What was the $800 de minimis exemption?

For nearly a decade, Americans could import up to $800 per day without paying a cent of duty. That era ended in 2025 — and every parcel now faces duty, MPF, and carrier fees.

What de minimis was

"De minimis" (from de minimis non curat lex — the law does not concern itself with trifles) was the value threshold below which US Customs and Border Protection collected no duty and required no formal entry paperwork. Section 321 of the Tariff Act of 1930 set the threshold; in 2016 Congress raised it from $200 to $800 per person per day — the highest in the developed world.

The $800 threshold is what made the last decade of cross-border e-commerce possible. Shein, Temu, AliExpress, and thousands of small overseas sellers shipped directly to US doorsteps duty-free, one parcel at a time. By 2024, over 1.3 billion parcels a year entered the US under de minimis.

Why it ended

Three pressures converged. First, trade-policy critics argued the threshold gave foreign sellers an advantage over US retailers, who pay duty on their inventory. Second, CBP and Congress linked de minimis parcels to fentanyl precursor smuggling and forced-labor goods that entered without meaningful inspection. Third, the sheer volume — millions of parcels a day — overwhelmed the entry system built for containers, not envelopes.

In 2025 the executive branch acted: the exemption was suspended for China and Hong Kong on May 2, 2025, then suspended for all countries on August 29, 2025. See the full chronology in our de minimis timeline.

What replaced it

Nothing — there is no new threshold. Every commercial import now owes:

• Customs duty at the MFN rate for its HTS classification, plus any country-of-origin overlays (Section 301, IEEPA)
• MPF, CBP's Merchandise Processing Fee — from $2.69 informal to a $651.50 formal cap
• Carrier brokerage fees, which vary wildly: USPS charges a flat $9.35 while couriers charge $10–$35+

That stack is exactly what our calculator estimates.

What it means for your shopping

A £60 sweater from the UK that arrived duty-free in 2024 now carries roughly 26.5% in duty (16.5% MFN + 10% forced-labor overlay) plus around $12 in fees. The rule of thumb for 2026: expect 10–40% on top of the checkout price, depending on category and origin, before the carrier's clearance fee. Duty-free shopping from abroad is, for now, a memory.

FAQs

Is the $800 de minimis exemption still in effect?

No. It was suspended for China and Hong Kong on May 2, 2025, and for all countries on August 29, 2025. As of 2026, all commercial imports are dutiable regardless of value.

Does de minimis apply to gifts?

The separate gift exemption ($100, or $200 from some territories) still exists in statute, but carrier and CBP processing of gift claims has narrowed. Assume a mailed purchase will be treated as a dutiable import.

What about items I bring back from travel?

Personal exemptions for accompanied baggage when you travel internationally are a separate regime and were not suspended. This site covers mailed/shipped purchases only.