Importing to Canada
Customs duty, VAT, and import regulations, updated 2026
Key facts at a glance
The low value rule
CAD 20, relieving customs duties and taxes.
The threshold is tested against the customs value, which includes carriage.
- the goods are carried by a courier service rather than by post
- the goods do not come from the United States or Mexico, which have their own higher thresholds
- the goods are not alcoholic beverages, cannabis products, vaping products, tobacco products; goods classified under tariff item No
Goods from the United States or Mexico carried by courier fall under the CUSMA courier thresholds instead: CAD 150 for customs duties and CAD 40 for taxes (GST/HST/PST), provided the goods entered US or Mexican commerce. Goods merely transshipped through either country fall back to the CAD 20 general threshold.
Source: Canada Border Services Agency, Memorandum D8-2-16, Courier Imports Remission Order. Compare every market →
What this site prices into Canada
This site holds 106 duty rows for Canada, read from its own tariff schedule, and they run from 0% to 18%. 50 of them carry no duty at all. A further 7 codes are charged per unit rather than on value, so no percentage prices them and this guide does not try.
For comparison, the simple average MFN rate across all products is 3.8% on the 2025 profile. That is the figure the calculator falls back to where this site holds no row for the code you asked about. Source: WTO Tariff and Trade Data, Canada member profile: simple average MFN applied 2025, all products.
Only the 5 percent federal GST is modelled. In HST provinces the provincial portion is collected on many imports too, taking the effective rate to between 13 and 15 percent.
A worked shipment into Canada
330741, incense and other odoriferous preparations, invoiced at CAD 2,000.00 and shipped to Canada. Duty at 6.5%.
| Goods | CAD 2,000.00 |
| Freight | CAD 120.00 |
| Insurance | CAD 30.00 |
| Customs duty | CAD 130.00 |
| Import tax at 5% | CAD 106.50 |
| Landed cost | CAD 2,386.50 |
The consignment above is over CAD 20, so its duty is charged in full. The same code invoiced at exactly CAD 20 with no freight would be charged CAD 0.00 of duty and CAD 0.00 of tax.
Priced with the same function the duty calculator answers with, so this total is reproducible. See the full table for 330741 →
What this site does not price into Canada
26 of the codes this site carries have no Canada figure, and each says so on its own page rather than showing an estimate. The reasons, from the verification registry:
- 23 because the schedule splits the subheading into lines that do not share one rate.
- 3 because neither official reading completed.
190110, 420291, 420292, 640220, 640319, 640399, 640419, 640520 and 18 more.
Selling into Canada rather than buying?
The same tariff, the same shipment, and the five questions a seller has instead of a buyer's. The exporter's guide to Canada →
2026 tariff update
The 100% surtax on Chinese electric vehicles was repealed on 1 March 2026 and replaced by an import permit and an annual quota of 49,000 vehicles at the 6.1% MFN rate, growing 6.5% a year. Importing outside the quota is not permitted. The 25% surtax on steel and aluminium containing Chinese melted and poured or smelted and cast material remains. Canada matched the US Section 338 action with counter-tariffs of 15%, 25% and 50% on US goods from 8 September 2026.
Source: Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA). Last verified 2 September 2026 (2026-09-02).
Overview
Import process
Practical tips
Restricted and prohibited goods
Hate propaganda, certain firearms, child exploitation material, food and plant material without a CFIA permit, and used or second-hand mattresses. Electric vehicles of Chinese origin now need an import permit against the annual quota rather than being surtaxed
What to re-check first
Each claim on this page was checked against a published source on 2 September 2026. These are the items most likely to have moved since.
The quota is administered by permit and is allocated in tranches. Quota volume, allocation method and the share reserved for lower priced vehicles all move, so confirm availability before committing to a shipment.
The 8 September 2026 counter-tariffs mirror the US Section 338 and Section 232 lists item by item. Both sides of that pairing have moved repeatedly, so check the current CBSA customs notice rather than a product list of this vintage.
The CA$40 and CA$150 courier thresholds depend on the shipment being sent by courier from the US or Mexico. Place of direct shipment governs, not origin, and post is excluded.
The Chinese content surtax has been amended and extended more than once, most recently with effect from 27 June 2026. Re-check the current order and its product schedule.
Calculate duty for Canada
Get an instant estimate for any product shipped to Canada.
Other countries
Common HS codes
847130 Laptops 851713 Smartphones 610910 T-shirts (cotton) 640319 Leather shoes 420211 Leather handbags 910221 Wristwatches 870380 Electric vehicles 220421 Wine Quick links