Home / Guides / Customs and tax
Shipping
Customs and tax after a USFans spreadsheet order
A spreadsheet cell is the seller price, not the landed cost. Duties, VAT, and clearance sit with the destination country. USFans can forward a parcel and help you talk to the courier; it cannot overrule local customs.
- Clearance is handled by destination customs, not by this index and not by a Google Sheet.
- On DDP lines, tariffs and taxes are usually in the freight. On non-DDP lines the consignee may need to pay or send documents.
- US “under $800, no duty” haul math is outdated. Confirm the live line terms inside USFans before you submit the parcel.
Why this is not on the spreadsheet
Spreadsheet buyers often budget CNY plus a YouTube postage number and call it done. Tax is a third line. It depends on the country on the label, the courier product you booked, and whether that product is Delivered Duty Paid (DDP) or not. None of that lives in a Weidian cell.
Official USFans help covers customs and taxation next to shipping and estimate notes. Confirm the live line in your USFans account. This page rewrites the public workflow for spreadsheet shoppers. It is not a copy of that help text, and it is not legal or tax advice. Direct links to the public help URLs sit on USFans official public pages.
Who actually clears the parcel
USFans’ public estimate notes say customs clearance is handled by local customs in the destination country. Parcels can be delayed, inspected, or held when customs wants extra documents, when tax is due on a non-DDP route, or because of local import rules and random checks. If that happens, USFans says it will help talk to the logistics provider and pass the request to you. You still have to answer it. A quiet ticket does not move a hold.
Delays from inspections or local regulations are usually outside the carrier’s control. That is why a spreadsheet “12-day line” is a range, not a promise. See shipping for how the freight quote itself is built after packing.
DDP versus not DDP
The same estimate notes split lines in two:
- DDP — tariffs and taxes are already in the rate. The consignee usually does not get a separate customs bill on delivery.
- Non-DDP — the consignee may need to work with customs, send documents, or pay duties and taxes before the parcel is released.
A cheaper non-DDP line is not cheaper if destination customs adds duty plus a brokerage fee. Compare the live checkout in your USFans account, including the DDP label on the line you intend to book. Do not trust a Discord screenshot of last month’s menu. Packed freight can still move about ±5–10% after volumetric weight and carton size — details sit on shipping.
What you may be asked to do
On a non-DDP hold, typical requests are identity, a copy of the order, a description of contents, or payment of an assessed amount. Exact forms change by country and by courier. Use the message that arrives with the tracking number. This index will not invent a document list.
If you ignore the request, the parcel can sit, return to origin, or be destroyed. Official notes also say that seizure, return, or destruction tied to prohibited goods, false declarations, or non-cooperation may fall outside shipping insurance. Restricted SKUs (batteries, liquids, perfume) belong in the line check before you order — that list is on shipping, not here.
United States: the old de minimis shortcut
CBP enforced the end of de minimis treatment for China and Hong Kong low-value shipments on 2 May 2025, then a broader suspension from 29 August 2025. Read the CBP national media release and the current line checkout. Ranking pages that still say “under $800, no US duty” are repeating 2023 haul math.
Duties and processing fees belong in the landed-cost line next to freight. A DDP US line, if one is offered to your postcode this week, is how some agents fold that bill into checkout. Availability changes. Confirm it on the parcel submit screen, not on this page.
UK, EU, Canada, and everywhere else
VAT, GST, and similar inbound taxes were already part of the math for many destinations before the US change. Rates, thresholds, and whether the courier pre-collects tax are local rules. This index will not publish a tax table. Open the live line terms for your country inside your USFans account. If a page here and the dashboard disagree, trust the dashboard.
What we will not tell you to declare
We will not give a declared-value number, a “safe” under-declare range, or a script for the customs form. False declarations are how parcels get seized, and official notes already flag that those cases may not be insured. Put the real contents and the value the live line asks for. If you need a country-specific rule, that is between you, the courier, and destination customs.
Pay international freight only after warehouse QC photos look right. Tax is assessed on the parcel that leaves China, not on the thumbnail you shortlisted.