The De Minimis Rule ($800 Duty-Free Threshold): Gone, and Here’s Exactly When
Yes — de minimis is gone. The $800 duty-free exemption ended for China and Hong Kong on May 2, 2025, and for every other country on August 29, 2025. CBP made the suspension indefinite by regulation effective July 24, 2026, and a statutory repeal follows July 1, 2027. Any commercial package you order from a foreign store now owes applicable duty regardless of value.
For nearly a decade, packages worth $800 or less entered the US duty-free under the de minimis provision (Section 321 of the Tariff Act of 1930, raised from $200 to $800 in 2016). Over 1.36 billion shipments a year rode that rule. It has now been dismantled in four steps — below is the exact timeline with sources, followed by what your package actually costs today.
The four dates that ended duty-free
De minimis ends for China & Hong Kong
Packages from China / Hong Kong
An executive order tied to fentanyl-related trade measures eliminated duty-free de minimis treatment for shipments from China and Hong Kong. Those packages became subject to either the applicable tariff rate or a flat postal duty — set at $100 per item, rising to $200 per item later in 2025.
Source: Executive Order (2025), effective May 2, 2025; CBP CSMS guidance
De minimis suspended for every other country
Packages from all remaining countries
A follow-on executive order suspended duty-free de minimis for shipments from all other countries. From this date, a package worth $800 or less from Japan, the UK, Vietnam, Germany, or anywhere else owes applicable duty and needs a customs entry — origin no longer unlocks a duty-free lane. The suspension was continued by executive order in February 2026.
Source: Executive Order effective August 29, 2025; continued Feb 2026
CBP codifies the end + creates 'postal informal entry'
The permanent rulebook for mail
CBP published an interim final rule making the suspension indefinite by regulation — no longer a temporary executive action that could snap back. It also retired the old system where the letter carrier collected duty at your door: for mail shipments of $2,500 or less, a 'designated filer' (the owner, the purchaser, or a licensed customs broker) must now report shipments monthly and pay via Pay.gov by the 7th of the following month.
Source: Federal Register interim final rule, document 2026-12669 — Published June 24, 2026; effective July 24, 2026.
Statutory repeal of the $800 exemption takes effect
De minimis leaves the law itself
The de minimis exemption is repealed at the statute level, closing the door that regulation had already shut. After this point, restoring a duty-free threshold would require a new act of Congress. Plan on the assumption that duty-free de minimis is gone for the foreseeable future, regardless of origin.
Source: Statutory repeal effective July 1, 2027
What does my package cost now? (Free calculator)
Because rates depend on the product, the origin country, and the current tariff layers, the honest answer is “it depends” — so run your order through the calculator. It estimates the duty plus the UPS/FedEx/DHL brokerage fees that now ride every package.
What you actually pay on a package now
Every foreign order arrives with two things stacked together: the duty itself (set by the item’s HTS classification, its country of origin, and the current US tariff layers) and the carrier’s brokerage fees for filing the customs entry and advancing the duty. On small orders the carrier fees regularly exceed the duty.
The rate math shifts as tariff policy changes — for example, Chinese consumer goods ran at roughly 35% through mid-2026 (a 10% Section 122 layer plus a 25% Section 301 layer), and Section 122’s 10% layer was scheduled to sunset on July 24, 2026, while Section 301 continues. Rather than trust a number that moves, put your specific item into the calculator above — and see our breakdown of the tariff layers if you want to understand what’s stacking.
One myth worth killing: the February 2026 Supreme Court ruling did not bring de minimis back. That ruling struck down the IEEPA reciprocal tariffs (which is why a $166B refund pool is being paid out), but the de minimis elimination was a separate legal action and remains fully in effect. The duty on your under-$800 package is not refundable on those grounds.
Go deeper
Tariff-refund scams are surging. Here’s how to tell what’s real.
- Real refunds come from the carrier you already paid or from CBP — never from a text message. The FTC warns that messages about a “refund” with a link to “verify your information” are a known scam pattern (FTC consumer alert).
- No legitimate refund asks for a fee, gift cards, your SSN, or bank login to “release” money. CBP states it never requests sensitive data by email, text, or phone. Browse current schemes at the FTC’s official scam tracker (consumer.ftc.gov).
- Verify duties and refunds only on official channels — customs facts at CBP.gov and government payments only through Pay.gov — never a payment link someone sent you.
Want to know when a refund is actually real?
We track FTC alerts, CBP announcements, and the official UPS/FedEx/DHL refund programs — you get one plain-English email when something affects you. No spam, no “claim now” links, ever.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Is de minimis gone in 2026?
Do I pay customs on a package under $800 now?
When did the $800 duty-free rule actually end?
Did the Supreme Court ruling bring de minimis back?
Does de minimis still apply to gifts or personal effects?
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