Parcel Duty

Ordering from Costa Rica to the US?

A flat 12.5% forced-labour tariff is added on top of whatever base tariff the product carries, for goods from Costa Rica.

Declaration

In the parcel

Assessment

You will owe $45.09 to $70.09

Charged on $200.00, goods only, shipping excluded

Sample parcel · type over it for your own figures
Base tariff$17.40 to $33.00

8.7% on this product under the US tariff schedule.

Forced-labour tariff$25.00

12.5% added on top of the base tariff, in force since 24 July 2026.

US processing fee$2.69 to $12.09

US merchandise processing fee on an informal entry: $2.69 when the courier files electronically, up to $12.09 when customs prepares it.

Rates as of 2026-09-08

  • The $800 duty-free allowance ended on 29 August 2025. A parcel is no longer exempt just for being cheap.
  • Couriers add their own brokerage fee on top. It varies by carrier, so it is not included here.

Keep the paperwork

This assessment as a one-page PDF: every charge, the rule behind it and the source, ready to show the carrier.

How a parcel from Costa Rica is charged

Goods from Costa Rica carry a flat 12.5% forced-labour surcharge on top of whatever base tariff the product has. The two add up.

Worked examples

  • Leather shoes, $200$44.69 to $112.09
  • A phone, $1,000$127.69 to $137.09
  • Two cotton shirts, $120 each$53.57 to $81.69

Each with $25 of shipping. Duty, surcharge and the US processing fee; the courier’s own fee is not in these figures.

Not in these figures

  • The courier’s own brokerage fee. DHL, FedEx and UPS each bill their own, and none publishes a rate we could cite.
  • Currency conversion: parcels into the US are calculated in dollars.

Questions people ask

Is anything duty-free from Costa Rica?
No. The $800 duty-free allowance ended on 29 August 2025. Every parcel is assessed, whatever it cost.
My product has a 0% tariff. Do I still pay?
Yes. The 12.5% surcharge applies whether the base tariff is 0% or 20%.
Does marking it as a gift help?
No. US customs assesses the parcel, not the reason it was sent.
Since when?
The forced-labour surcharge took effect on 24 July 2026 and the base schedule is the 2026 edition. Both are linked under every result, with the date they were last checked.

What changed, and when

These rules moved four times in a year. That is why every result above carries the date it was calculated on.

  1. The US $800 duty-free allowance ends

    Low-value parcels stop being exempt. Everything entering the US becomes dutiable, whatever it cost.

  2. The Supreme Court strikes down the IEEPA tariffs

    A temporary Section 122 surcharge of 10% replaces them while a permanent answer is worked out.

  3. The EU drops its €150 exemption

    Parcels under €150 now pay a flat €3 instead of nothing, charged per product category, not per parcel.

  4. Section 122 expires, Section 301 replaces it

    New forced-labour tariffs of 10% or 12.5% cover 60 economies. Unlike the surcharge, this one has no end date. EU goods get a combined 10% ceiling rather than a surcharge on top.

  5. Not in force yet

    A Union-wide customs handling fee starts

    The EU adds its own handling charge on top of whatever the carrier already bills. Not counted in the estimates above.

Other shops

Other origins

Other things people ship