Import tools
Import duty calculator: duty, fees and landed cost
This import duty calculator estimates what a shipment owes at US entry, from the base HTS rate to the final per-unit number. It takes the values from your commercial invoice and returns the picture line by line: base duty from your HTS rate, the tariffs that stack on it, the MPF and HMF fee lines, and the full landed cost once freight and delivery are added. Every number is an estimate, and the sections below show how each line is calculated so you can check the math yourself.
Use the calculator
Estimate duty, fees and landed cost
Duty and fees
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Loading the fee schedule…
Duty and fees
Base duty
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MPF
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HMF
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Goods and shipment costs
Goods value
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Duty and fees total
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This is a planning estimate, not a customs entry. The filed entry can differ.
Fee figures: FY2026, effective 1 October 2025.
The five inputs that set your estimate
The calculator asks for little, but each field moves real money, so know what belongs in each one before you trust the output.
Calculator inputs and why they matter
| Input | What to enter | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Goods value (FOB) | The price of the goods on your commercial invoice, excluding international freight and insurance | This is the customs value duty is calculated on. Putting the freight-inclusive CIF total here inflates every line that follows. |
| Country of origin | Where the goods were substantially made, not where they shipped from | Origin decides which tariffs stack on the base rate. The rules are stricter than "where the factory is": country of origin. |
| HTS duty rate | The base rate for your ten-digit classification | Look it up before you trust any estimate: HTS and HS codes. Two plausible codes can sit several margin points apart. |
| Section 301 list | For Chinese-origin goods, the list your product sits on, or none | The lists carry different rates, 7.5% on List 4A to 25% on Lists 1 to 3: Section 301 lists. |
| Mode and freight | Ocean or air, plus the freight cost if you want landed cost | Mode decides whether HMF applies, and freight is the second biggest line in most landed costs. |
How US import duty is calculated
Duty is one multiplication: customs value times the HTS rate. The part importers get wrong is the base. US customs duty is calculated on the transaction value of the goods, in practice the FOB value on your invoice, not on the freight-inclusive total. If your supplier quotes CIF, the freight and insurance in that price are deducted before duty is figured. A $10,000 FOB order at a 3.4 percent HTS rate owes $340 in base duty whether the freight cost $1,500 or $4,000.
That base rate is only the start for many origins. The tariff programs below stack on top of it, each calculated on the same customs value.
The two fees on almost every entry
Two CBP fees attach to formal entries, which means almost any commercial shipment worth more than $2,500. They are small next to duty but they are never zero, and one of them depends on your mode.
CBP entry fees, fiscal year 2026
| Fee | Rate | Minimum | Maximum | Applies to |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MPF (Merchandise Processing Fee) | 0.3464% of customs value | $33.58 | $651.50 | Every formal entry, any mode |
| HMF (Harbor Maintenance Fee) | 0.125% of customs value | none | none | Ocean shipments only |
The MPF minimum and maximum reset each October; the figures above took effect 1 October 2025. The percentage itself has not moved in years. An entry filed manually instead of electronically adds a $4.03 surcharge. HMF has no cap, and air freight never pays it, which is one of the quieter numbers in an ocean-versus-air comparison. There is no duty-free lane to plan around anymore: the de minimis exemption is suspended for all origins, so even small commercial shipments file and pay.
Tariffs that stack on the base rate
In 2026 the base HTS rate is rarely the whole duty story. The calculator adds the programs it can calculate and flags the ones that need a classification-level check.
The 2026 tariff stack on US imports
| Program | Rate | Who it hits | In the calculator |
|---|---|---|---|
| Section 301, China lists | 7.5% to 25% | Chinese-origin goods, by product list | Calculated, from the list you select |
| Section 301, forced labor action | 10% to 12.5% | Goods from 60 trade partners, in force since 24 July 2026, under challenge at the Court of International Trade | Calculated, by origin |
| Section 232 | Varies by product | Steel, aluminum and other sectoral goods, with new products added during 2026 | Flagged, not calculated |
| Section 338 | 50% | Selected Canadian goods (vehicles, alcohol, dairy) since 22 August 2026 | Flagged, not calculated |
| AD/CVD | Case-specific, can exceed 100% | Products under antidumping or countervailing duty orders | Flagged, not calculated |
One program is deliberately absent: the IEEPA tariffs were ruled unlawful in February 2026 and money already paid is being refunded through CBP's process for qualifying entries. If you paid them, that is not a calculator question but a records question: tariff refunds explains which entries qualify and by when.
A worked example, invoice to landed cost
Take 2,000 units at $5.00 FOB Shanghai, a $10,000 invoice, moving as ocean freight at $2,400 with a 3.4 percent HTS rate on China List 4A.
Line by line, $10,000 FOB Shanghai
| Line | Basis | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Goods | 2,000 units at $5.00 | $10,000.00 |
| Ocean freight and surcharges | quoted, see ocean freight rates | $2,400.00 |
| Base duty | 3.4% of $10,000 | $340.00 |
| Section 301, List 4A | 7.5% of $10,000 | $750.00 |
| MPF | 0.3464% of $10,000 | $34.64 |
| HMF | 0.125% of $10,000 | $12.50 |
| Cargo insurance | quoted | $120.00 |
| Entry, clearance and ISF filing | quoted | $550.00 |
| Drayage and delivery | quoted | $700.00 |
| Landed cost | total | $14,907.14 |
That is $7.45 per unit against a $5.00 invoice price, 49 percent above what the supplier was paid, and nothing in the list is unusual: no exam, no demurrage, no storage. One layer is deliberately not shown: the forced labor action adds its own line for the origins it covers, calculated on the same customs value, and whether your origin and product sit inside it is a check to run before you price the order. The full component-by-component breakdown of these lines is in the landed cost guide.
What the estimate can and cannot tell you
The calculator's output is a planning number built from the inputs you gave it. The entry CBP liquidates can differ, and the difference almost always traces to one of four places: the classification was not what you assumed, the declared value did not match the invoice chain, the goods turned out to sit under an AD/CVD order or a Section 232 action, or fees appeared that belong to the shipment rather than the entry, storage, exams, demurrage. The customs clearance process guide walks through where each of those surfaces.
Classification deserves the most respect of the four. The HTS rate you enter is the single biggest lever in the estimate, the responsibility for getting it right sits with the importer of record, and the difference between two defensible codes can be several points of margin. That review is a service, not a guess: customs compliance exists for exactly that check.
From estimate to entry with Platton
Platton is a digital freight forwarder for companies importing into the US. The calculator gives you the planning number; these are the services that turn it into a shipment.
Customs clearance, coordinated
Classification and tariff exposure review
Ocean freight priced line by line
Common Questions About the Import Duty Calculator
On the product price, not the shipped total. US duty uses the transaction value of the goods, in practice the FOB value on your commercial invoice, so a freight spike moves your landed cost while duty does not move a dollar. The flip side: cutting freight cost does nothing for a tariff problem. If you buy CIF, strip the freight and insurance out of the invoice total before entering the value, otherwise every line comes back overstated.
Base duty from the HTS rate you enter, Section 301 tariffs from the China list you select or by origin under the forced labor action, MPF with its minimum and maximum applied, HMF on ocean shipments, and, if you provide freight and delivery figures, the landed cost build-up. It flags Section 232, Section 338 and AD/CVD exposure rather than calculating them, because those depend on product-level determinations an input form cannot make responsibly.
Usually one of four reasons: the entry was filed under a different HTS code than you assumed, the declared value differed from the number you entered, the goods fell under a tariff program the calculator only flags, or the invoice you are reconciling mixes entry charges with shipment charges like exams, storage or demurrage. Comparing it line by line against the worked example format above shows which one it is in a few minutes.
Yes. Section 301 is additive: a product with a 3.4 percent HTS rate on China List 4A pays 3.4 plus 7.5, both calculated on the same customs value. The forced labor action works the same way for the origins it covers. None of these replace the base rate, and MPF and HMF are charged regardless. That stacking is why a low base rate can still end in a double-digit effective duty for some origins.
Duty and tariffs are identical in both modes, because they are calculated on the goods' value, not the freight. What changes is the fee line: HMF applies only to ocean shipments, so air freight drops that 0.125 percent, and the freight itself is priced on chargeable weight instead of per container. For most shipments the duty picture is mode-neutral and the decision between ocean and air is a freight-and-calendar question.
Related duty and cost guides
Landed cost
Every component of the per-unit number, with the accounting treatment.
Section 301 tariffs
The China lists, current rates and how to check your product.
HTS and HS codes
How classification works and how to look up your rate.
Tariff refunds
Reclaiming IEEPA tariffs already paid, and the deadlines.
Ocean freight rates
What sits inside the freight line you feed this calculator.
Other import tools
Container capacity calculator
How many cartons or pallets fit a 20ft, 40ft or high cube, and how many containers you need.
Chargeable weight calculator
Gross vs volumetric weight per carton line and the rate slab your shipment sits in.
Freight class calculator
Density in lbs per cubic foot and the estimated NMFC class from your pallet list.
CBM calculator
Total cubic meters, revenue tons and container fit from your carton list.
Price the real shipment
The calculator tells you what the import should cost. A quote tells you what it will cost. Send the details of your next order and you get back an itemized import quote with the same line names this page uses: freight, surcharges, entry, duty and tariff estimates, and delivery.