Custom taxes when importing to US

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Hey. I am fron Europe. When I buy from the US most times I will have to pay custom taxes to get the package when it arrives to Spain. How about the US? If you order from Europe, when it arrives to US, have you ever had to pay custom taxes when ordering from EU?And how much times and how much was it?

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Yep this is typical. I usually ask the person I’m buying from to claim it’s only worth like $10 and usually that’s cheap enough I don’t have to pay any fees.

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Well, by doing that you are risking. It is illegal. For example, if I sent, lets say 150€, how much aproximately do you have to pay?In spain it would be around a 35% extra if ordered from the US. Is it that high when you receive packages from EU?

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Illegal? Eh, I’d say it’s more of a loophole of calculated risk. As for the customs fees here, I think there are several factors determining that cost. Here’s a duty calculator I came across, maybe it would be of more assistance:

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Thanks…I appreciate the help. Gonna check that. And yeah, if you declare a inferior or superior value it is illegal:)

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I like to think my govt gets enough of my money each year that they spend poorly, do they really need to cop an extra $20 off my yoyo purchase? Naahhhhhhh

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Yeah most people do that. I’m just saying it is illegal. That does not mean something will happen to you haha.

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That’s true but unless you identify the exact yo-yo in the box that they could google I doubt many customs officials would have any clue to its real worth. You tell them it’s a toy yo-yo and they will think $10 makes sense.

If you told them it’s a toy yo-yo and it’s worth about $85 they would probably think you were kidding lol

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Well, do you know aproximately how much would the destinatary have to pay in the US if I sent about 150$?Idk how taxes in the US work

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Thanks everyone for the advice. But I would like to know how much taxes do you Americans from the US pay in taxes when you receive lets say 150$ or 100$. Tell me about experiences please:)

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According to this calculator it is 8% so $12 on a $150 item
https://app.borderbuddy.com/calculator2/public/quota?keyword=calculate%20import%20duty&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIg-Gj-6bG4wIVkICfCh2JswKxEAAYASAAEgLSZPD_BwE

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As far as I know, it’s only technically illegal if you’re a licensed vendor.

I could be wrong though.

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At least in Spain it is illegal to declare a false value. I suppose it is the same in Spain. But yeah, most, if not all times nothing will happen if you do so haha. Thanks for the help

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I could totally be wrong, I haven’t looked into it at all. I seem to remember this coming up before and someone said that though, so hopefully it’s correct

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I’ve ordered many many packages from overseas. Several hundred dollar purchases. I’ve never had to pay duty on any of them. Not one time.

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Thanks. That was what I wondered. Here in Spain most times you will, and taxes(VAT) is really high haha…recently I shipped a package to the US so I wondered that.

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The import taxes depend on the HS code. Yo-yos should be code 9503.00.00.90 and they are currently duty-free in the united states, as are most toys. You can look up the fees here: https://hts.usitc.gov/

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Thanks for the answer. I did check that web but I wanted confirmations to be sure. I am surprised how cheap it is to import most products to US in relation to Spain. Thanks:)

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I’ve purchased titanium throws overseas and the seller marked the value low and as toys - I didn’t have to pay customs on them but I appreciate that he did that for me (even though it is illegal)

Not the first time I’ve partook in something illegal :smirk:

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