What’s Going On With Duties To And From The U.S. This Holiday Season?
Like seemingly everything else to do with the U.S., shipping to and from the country became extra chaotic this year.
That’s because earlier in 2025, the United States ended its “de minimis”—a fancy Latin term that means “small things”—on commercial shipments from all other countries with values of under $800. Previously, these shipments were exempt from import duties and taxes, so anything U.S. consumers imported under $800 wasn’t taxed. Now, they’re being forced to pay duties and/or taxes on those shipments. (American writer Susan Orlean, for instance, faced a US$2,000+ duty charge on an order from a Montreal boutique this September.)
The result has been a massive headache for Canadian businesses—with many small businesses outright stopping their sales to the U.S., or being forced to set up a separate shipping operation in the U.S. at an extra cost.
But what does this all mean for consumers who want to send or receive Christmas gifts from the U.S.? I spoke to Gloria Terhaar, an import specialist with the customs brokers company PCB Global Trade Management, a service that helps Canadians import and export commercial and personal goods. PCB has operated at the Pacific Highway Border crossing between Douglas, B.C. and Blaine, WA for nearly 60 years. Here’s her advice on navigating the situation.
What’s changed on the Canadian end for duties from products from the U.S.?
Canada initially reacted to the end of the de minimis by imposing retaliatory surtaxes on certain U.S. goods, but those mostly ended on September 1. (They remain on U.S. steel, aluminum and cars that aren’t covered under the CUSMA free trade deal, and tend to affect businesses more than individuals.) So, for a personal importer—that is, someone receiving a gift or buying an item from the U.S.—not as much has changed since the summer.
How much can Canadians import before paying duty, then?
Canada has its own de minimis threshold, which hasn’t changed—it’s always been much lower than the U.S. Here’s how it works:
- Anything under $20 sent via the mail (through USPS or Canada Post) won’t be subject to duties or taxes.
- Anything over $20 sent by mail is subject to any applicable customs or duties (if the item isn’t made in the U.S. or Mexico), plus HST, PST and a $10 handling fee.
- Shipments up to $40 from the U.S. (or Mexico) sent by courier (such as FedEx or UPS) over $40 are duty- and tax-free. Anything $40 to $150 sent by courier will be duty-free, but you’ll have to pay PST and GST. And shipments valued at $150+ will be subject to duties and taxes
What about gifts from the U.S. or anywhere else in the world?
Personal gifts under $60 aren’t subject to duties or taxes. “But it has to be from someone you know,” Terhaar says. “It has to have a note on it saying that it's a gift and ideally would include something like a Christmas card or a birthday card so that when Canada Post or Canadian Border Services Agency looks at it, they know that it's not an unsolicited sample or something that you've purchased.”
Terhaar says she often sees people trying to send a bottle of wine or Scotch to Canada, but “all of the importation of alcohol into Canada has to go through the applicable board or government agency.” So if someone is sending a bottle of wine to B.C. from abroad, the importer would have to report it to the BC Liquor Board, which would then issue a bill for provincial markup and excise taxes. Only once those are paid will it be released into Canada through customs.
For things like gift baskets, Terhaar says, her firm is constantly referring people to this CFIA page—it has a list of items that are prohibited (if it contains meat, for example, it will be refused).
“And I’ve got to throw it out there,” Terhaar says. As well, while cannabis is legally both provincially and federally in Canada and in certain states in the U.S., it’s still illegal to trade it across international borders. “It's only allowed to be imported in very limited circumstances under Health Canada approval. So, it's one of those things where people sometimes go, ‘Oh, I'm going to send somebody my favourite homemade brownies.’ No, you're not!”
So, if your sister in the U.S. plans on sending you a present, don’t ask for wine. Or cigarettes. Or weed. And keep it under $60!
I’m trying to buy Canadian, but sometimes I see things from U.S. sites that aren’t available here, or seem like a better deal. Are they?
First off, Terhaar says, read the fine print on any retail site. Where is it shipping from? Are you responsible for the duties and/or taxes? Or are they included in the price? If it’s shipping from the U.S., and you’re responsible for import duties and taxes, Terhaar says, you’re going to get an extra bill on top of the price—usually from the courier or transportation company that is bringing your product into the country. If it’s been sent by mail, you’ll usually get a bill from the Canadian Border Services Agency, directly. You’ll have to pay duty, plus PST and GST. The PST and GST are calculated on the price, but the duty depends on the item (more on that later).
Bottom line? Terhaar says she goes straight to the FAQ page on any site. “I check out their shipping terms. Plus, you might find that the company says they don't ship outside the United States.”
“We had a gentleman who wanted to redo the flooring in his house and he was going to get a great rate on it in the U.S., but at the time flooring was subject to a [since repealed] 25% surtax.” So what looks like a deal isn’t always a deal.
Can you reject a package if you don’t want to pay the duty?
Yes, Terhaar says, but then it goes back to the seller, and depending on the seller’s policy you may not get the original cost of the item back. (Lots of sale items, for example, are final sale.) Terhaar says she sees a lot of places that charge a restocking fee, too, so even if you get some money back you won’t get a full refund.
One pro tip: if a courier shows up at your door with a duties bill, you can say, “No, I’m not going to accept this at this time. Please send me more info.” You can get a bit more time to do research before rejecting it outright, Terhaar says.
Are online duty calculators accurate?
These will give you a general ballpark idea of duties, Terhaar says—but they don’t always include up-to-the-minute or special charges. Say you are looking for an estimate on a piece of furniture, made in a non-CUSMA compliant country, with a value of $1,000. A calculator will give you a duty rate of 9.5% plus PST and GST. But certain types of seating from Vietnam or China, including recliners, will face an additional 188% duty due to a federal anti-dumping case.
“We've had a lot of casual importers buy some furniture because they love the look of that chair and suddenly they're getting another $1,800 bill because it's 188% of the Canadian value of those goods that they're paying,” Terhaar says.
So, if you’re planning a big purchase from abroad, it’s worth enlisting the help of a firm like Terhaar’s.
What does this mean for sending gifts from Canada into the United States?
Americans can get gifts from another person (not a business) from abroad of up to US$100 without having to pay extra duties or taxes. This is per day—so if you send two packages that total above that threshold, it’s worth spacing them out. PCB underlines that the gifts have to be unsolicited, person-to-person, and without commercial intent (so marking your eBay sale as “gift” doesn’t count).
A few caveats: alcohol, tobacco, “dirt from certain plants" and perfume containing alcohol aren’t included in this, even if they’re under $100. (You can insert your own joke here about the best-ever Christmas present that includes all of those categories.)
Plus, food may be subject to additional reviews; anything dangerous or illegal is totally forbidden (duh), but also anything fake or counterfeit (that $20 “Birkin” could be seized at the border) and certain animal products.
You can also package a few gifts in one package—as long as the total value is less than US$100. PCB says to mark the package thusly on outer wrapper:
- With the words “Unsolicited Gift” and “Consolidated Gift Package”
- With the total value of the consolidated package
- With the recipients’ names
- With the nature and value of the gifts inside. For example, tennis shoes, $70, shirt, $45, toy car, $15 (for more than one recipient: To John Adams, one belt, $20; one box of candy, $8; To Ellen Riley, one skirt, $45, one belt, $15).”
Note: if you are a business sending a gift to another business, these rules do not apply—even gifts sent from one business to another are considered commercial transactions.
What else do I need to know?
It’s a busy time of year for shipping—so get stuff shipped ASAP. Terhaar says: “Just because you can buy it doesn't necessarily mean you can import it. And in the case of some items, if it looks too good to be true, it probably is.”
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Born in London, Ont., Gillian was Chatelaine’s former deputy editor, digital. She has also worked at Toronto Life and the National Post. Gillian cares deeply about fighting climate change and loves birds, sad lady singers, bikes, baking and wide-legged denim. She lives in Toronto's east end with her partner, two children and Rosie, her very exuberant Bouvier des Flandres.
