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 (Column 1 general 2.5%). Note 33(b) covers these lines except 8703.21.01.
• 8704 — goods-transport vehicles. The note 33(b) light-truck lines are 8704.21.01, 8704.31.01, 8704.41.00, 8704.51.00, and 8704.60.00, each with Column 1 general 25%. For EU, Japan, and Korea that 25% is already at least 15%, so headings 9903.94.50, 9903.94.40, and 9903.94.60 are Column 1 only. A bare 8704 code also contains medium- and heavy-duty lines, so the calculator does not apply the passenger-vehicle headings to the whole heading.
• 8702 — motor vehicles for 10 or more persons. Note 38(c) takes heading 9903.74.02 at Column 1 + 10%.
• 8708 — parts. Listed lines in note 33(g), such as 8708.29, are not the note 33(b) vehicle headings. They take 9903.94.05 at Column 1 + 25%, or 9903.94.43 / 9903.94.53 / 9903.94.63 / 9903.94.32 for Japan, the EU, Korea, and the UK, or 9903.94.06 when a USMCA special claim is made. A heading 8708 line that is not in note 33(g) stays on the ordinary stack. KORUS does not turn a listed Korean part into 0%.

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, HTS 8703 (note 33(b), Column 1 2.5%) under this site's stacking rules is:

• Germany / EU: heading 9903.94.51, 15% ordinary duty → $6,000.
• Japan: heading 9903.94.41, 15% ordinary duty → $6,000.
• South Korea: heading 9903.94.61, 15% ordinary duty → $6,000. KORUS does not zero this heading.
• United Kingdom: heading 9903.94.31, Column 1 + 7.5% = 10% while inside the note 33(i) quota → $4,000. The quota is 100,000 vehicles a year from January 1, 2026. This calculator does not track it.
• Mexico: heading 9903.94.01, Column 1 + 25% = 27.5% → $11,000. USMCA does not waive that heading.
• Canada: Section 338 50%, USMCA-blind, effective August 22, 2026 → $20,000.
• China: Column 1 + 25% + 25% China 301 = 52.5% → $21,000. Some EVs are on a 100% 301 list — check the heading.

Note 52(f)(2) keeps the forced-labor headings off these vehicle entries. 8703.21.01 is outside note 33(b) and does not take the headings above.

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

Japanese 8703 in note 33(b): heading 9903.94.41 is 15% ordinary duty, so duty is $6,000, plus MPF (capped at $651.50 on a formal entry this large) and HMF if the vehicle arrives by ocean.

German 8703 in the same note: heading 9903.94.51 is also $6,000. The old 2.5% + 25% stack is not the Revision 21 rate for either origin.

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.