How to Calculate Duties and Taxes on Imports to Canada

Canada charges duty under the Customs Tariff, then 5% GST or a provincial HST on the duty-inclusive value, plus PST or QST in some provinces. Value is roughly FOB, not CIF. Mail and most courier parcels are free of both up to CAD 20, and courier parcels shipped from the US or Mexico get CAD 40 for tax and CAD 150 for duty.

• Valuation basis: FOB
• Tax base: Value for duty plus duties and taxes imposed under the Customs Tariff and other federal import levies.
• GST/HST standard rate: 5%. Federal GST is 5%. HST replaces it in Ontario (13%), Nova Scotia (14%), New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, and Prince Edward Island (15%). PST also applies in British Columbia and Manitoba (7%), Saskatchewan (6%), and QST in Quebec (9.975%). Basic groceries are zero rated.
• Reduced rates: None listed

Courier Low Value Shipment Program covers goods with a value for duty up to CAD 3,300. Non-resident sellers have GST/HST registration rules, not checked here.

• FOB label is our reading of Customs Act s.48: transport and insurance from the place of direct shipment to Canada are deducted, costs up to that place are added. The CBSA does not use the term FOB.
• Duty and tax amount fields hold the general CAD 20. The higher US and Mexico courier amounts are in the notes, not in usdApprox.
• PST and QST rates are from the CRA calculator page, dated from 1 April 2025; provincial changes after that were not checked at source.

Duty is the same across Canada. Sales tax isn't, so the delivery province is part of the calculation:

• HST replaces GST: Ontario 13%, Nova Scotia 14%, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, and Prince Edward Island 15%.
• GST plus provincial tax: British Columbia and Manitoba 5% + 7%, Saskatchewan 5% + 6%, Quebec 5% + 9.975% QST.
• GST alone: the rest of Canada at 5%.

The provincial rates come from the CRA's calculator page, dated from 1 April 2025. Nova Scotia's move to 14% took effect that day. We haven't checked later provincial changes at source.

The CBSA assesses and collects at the border, the CRA runs GST and HST. Value for duty comes from Customs Act section 48: costs up to the place of direct shipment to Canada are added, and transport and insurance from that point are taken out. The CBSA doesn't use the term FOB, but that's the nearest label.

Value for duty × tariff rate gives duty. If the goods originate in the US and are on a surtax schedule, add the surtax as a percentage of value for duty. Then GST or HST applies to value for duty plus duty and surtax, which is what Excise Tax Act section 215 and Customs Notice 26-23 describe.

The base for PST and QST at the border is set provincially. We haven't confirmed it for each province, and the example below assumes the same base as GST.

1. Find the threshold: use the carrier and ship-from country below. Crossing a limit taxes the whole value, not the excess.
2. Classify and pick the tariff treatment: use the 10-digit code and the origin. Up to CAD 3,300, proof of origin for a preferential claim is waived, but keep the commercial invoice and accounting record.
3. Convert to Canadian dollars and set value for duty, without transport and insurance beyond the place of direct shipment.
4. Check for US surtax: only goods eligible to be marked as US goods are caught, but it follows them from any ship-from country and applies under the de minimis thresholds.
5. Add tax for the delivery province: GST or HST on value plus duty and surtax, then PST or QST where one applies. Our duty calculator handles the arithmetic.

Vietnamese-made running shoes bought from a US store, courier to Ontario, shipped from the US after entering US commerce, so duty is remitted up to CAD 150.

Wool jacket from the UK, Canada Post to British Columbia.

US-made steel shelving, assumed to be on Schedule 2, courier to Alberta.

• Using CIF: international freight and insurance from the place of direct shipment come out of value for duty.
• Assuming US-origin means the higher thresholds: the CAD 40 and CAD 150 limits depend on shipping from the US or Mexico after entering commerce there. US-made goods shipped from elsewhere get CAD 20.
• Applying CAD 150 to Canada Post: the higher limits are for couriers only. Mail from any country is CAD 20, or CAD 60 for a gift from a person.
• Splitting one order: a shipment must be a single transaction, and dividing it to stay under a limit isn't allowed.
• Missing the surtax on reshipped goods: it follows US origin, so a US-made item shipped from Germany is still caught.

Thresholds, in value for duty.

• Mail, any country: CAD 20 and under is free of duty and tax. A gift by mail is free to CAD 60, and tax and duty apply only to the excess. The two can't be combined.
• Courier, not from the US or Mexico: CAD 20.
• Courier, from the US or Mexico: free of both to CAD 40. Over CAD 40 to CAD 150, duty free but taxed. Over CAD 150, both apply to the full value.

Alcohol, tobacco, cannabis and vaping products are excluded from the courier remission. So are goods ordered through a Canadian address or bought from a Canadian retailer, goods imported by someone other than the person who ordered them, and publications from a supplier that should be registered and isn't. Mail excludes tobacco, alcohol, books, periodicals and magazines from the CAD 20. See de minimis rules.

US surtax. From 8 September 2026 the United States Surtax Order (2026) puts 15%, 25% or 50% of value for duty on listed goods that originate in the US, under Schedules 1, 2 and 3. Goods from Puerto Rico, Guam and the other listed US territories aren't caught. Relief may be requested under the US Remission Framework, on the Department of Finance site.

CARM. Since 21 October 2024 CARM has been the official record for commercial duties and taxes. The Commercial Accounting Declaration replaced the B3 and B2. You or a broker you've delegated to in the CARM Client Portal can file it. Couriers on the Low Value Shipment Program account by the 24th of the following month, for goods up to CAD 3,300. Our CARM guide has the steps, and the broker directory lists firms if you'd rather hand it off.

Non-resident seller registration for GST and HST wasn't checked for this page.