Importing a Car to the US: Duties, HTS, and the 2026 Auto Stack

Classify the Vehicle Before You Quote Duty

Start in the HTS lookup. The heading, not the marketing name, controls:

• 8703 — passenger cars and many SUVs (typical MFN 2.5%).
• 8704 — goods-transport vehicles / light trucks. Many lines still carry the longstanding 25% 'Chicken Tax' MFN. This site's calculator also treats 8702/8703/8704 as auto-232 headings, so a non-EU truck can show MFN plus 25% 232. Confirm the 10-digit line; do not assume the two 25% figures collapse into one.
• 8702 — motor vehicles for 10 or more persons.
• 8708 — parts. Parts are not on the auto-232 heading list used here. A KORUS- or USMCA-qualifying part generally pays the forced-labor layer (or 0% under USMCA), not the 25% vehicle 232.

A VIN, a brochure, or a 'truck' badge is not a classification. Body type, seating, and GVWR drive the heading. When the duty swing is tens of thousands of dollars, get a broker or a CBP binding ruling before the vessel sails.

The 2026 Origin Stack (Passenger Cars, 8703)

On a $40,000 entered value, passenger-car duty under this site's stacking rules is roughly:

• Germany / EU: 15% ceiling in lieu of auto 232 → $6,000. (The 2.5% MFN is inside the ceiling.)
• Japan: 2.5% MFN + 25% auto 232 = 27.5% → $11,000.
• South Korea: KORUS zeros MFN; auto 232 is 25% → $10,000. KORUS does not waive 232.
• Mexico: Auto 232 25% (USMCA does not cancel 232) → $10,000 on the 232 layer; qualifying USMCA treatment still matters for other fees and for non-232 lines.
• Canada: Section 338 50%, USMCA-blind, effective August 22, 2026 → $20,000. This is not the 25% auto 232.
• China: 2.5% MFN + 25% auto 232 + 25% China 301 ≈ 52.5% → $21,000. Some EVs are on a 100% 301 list — check the heading.

Forced-labor (10%/12.5%) does not stack on top of auto 232. Australia is 232-exempt on metals, not on cars.

Worked Entry: $40,000 Japanese 8703 vs $40,000 German 8703

Japanese car: $1,000 MFN + $10,000 auto 232 = $11,000 duty, plus MPF (capped at $651.50 on a formal entry this large) and HMF if the vehicle arrives by ocean.

German car under the July 1, 2026 EU-US deal: the 15% ceiling replaces the old 2.5% + 25% 232 stack, so duty is $6,000, not $11,000. That is why EU origin is no longer 'the expensive car' on a pure tariff basis.

Canadian car: $20,000 under Section 338. Energy, potash, 232 metals, fish, and critical minerals are the 338 exclusions — passenger vehicles are not.

EPA, DOT, and the 25-Year Rule (Not a Tariff)

A car that clears CBP can still be illegal to drive. NHTSA generally requires Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard compliance — or an exemption. The well-known 25-year import exemption (vehicles 25 years old or older, measured from date of manufacture) is a safety-standard exception, not a duty exception. A 1998 Mercedes still owes whatever duty its heading and origin produce in 2026.

EPA has a parallel compliance regime for emissions. Gray-market 'importer bonds' and registered importers exist for a reason: the paperwork is as expensive as the duty on many cars. This site does not process EPA or DOT filings. Budget them before you buy the auction lot.

Personal Import vs. Dealer vs. Returning Resident

A vehicle you purchase abroad and ship as cargo is a commercial-style entry even if you will drive it yourself. That is different from the traveler personal exemption, which covers goods accompanying a returning resident — not a car on a Ro-Ro vessel.

If you are a first-time IOR, use the first-time importer sequence: importer number, bond, HTS, entry. State sales tax, title, and registration are after CBP release and are not federal duty.

What This Guide Will Not Do

It will not tell you how to 'avoid' 232 by mis-declaring a sedan as parts, how to transship a Chinese EV through a third country, or that USMCA still zeros Canadian cars. Those claims are wrong under the current on-site regime. If you paid IEEPA duty on a vehicle entered in 2025, that IEEPA layer may be refundable — see how to claim an IEEPA refund — but auto 232 and Section 338 are not IEEPA and are not in the $166 billion pool.