Customs to canada under $1000 or else TAX (1 Viewer)

[Mathieu]

Hi All,

Ordered some chips from the USA to Canada and got Dinged pretty bad with customs. After discussing with the post office manager she mentioned that any packaged marked with a value of over $1000 will get automatically get checked and taxed.

Hopefully this helps someone save some $$$

 

[CdnBeerLover]

I've been hit with every chip delivery in a box so far that has had a value over $20 CDN, which is the actual tax-free limit (http://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/import/courier/menu-eng.html). None of my orders have exceeded $500 Cdn in value. And Canada Post's brokerage fee is $10 on top of that.

That said, UPS is worse with respect to their fees. https://www.ups.com/content/ca/en/shipping/cost/zones/customs_clearance.html?WT.mc_id=VAN7000411 The entry preparation and bond fees are over and above the taxes collected. I refuse to use them.

 

[Mathieu]

oh wow... I guess I have been lucky then. I must say its always USPS on my end and this is my biggest purchase yet. And of course... this is the one they checked.

 

[Jeff]

Another tax life hack...love it!

 

[moose]

Note due to the free trade agreement chips from the US to can is duty free. So if you got charged duty you should bring the box back.

 

[Quicksilver-75]

.....and in the future seek out an American mailbox provider like CBI. @moose suggested this to me a few weeks back and have already saved huge $$$

 

[ellased]

Note due to the free trade agreement chips from the US to can is duty free. So if you got charged duty you should bring the box back.

why is this the case?

 

[CdnBeerLover]

Note due to the free trade agreement chips from the US to can is duty free. So if you got charged duty you should bring the box back.

True. I've never been charged duty. I suspect he got hit with the HST.

For an American address, MyUSAddress.ca is in Ogdensburg, and is 5 minutes from the bridge on the US side. I used it for one shipment of chips when we spent a week in Pennsylvania...picked up the chips on the drive down (my wife wasn't amused). It's the only time I didn't have to pay tax, as they fit within my personal exemption for the trip.

 

[CdnBeerLover]

why is this the case?

If the chips are made in the USA or Mexico, I believe they are exempt from duty under NAFTA. If you want to estimate the amount owing, you can use the calculator at http://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/travel-voyage/dte-acl/est-cal-eng.html. For the purposes of the calculator, I've used "Toys" as the category and "Board games and puzzles" as the product. I don't know if that's the proper categorization, but it's worked for me so far.

The trick here is that for the "amount you paid", it's the value in Canadian at the time it hits the border that counts, not the date you paid. When I received my CPS chips, the value of the dollar had dropped in the time between payment and shipping. As a result, the value in Cdn was higher when it came time to pay the HST when it arrived. Ah well...

 

[ellased]

If the chips are made in the USA or Mexico, I believe they are exempt from duty under NAFTA. If you want to estimate the amount owing, you can use the calculator at http://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/travel-voyage/dte-acl/est-cal-eng.html. For the purposes of the calculator, I've used "Toys" as the category and "Board games and puzzles" as the product. I don't know if that's the proper categorization, but it's worked for me so far.

so i pay the duties and bring back the unopened package to canada post for a refund?
i don't think chips will pass for toys.

 

[CdnBeerLover]

Like I said, I have no idea what the actual categorization is. You could always call Canada Customs (CBSA) and ask them.

 

[Milo013]

Gaming tokens.

 

[Mathieu]

in my case it was sports and leisure equipment. that's what the company that made the chips used as the category.

 

[MacGrad]

There are really only a couple of ways to get chips across the border without paying taxes:

1. Spend enough time in the US to ensure your purchase falls under your (or your family's) total tax exemption.

2. Have them delivered to a US address, and bring them across the border without declaring them (while hoping you don't get selected for a vehicle search).

3. Tell the customs agent you brought them across the border originally, and that you didn't think to mention them (eg. forgot about them after your last game)... then hope your story is believed.

Otherwise, if you have them mailed/delivered to your Canadian address, expect to pay HST and possibly brokerage fees.

 

[JTBass]

I usually hide them right under the 2 kilos of crack cocaine i smuggle across the border, works like a charm every time. I use US Address Inc at Niagara Falls and do number 3 that MacGrad stated above.

 

[Frank]

Funny enough, the one shipment I got worth $1000 I got taxed on. Nothing else I've received from the US on PCF has been taxed.