Doing Your Duty: Fees for the Stuff You Bring Home from Study Abroad

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If you bring items back with you that you didn't have when you left and their total value is more than your Customs exemption, then those items are subject to duty. Duty is the amount of money you pay on items coming from another country. It is similar to a tax, except that duty is collected only on imported goods. You most likely won't run into too many problems with paying duties, unless you exceed your exemption or try to import more alcohol and tobacco than you're legally allowed.

Understanding the duty-free exemption

The duty-free exemption, also called the personal exemption, is the total value of merchandise you may bring back to the United States without having to pay duty. If the cost of items you bring back exceeds your exemption, you have to pay duty on it. In most cases, the personal exemption is $800, but this rule has some exceptions. Additionally, you are limited on how much alcohol and tobacco you can bring back with you.

If you are returning from a Caribbean Basin country or a U.S. insular possession (U.S. Virgin Islands, American Samoa, or Guam) different exemption regulations apply.

You are entitled to duty-free exemptions if the items you bring back with you meet the following conditions:

• The items are for your personal use.
• The items accompany you when you return to the United States. You may not include shipped items in your duty-free exemption.
• You declare all items to Customs. If you do not declare something that should have been declared, you risk forfeiting it! If in doubt, declare it!
• The items aren't prohibited or restricted.

Don't be misled by the term "duty-free" shop " it does not mean that items purchased there aren't subject to duty when you return home. Items sold in duty-free shops are duty and tax exempt only in the country where the shop is located. Keep in mind that anything purchased in a duty-free shop is supposed to be taken out of the country; you're not supposed to use, wear, eat, or drink the item in the country where you purchased it.

Tobacco rules

The $800 exemption typically allows you to import not more than 200 cigarettes and 100 cigars.

You may import previously exported tobacco products as long as they do not exceed the amount indicated in your exemption allowance. If you bring back previously exported tobacco products not permitted by an exemption, they will be seized and destroyed.

Tobacco products of Cuban origin are prohibited unless you actually acquire them in Cuba and are returning directly or indirectly from that country. You may not, for example, bring in Cuban cigars purchased in Canada. Persons returning from Cuba may bring into the U.S. no more than $100 worth of goods.

Alcoholic beverage rules

You are allowed to include one liter of alcoholic beverages in your exemption as long as you are 21 years old, you are carrying it for your own consumption or as a gift, and it does not violate the laws of the state in which you arrive. State laws may limit the amount of alcohol you can bring in without the appropriate license. Customs officials enforce state law on importing alcohol even if it may be more restrictive than federal regulations.