Import Duty / Tax from USA? How much ?

eddiem74

I am going to be buying/importing an item from the USA which will cost around $900 including shipping.

How do I know (or can I find out) how much import duty/tax I will need to pay ?

Beano

depends on what the item is as different items have different duty rates. Duty can be anything from 0% to 13.5%. Then you add the vat on top of that which is 21%. Then add the customs handling fee imposed by the courier which varies from €5 up to i think €20 with some couriers.

YOu can find the duty rate here http://www.revenue.ie/pdf/04_18_CETI_06.pdf

eddiem74

Its a projector screen I am considering importing from Carada.

So worst case I should budget around an extra 34% for customs I guess !

Thanks for your prompt reply !

Orange69

I recently got charged 50 Euro on an item valued at $250 dollars!

IamMetaldave

A while back I bought clothes in at a price of $180 and was charged €58 all in for customs and taxes etc.. I also got a guitar in from the states and its value at $300 and was charged 50 odd euro for taxes and customs.

Personally, I'd love to find a definitive guide so you can have an idea before purchasing.

cgarvey

Dave Eyesclosed wrote: »

Personally, I'd love to find a definitive guide so you can have an idea before purchasing.

Unfortunately, the PDF linked above is probably as definitive as it gets! Added to the confusion of the vague categories is the vague interpretation of them by handling agents. At least the VAT categories are a lot more straight forward.

eddiem74

Yeah its a bit painful alright.

I managed to find a reference to TARIC on the revenue site (Customs & Excise Tariff of Ireland - January 2008 Edition) and from there find a code for a projector screen which tells me my duty will be 2.70%.

Not sure if I am on the right track though.....

So for VAT, I can assume 21%, right ? So its now looking like 23.7% I will be paying ?

Beano

eddiem74 wrote: »

Yeah its a bit painful alright.

I managed to find a reference to TARIC on the revenue site (Customs & Excise Tariff of Ireland - January 2008 Edition) and from there find a code for a projector screen which tells me my duty will be 2.70%.

Not sure if I am on the right track though.....

So for VAT, I can assume 21%, right ? So its now looking like 23.7% I will be paying ?

Not quite. Assuming the duty rate is 2.7% you will pay this on the full value including shipping. So it will be 900 + (900 X 0.027). You will then need to add 21% to THIS figure not the original figure. Basically you pay 21% vat on the customs duty as well. And not forgetting the customs handling fee imposed by the courier which will also have 21% VAT added to it.

jor el

Also remember that the Duty rates applied may not be what is listed on the Taric site. I looked that up a while ago, and it said DVDs should be something like 3.5%. However, I know of people getting hit with 12-13% on DVDs from the US, plus the VAT and handeling charge on top of this.

As a rough guide, add 12% to the original cost (including the delivery charge), then add 21% of this new value, and finally add about 15 euro for handling charge.

The exchange rate they use for converting the $ is also something you won't know. Best to use an estimate here too, a few cents poorer than what xe.com says.

eddiem74

Ok, so do they apply all these charges first i.e. in USD, and then convert to euro ?

Thanks for all the inputs !

jor el

Not sure, but I'd say they convert to euro first.

eddiem74

ok thanks !

seanom78

I know exactly what this is for golf clubs from the USA to Ireland.

2.7% on the value of the good (plus shipping charges)
21% VAT on the total

EXAMPLE:
you buy a golf club for $130 and you pay $40 for shipping (total pre taxes = 170)
it works out as follows:

2.7% of 170 = 4.59 (import duty)
21% of 174.59 = 36.67 (vat)

TOTAL = 41.26+170= $211.26

Beano

seanom78 wrote: »

I know exactly what this is for golf clubs from the USA to Ireland.

2.7% on the value of the good (plus shipping charges)
21% VAT on the total

EXAMPLE:
you buy a golf club for $130 and you pay $40 for shipping (total pre taxes = 170)
it works out as follows:

2.7% of 170 = 4.59 (import duty)
21% of 174.59 = 36.67 (vat)

TOTAL = 41.26+170= $211.26

Why did you feel the need to duplicate what i posted 6 weeks ago?

mcaul

Don't forget its up to you to have the correct tarif code on the invoice, oherwise you'll get charged a general rate or a rate that applies to something similar. - Just tell the supplier to state the tarif code on the customs declaration.

e.g. Wooden tables can be anything from 0% (poker Tables - tarif description = tables for parlour games) to 20% for tables of a certain type of wood for a certain use ( e.g. dining tables made of listed hardwoods)

So 5 - 10 minutes finding exactly what tarif code can save a lot of money!!

BikingChick

For anyone checking this thread, I believe you don't have to pay Customs Duty if the total cost is below €150, so you only have to pay the VAT plus the customs handling fee from the courier.

http://www.citizensinformation.ie/categories/money-and-tax/tax/duties-and-vat/value-added-tax

dudara

Please don't bring up old threads.

Thread locked

dudara