De minimis thresholds compared

A parcel under the duty threshold can still owe tax, because the tax threshold is often lower. So check both, in this order:

1. Is the value below the tax threshold? Nothing is due on either count where the duty threshold is at least as high.
2. Is it below the duty threshold? Then it's tax only.
3. Above both? Then both apply, often from the first unit of value. Check the rule, because some countries charge only on the excess.

Read the wording too. Some thresholds test the goods alone and others include shipping. Some test the consignment and others the invoice. Gifts between private people often have their own, separate relief.

The $800 exemption under 19 U.S.C. 1321(a)(2)(C) no longer applies to commercial shipments from any country. CBP put the suspension into its regulations in June 2026: effective 24 June 2026 for non-postal modes and 24 July 2026 for mail. CBP's notice also records that the exemption is repealed by statute from 1 July 2027. Bona fide gifts of $100 or less, and personal articles worth $200 or less that travel with a passenger, are unaffected. The detail is on US low-value shipments.

From 1 July 2026, goods sold by distance to EU consumers with an intrinsic value of EUR 150 or less pay a temporary duty of EUR 3 per item, under Council Regulation (EU) 2026/382. It runs until 1 July 2028, when normal tariff rates are meant to take over, though the Commission must assess by 1 December 2027 whether to propose an extension. Unlike the old relief, it also covers alcohol, perfume and tobacco. Excise and VAT are still due on those goods, and they can't use IOSS.

An item here means goods sharing the same tariff classification, description and, where it's declared, origin, not each piece. The Commission's own illustration is five T-shirts counted as one item. In practice the charge lands per declaration line, so the type of declaration matters.

These orders are our own illustrations, assuming each product is one declaration line.

The flat duty is due on top of VAT, whichever VAT route you use, unless you claim a trade preference on a full H1 declaration without IOSS. There has been no EU-wide VAT threshold since 1 July 2021. See IOSS and EU VAT.

A separate charge sits on top. From 1 November 2026 the EU applies a Union handling fee of EUR 2 per item, under Article 20(2) of Regulation (EU) 2026/2108 and Delegated Regulation (EU) 2026/2152, published on 22 October 2026. It applies to distance sales at any value, including above EUR 150, has no end date, and is non-refundable. The Commission's guidance on both charges covers the detail, including new product identifiers on declarations of up to EUR 150.

For consignments of GBP 135 or less sold to customers in Great Britain, the overseas seller or marketplace charges UK VAT at the point of sale, and no duty is due, unless the goods are excise goods, which pay duty at any value. There's no VAT threshold on these sales. The duty relief is on its way out: the HMRC policy paper, updated on 28 October 2026, says it will end on a day set by regulations made by October 2028 at the latest, brought forward from March 2029. It's described as a measure that will amend the law, so check the date once the regulations appear.

If you sell on the threshold, stop designing around it. The UK limit looks at the whole consignment, and EU customs can treat a grouped declaration as the separate distance sales it covers. Budget for duty from the first unit of value, and use the import duty calculator for live numbers on a route.