Goods shipped below a country’s de minimis value are typically exempt from duties or taxes, making the purchase more affordable for the customer. This often improves satisfaction and increases repeat purchases.
Simplified Customs Process

Shipments under the de minimis threshold usually qualify for faster, more streamlined clearance. Fewer delays at customs means a better delivery experience overall.
Pricing Strategy

Understanding these thresholds allows you to price products (or bundles) more effectively. Keeping the total value under a destination’s de minimis limit can help avoid surprise charges and improve conversion rates.

De Minimis Thresholds by Country

Each country maintains its own de minimis rules. These may differ for duties and taxes (like VAT or GST). For example, a country might exempt shipments under $150 from customs duty but still charge VAT.

⚠️ If the de minimis value is 0, all imports are subject to duty and/or tax, regardless of value.

Recent update highlights:

The U.S. still honors an $800 de minimis threshold for most countries, but excludes China and Hong Kong as of early 2025.
EU countries have no VAT de minimis, meaning even low-value shipments are taxed.
Canada allows duty-free imports up to CAD $150 from U.S./Mexico under CUSMA, but still taxes most other shipments over CAD $20.

COUNTRY	ISO CODE	DUTY DE MINIMIS	TAX DE MINIMIS
Afghanistan	AF	0 USD	0 USD
Åland Islands	AX	0 USD	0 USD
Albania	AL	100 USD	100 USD
Algeria	DZ	50000 DZD	50000 DZD
American Samoa	AS	0 USD	0 USD
Andorra	AD	220 EUR	0 EUR
Angola	AO	100 USD	100 USD
Anguilla	AI	0 XCD	0 XCD
Antigua & Barbuda	AG	0 USD	0 USD
Argentina	AR	0 USD	0 USD
Armenia	AM	300 USD	300 USD
Aruba	AW	0 USD	0 USD
Australia*	AU	1000 AUD	1000 AUD
Austria	AT	150 EUR	0 EUR
Azerbaijan	AZ	0 USD	0 USD
Bahamas	BS	0 USD	0 USD
Bahrain	BH	300 BHD	300 BHD
Bangladesh	BD	1000 BDT	0 BDT
Barbados	BB	0 BBD	0 BBD
Belarus	BY	22 EUR	22 EUR
Belgium	BE	150 EUR	0 EUR
Belize	BZ	0 BZD	0 BZD
Benin	BJ	50 USD	50 USD
Bermuda	BM	0 BMD	0 BMD
Bhutan	BT	0 INR	0 INR
Bolivia	BO	0 USD	0 USD
Bonaire, St.Eustatius & Saba	BQ	100 USD	100 USD
Bosnia & Herzegovina	BA	300 KM	300 KM
Botswana	BW	0 BWP	0 BWP
Brazil*	BR	0 BRL	0 BRL
Brunei Darussalam	BN	0 BND	0 BND
Bulgaria	BG	150 EUR	0 EUR
Burkina Faso	BF	0 USD	0 USD
Burundi	BI	0 USD	0 USD
Cambodia	KH	50 USD	50 USD
Cameroon	CM	400 USD	400 USD
Canada*	CA	20 CAD	20 CAD
Cape Verde	CV	200 USD	200 USD
Cayman Islands	KY	0 USD	0 USD
Central African Republic	CF	20 USD	0 USD
Chad	TD	20 USD	0 USD
Chile	CL	30 USD	30 USD
China	CN	0 USD	0 USD
Christmas Island	CX	1000 AUD	1000 AUD
Cocos (Keeling) Islands	CC	1000 AUD	1000 AUD
Colombia	CO	200 USD	200 USD
Comoros	KM	0 USD	0 USD
Congo	CG	50 USD	50 USD
Congo, Democratic Republic	CD	10 USD	10 USD
Cook Islands	CK	0 NZD	0 NZD
Costa Rica	CR	0 USD	0 USD
Côte d'Ivoire	CI	50 USD	50 USD
Croatia	HR	150 EUR	0 EUR
Cuba	CU	50 USD	50 USD
Curacao	CW	0 USD	0 USD
Cyprus	CY	150 EUR	0 EUR
Czech Republic	CZ	150 EUR	0 EUR
Denmark	DK	150 EUR	0 EUR
Djibouti	DJ	0 USD	0 USD
Dominica	DM	0 XCD	0 XCD
Dominican Republic	DO	200 USD	200 USD
East Timor	TL	0 USD	0 USD
Ecuador	EC	0 USD	0 USD
Egypt	EG	0 USD	0 USD
El Salvador	SV	0 USD	0 USD
Equatorial Guinea	GQ	100 USD	100 USD
Eritrea	ER	0 USD	0 USD
Estonia	EE	150 EUR	0 EUR
Eswatini	SZ	0 USD	0 USD
Ethiopia	ET	0 USD	0 USD
Falkland Islands	FK	0 USD	0 USD
Faroe Islands	FO	300 DKK	300 DKK
Fiji	FJ	400 FJD	400 FJD
Finland	FI	150 EUR	0 EUR
France	FR	150 EUR	0 EUR
French Guiana	GF	0 EUR	0 EUR
French Polynesia	PF	0 EUR	0 EUR
Gabon	GA	50 USD	50 USD
Gambia	GM	0 USD	0 USD
Georgia	GE	300 GEL	300 GEL
Germany	DE	150 EUR	0 EUR
Ghana	GH	0 USD	0 USD
Gibraltar	GI	0 USD	0 USD
Greece	GR	150 EUR	0 EUR
Greenland	GL	300 DKK	300 DKK
Grenada	GD	0 USD	0 USD
Guadeloupe	GP	0 EUR	0 EUR
Guam	GU	0 USD	0 USD
Guatemala	GT	0 USD	0 USD
Guernsey	GG	135 GBP	15 GBP
Guinea	GN	0 USD	0 USD
Guinea-Bissau	GW	0 USD	0 USD
Guyana	GY	0 USD	0 USD
Haiti	HT	0 USD	0 USD
Honduras	HN	0 USD	0 USD
Hong Kong	HK	0 HKD	0 HKD
Hungary	HU	150 EUR	0 EUR
Iceland	IS	2000 ISK	2000 ISK
India	IN	10000 INR	10000 INR
Indonesia	ID	0 IDR	0 IDR
Iran	IR	50 USD	50 USD
Iraq	IQ	100 USD	100 USD
Ireland	IE	150 EUR	0 EUR
Isle of Man	IM	135 GBP	15 GBP
Israel	IL	75 USD	75 USD
Italy	IT	150 EUR	0 EUR
Jamaica	JM	50 USD	50 USD
Japan	JP	10000 JPY	10000 JPY
Jersey	JE	135 GBP	15 GBP
Jordan	JO	100 JOD	100 JOD
Kazakhstan	KZ	500 EUR	500 EUR
Kenya	KE	50 USD	50 USD
Kiribati	KI	0 USD	0 USD
Korea	KR	150 USD	150 USD
Kuwait	KW	30 USD	30 USD
Kyrgyzstan	KG	0 USD	0 USD
Laos	LA	50 USD	50 USD
Latvia	LV	150 EUR	0 EUR
Lebanon	LB	100 USD	100 USD
Lesotho	LS	0 USD	0 USD
Liberia	LR	0 USD	0 USD
Libya	LY	50 USD	50 USD
Liechtenstein	LI	150 CHF	0 CHF
Lithuania	LT	150 EUR	0 EUR
Luxembourg	LU	150 EUR	0 EUR
Macao	MO	0 MOP	0 MOP
Madagascar	MG	50 USD	50 USD
Malawi	MW	0 USD	0 USD
Malaysia	MY	500 MYR	500 MYR
Maldives	MV	0 MVR	0 MVR
Mali	ML	0 USD	0 USD
Malta	MT	150 EUR	0 EUR
Marshall Islands	MH	0 USD	0 USD
Martinique	MQ	0 EUR	0 EUR
Mauritania	MR	0 USD	0 USD
Mauritius	MU	1000 MUR	1000 MUR
Mayotte	YT	0 EUR	0 EUR
Mexico	MX	50 USD	50 USD
Micronesia	FM	0 USD	0 USD
Moldova	MD	300 EUR	300 EUR
Monaco	MC	150 EUR	0 EUR
Mongolia	MN	0 USD	0 USD
Montenegro	ME	150 EUR	0 EUR
Montserrat	MS	0 USD	0 USD
Morocco	MA	1250 MAD	1250 MAD
Mozambique	MZ	0 USD	0 USD
Myanmar	MM	0 USD	0 USD
Namibia	NA	0 USD	0 USD
Nauru	NR	0 USD	0 USD
Nepal	NP	0 USD	0 USD
Netherlands	NL	150 EUR	0 EUR
New Caledonia	NC	0 USD	0 USD
New Zealand	NZ	1000 NZD	60 NZD
Nicaragua	NI	0 USD	0 USD
Niger	NE	50 USD	50 USD
Nigeria	NG	50 USD	50 USD
Niue	NU	0 NZD	0 NZD
Norfolk Island	NF	1000 AUD	1000 AUD
North Macedonia	MK	100 USD	100 USD
Northern Mariana Islands	MP	0 USD	0 USD
Norway	NO	3000 NOK	3000 NOK
Oman	OM	100 OMR	100 OMR
Pakistan	PK	0 USD	0 USD
Palau	PW	0 USD	0 USD
Panama	PA	50 USD	50 USD
Papua New Guinea	PG	100 USD	100 USD
Paraguay	PY	100 USD	100 USD
Peru	PE	200 USD	200 USD
Philippines	PH	10000 PHP	10000 PHP
Poland	PL	150 EUR	0 EUR
Portugal	PT	150 EUR	0 EUR
Puerto Rico	PR	0 USD	0 USD
Qatar	QA	300 QAR	300 QAR
Reunion	RE	0 EUR	0 EUR
Romania	RO	150 EUR	0 EUR
Rwanda	RW	0 USD	0 USD
Saint Barthelemy	BL	0 EUR	0 EUR
Saint Kitts & Nevis	KN	0 USD	0 USD
Saint Lucia	LC	0 USD	0 USD
Saint Martin (French Part)	MF	0 EUR	0 EUR
Saint Vincent & the Grenadines	VC	0 USD	0 USD
Samoa	WS	0 USD	0 USD
San Marino	SM	0 USD	0 USD
Sao Tome & Principe	ST	0 USD	0 USD
Saudi Arabia	SA	0 USD	0 USD
Senegal	SN	50 USD	50 USD
Serbia	RS	50 EUR	50 EUR
Seychelles	SC	0 USD	0 USD
Sierra Leone	SL	0 USD	0 USD
Singapore	SG	0 SGD	0 SGD
Slovakia	SK	150 EUR	0 EUR
Slovenia	SI	150 EUR	0 EUR
Solomon Islands	SB	0 USD	0 USD
Somalia	SO	0 USD	0 USD
South Africa	ZA	500 ZAR	500 ZAR
South Sudan	SS	0 USD	0 USD
Spain	ES	150 EUR	0 EUR
Sri Lanka	LK	50 USD	50 USD
Suriname	SR	0 USD	0 USD
Sweden	SE	150 EUR	0 EUR
Switzerland	CH	150 CHF	0 CHF
Syria	SY	100 USD	100 USD
Taiwan	TW	2000 TWD	2000 TWD
Tajikistan	TJ	0 USD	0 USD
Tanzania	TZ	0 USD	0 USD
Thailand	TH	1500 THB	1500 THB
Togo	TG	0 USD	0 USD
Tokelau	TK	1000 NZD	1000 NZD
Tonga	TO	0 TOP	0 TOP
Trinidad and Tobago	TT	20 USD	20 USD
Tunisia	TN	20 TND	20 TND
Turkey	TR	150 EUR	0 EUR
Turkmenistan	TM	0 USD	0 USD
Tuvalu	TV	0 USD	0 USD
Uganda	UG	0 USD	0 USD
Ukraine	UA	100 EUR	100 EUR
United Arab Emirates	AE	1000 AED	1000 AED
United Kingdom	GB	135 GBP	15 GBP
United States	US	800 USD	800 USD
Uruguay	UY	50 USD	50 USD
Uzbekistan	UZ	1000 USD	1000 USD
Vanuatu	VU	100 USD	100 USD
Vatican City	VA	150 EUR	0 EUR
Venezuela	VE	100 USD	100 USD
Vietnam	VN	0 USD	0 USD
Virgin Islands (British)	VG	0 USD	0 USD
Wallis & Futuna	WF	0 USD	0 USD
Western Sahara	EH	50 USD	50 USD
Yemen	YE	0 USD	0 USD
Zambia	ZM	0 USD	0 USD
Zimbabwe	ZW	0 USD	0 USD

Countries with special rules

Some countries have special rules:

Australia

Australia applies GST to all imports, even below its AUD $1,000 threshold for duty. Merchants exceeding the GST registration threshold must collect GST at checkout on low-value goods.

Brazil

Brazil generally has a very low de minimis threshold, though informal postal shipments may sometimes avoid taxes under USD $50. However, VAT and other import taxes apply widely.

Canada

Canada has a low threshold for most countries (CAD $20), but thanks to the USMCA (CUSMA) agreement, shipments from the U.S. and Mexico can be exempt from duties up to CAD $150, and exempt from GST/HST up to CAD $40.

China

China has no de minimis threshold for e-commerce or courier shipments, meaning duty and tax fees apply to all e-commerce imports. For personal consumption imports, the de minimis threshold is 50.00 CNY. Duty and tax are only charged on personal imports with a CIF value exceeding 50.00 CNY. Personal shipments with an order value below this threshold are considered duty and tax-free imports.

Colombia

Although Colombia's general tax de minimis is 0, personal shipments from the United States to Colombia have a tax de minimis threshold of 200 USD.

European Union

The European Union removed its €22 VAT exemption in 2021. Now, all goods are subject to VAT, regardless of value. However, customs duties are still waived below €150. Many merchants now use the IOSS system to handle VAT at checkout for smoother delivery.

Hong Kong

Hong Kong does not impose duties or taxes on imports.

Japan

The duty and tax de minimis do not apply to certain products from Japan that receive preferential treatment. However, these products must meet specific qualifications to be eligible.

Jersey

The de minimis values apply only to B2C (business-to-consumer) shipments.

Korea, the Republic of

For shipments to South Korea, the de minimis threshold is 200 USD for shipments from the United States and Puerto Rico and 150 USD for shipments from the rest of the world.

Liechtenstein

In Liechtenstein, duty is waived if the amount payable is under 5 CHF, and VAT is waived if the VAT payable is under 5 CHF. For instance, if the VAT payable is under 5 CHF but the duty payable exceeds 5 CHF, the VAT is waived, but the duty still applies.

Macau

Macau does not impose duties or taxes on imports.

New Zealand

New Zealand has a NZD $1,000 duty threshold, but requires GST (15%) on all imports. Overseas sellers may need to register and collect GST depending on annual turnover.

Norway

Under Norway’s VOEC scheme, if your annual sales to Norway exceed 50,000 NOK, you must register and remit VAT on shipments where all items are valued at or below 3,000 NOK, bypassing the customs clearance process. The VAT is remitted quarterly to the tax authority by the registered sender. The VAT de minimis is 0 within this scheme, and no duty is charged. Outside the VOEC scheme, the VAT and duty de minimis values are 350 NOK.

Qatar

Qatar’s duty and tax de minimis threshold is 0 QAR for non-personal shipments and 1,000 QAR for personal shipments.

Russia

Russia’s de minimis threshold is 200 EUR, with an accompanying weight limit of 31kg. If the value or the weight exceeds these thresholds, the shipment is no longer considered a low-value personal shipment, and the importer must hire a broker for customs clearance.

Singapore

Although Singapore's de minimis threshold is 400 SGD, if you sell 100,000 SGD (cost of goods only) worth of low-value goods into Singapore within a 12-month period or if you sell, or expect to sell, more than 1 million SGD (CIF) globally within a 12-month period, you must register, collect, and remit GST on all orders into Singapore.

Svalbard

Svalbard does not impose duties and taxes on imports.

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom follows a similar structure to the EU post-Brexit: no VAT exemption, and no customs duty for shipments under £135. VAT is typically collected at the point of sale for items under this amount.

United States

The United States maintains an $800 de minimis threshold for most countries, allowing duty-free imports below this value. However, this no longer applies to shipments from China or Hong Kong. As of early 2025, those shipments must go through full customs processing and may incur duties.

Optimising Your Shipping Strategy

Segmenting Shipments

For high-value orders, consider splitting shipments to keep each under the De Minimis Value, where possible. This can help avoid additional taxes and duties.

Transparent Communication

Communicate with your international customers about potential duties and taxes for orders exceeding the De Minimis Value. Transparency can build trust and prevent unexpected costs.

Utilizing Technology

Implement Swap Global to automatically calculate duties and taxes at checkout based on the destination country’s tax rules. This ensures accurate pricing and a smoother customer experience.

Keeping Up with Regulatory Changes

De Minimis Values can change due to policy updates. Staying informed about these changes ensures compliance and allows you to adjust your shipping strategies accordingly. Regularly review international trade regulations and consult with experts to keep your business up-to-date. This article is not a substitute for legal advice.