US Returning-Traveler Duty-Free Exemption Checker

Coming home from a trip with things you bought abroad? Find your exact duty-free personal exemption — $200, $800 or $1,600 depending on how long you were away, where you are coming from, and whether you have used the exemption recently — and get an estimate of the 3% flat-rate duty on the next $1,000 over it, under 19 CFR Part 148 and HTSUS 9816.00.20.

Rules verified against 19 CFR Part 148 (Cornell LII) and HTSUS 9816.00.20 — cbp.gov / ecfr.gov / hts.usitc.gov direct fetch were blocked. A returning US resident gets a $800 duty-free exemption after at least 48 hours abroad, or $1,600 arriving from a US insular possession (American Samoa, Guam, the CNMI, or the US Virgin Islands), or a reduced $200 if you were away under 48 hours or have used the exemption in the last 30 days. Over your exemption, the next $1,000 of fair-retail value is dutiable at a flat 3% (HTSUS 9816.00.20); above that, regular HTS rates apply and vary by item. This is an estimate, not a guarantee — CBP determines your exemption and duty at the port of entry.

Primary sources: 19 CFR 148.33 · 148.35 · 148.36.

1. Were you outside the United States for at least 48 hours?

Under 48 hours drops you to the reduced $200 exemption (19 CFR 148.35).

2. Are you arriving directly or indirectly from a US insular possession?

American Samoa, Guam, the CNMI, or the US Virgin Islands → $1,600 exemption (19 CFR 148.33).

3. Have you used your duty-free exemption within the last 30 days?

If so, the $800/$1,600 exemption is not available — you get $200 (19 CFR 148.36).

What you actually paid (retail value) for goods, gifts and souvenirs you are bringing back.

Your duty-free personal exemption

$800.00

Your duty-free personal exemption is $800 (standard). The next $1,000 over it is dutiable at the 3% flat rate (HTSUS 9816.00.20), an estimated $30; anything above that is charged at regular HTS rates that vary by item. This is an estimate, not a guarantee — CBP decides at the port of entry.

Value over exemption
$1,000.00
Next $1,000 @ 3% flat
$30.00
Above the flat band
$0
nothing above the band

The estimated $30.00 is the 3% flat-rate duty on the first $1,000 over your exemption (HTSUS 9816.00.20).

Rules behind the number

  • You get the standard $800 duty-free exemption: abroad at least 48 hours, not arriving from a US insular possession, and you have not used the exemption in the prior 30 days. (19 CFR 148.33)
  • Over your exemption, the next $1,000 of fair retail value is dutiable at a flat 3% (HTSUS 9816.00.20, the General / Column 1 rate; goods from a Column 2 / non-normal-trade-relations country are 4%). (HTSUS 9816.00.20)
  • Above the exemption plus that $1,000 flat band, goods are dutiable at the regular HTS rate for each item — which varies by product and is not estimated here. (HTSUS)
  • Alcohol and tobacco count within your exemption and carry their own quantity limits (commonly 1 liter of alcohol, 200 cigarettes, and 100 cigars for the $800 exemption; more from a US insular possession). You must be 21+ for alcohol and tobacco. Confirm current limits with CBP. (CBP — Know Before You Go)
  • This returning-traveler personal exemption (goods you carry back in your baggage, 19 CFR Part 148) is NOT the commercial $800 de minimis for low-value shipments (19 CFR 10.151), which was suspended in 2026 under Executive Order 14324. They are different rules. (19 CFR 148 vs 19 CFR 10.151 / EO 14324)

Governing authority: 19 CFR 148.33, 19 CFR 148.35, 19 CFR 148.36, HTSUS 9804.00.65, HTSUS 9816.00.20. General guidance and an estimate, not legal or customs advice — CBP determines your exemption, admissibility and duty at the port of entry.

Get the Returning-Traveler Duty Pack

The checker above is free. The pack turns the number into something you can take to the airport — the exemption worksheet, the alcohol & tobacco allowance table, the flat-rate vs regular-rate breakdown, and a CBP Form 6059B declaration checklist, in one place.

One-time purchase. No subscription. The free checker stays free.

Last verified:

How this checker works

This checker resolves your US returning-traveler duty-free personal exemption and estimates the flat-rate duty over it, computed entirely in your browser — no inputs are sent to a server. Your exemption is $200 if you were abroad under 48 hours (19 CFR 148.35) or have used the exemption within the prior 30 days (19 CFR 148.36); otherwise $1,600 if you arrive directly or indirectly from a US insular possession (American Samoa, Guam, the CNMI, or the US Virgin Islands), else $800 (19 CFR 148.33). Over your exemption, the next $1,000 of fair-retail value is dutiable at a flat 3% (HTSUS 9816.00.20, the General/Column 1 rate; Column 2 is 4%, the insular band under 9816.00.40 is 1.5%); above that, regular HTS rates apply and vary by item. Alcohol and tobacco count within the exemption and carry their own quantity limits (age 21+). This returning-traveler exemption (19 CFR Part 148) is distinct from the commercial $800 de minimis (19 CFR 10.151) suspended in 2026 under EO 14324. Figures are an estimate, not a guarantee — CBP decides at the port of entry. Rules verified 2026-06-15 against the Cornell LII mirror of 19 CFR Part 148 and HTSUS 9816.00.20 (cbp.gov / ecfr.gov / hts.usitc.gov direct fetch were blocked).

How your US duty-free personal exemption works

When you return to the United States from a trip, you can bring back a certain dollar value of goods, gifts and souvenirs duty-free — this is your personal exemption, set out in 19 CFR Part 148, Subpart D and keyed to the Harmonized Tariff Schedule. The exemption is $800 for most travelers, $1,600 if you are coming from a US insular possession, or a reduced $200 if you do not meet the time-and-frequency conditions. Anything over your exemption is dutiable, but the first $1,000 over it is charged at a single low flat rate rather than item-by-item. This checker turns those rules into one estimated figure for your trip.

$800, $1,600 or $200 — which exemption you get

The standard $800 exemption applies to a returning resident who has been outside the United States for at least 48 hours and has not used the exemption in the prior 30 days (19 CFR 148.33). If you arrive directly or indirectly from a US insular possession — American Samoa, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, or the US Virgin Islands — the exemption rises to $1,600. But if you were abroad less than 48 hours (19 CFR 148.35) or you have already used your exemption within the last 30 days (19 CFR 148.36), the higher exemption is not available and you fall to the reduced $200. Those two disqualifiers take precedence — even an insular-possession traveler drops to $200 if they were away under 48 hours or used the exemption recently.

The flat rate: the next $1,000 over your exemption at 3%

You do not pay item-by-item duty on the first slice over your exemption. Under HTSUS 9816.00.20, the next $1,000 of fair-retail value above the exemption is dutiable at a flat 3% — the General (Column 1) rate that applies to goods from essentially every country. (Goods from a Column 2 / non-normal-trade-relations country, such as Cuba or North Korea, are charged 4% instead, and the insular-possession flat band under HTSUS 9816.00.40 is 1.5%.) So a traveler with the standard $800 exemption and $1,800 of goods has $1,000 over the exemption, all inside the flat band — an estimated $30 in flat-rate duty. Above that $1,000 band, goods are charged at the regular HTS rate for each item, which varies by product and is not estimated here.

Alcohol and tobacco count within your exemption

Alcohol and tobacco are included within your personal exemption and carry their own quantity limits. As general CBP guidance, the $800 exemption commonly covers 1 liter of alcohol, 200 cigarettes, and 100 cigars; arrivals from a US insular possession get higher allowances. You must be 21 or older to bring back alcohol or tobacco, and some states set their own limits. Confirm current allowances with CBP “Know Before You Go” before you travel — quantities change and this tool does not assert a precise current limit.

This is not the suspended $800 de minimis

It is easy to confuse two different $800 figures. This returning-traveler personal exemption applies to goods you physically carry back in your baggage, under 19 CFR Part 148. It is not the commercial $800 de minimis of 19 CFR 10.151 — the rule that let low-value shipments enter duty-free — which was suspended in 2026 under Executive Order 14324. They are different legal mechanisms: the traveler exemption (live, this tool) covers your luggage; the commercial de minimis (now suspended, covered by our post‑de‑minimis duty tools) covered parcels shipped to a US buyer.

How the estimate is built

  • Exemption = $200 if (under 48h OR used within 30 days), else $1,600 if arriving from a US insular possession, else $800.
  • Over exemption = max(0, value − exemption).
  • Flat-rate duty = min(over, $1,000) × 3% (HTSUS 9816.00.20).
  • Above the flat band = max(0, over − $1,000) — charged at regular HTS rates, varies by item, not estimated here.

Everything is computed in your browser — nothing you enter is sent to a server. Every figure is an estimate, not a guarantee; CBP determines your exemption, admissibility and duty at the port of entry.

Frequently asked questions

Is the personal exemption always $800?

No. $800 is the standard amount after at least 48 hours abroad. You get $1,600 arriving from a US insular possession, or a reduced $200 if you were away under 48 hours or have used the exemption in the last 30 days. CBP determines the actual exemption at the port of entry.

How much is the flat-rate duty over my exemption?

The next $1,000 of value over your exemption is dutiable at a flat 3% (HTSUS 9816.00.20) for goods from a normal-trade-relations country, so the most the flat band can be is about $30. Goods from a Column 2 country are 4%, and the insular-possession flat band is 1.5%. Above the $1,000 band, regular HTS rates apply by item.

Is this the same as the $800 de minimis that was eliminated?

No. This returning-traveler exemption (19 CFR Part 148) applies to goods you carry back in your baggage and is still in force. The commercial $800 de minimis (19 CFR 10.151) for low-value shipments was suspended in 2026 under Executive Order 14324. They are different rules.

Is anything I enter sent to a server?

No. The estimate is computed entirely in your browser from the rules described above. Nothing you enter leaves your device.

Sources

  • 19 CFR 148.33 — exemption amounts: $800 standard (“must not exceed $800”) and $1,600 for a “direct or indirect arrival from American Samoa, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, or the Virgin Islands”, keyed to HTSUS 9804.00.65. Plus 148.35 (the 48-hour length-of-stay rule) and 148.36 (the 30-day frequency rule). Confirmed verbatim via the Cornell LII mirror — ecfr.gov redirected to a CAPTCHA gate and cbp.gov returned HTTP 403 here, so primary text was read through Cornell LII.
  • HTSUS 9816.00.20 — the flat rate of duty on the next $1,000 of fair retail value over the exemption: 3% (General / Column 1), 4% (Column 2 / non-NTR). The insular-possession band HTSUS 9816.00.40 is 1.5%. The personal-exemption provision is HTSUS 9804.00.65. hts.usitc.gov is JS-rendered (no text to the fetcher) and the Federal Register notice redirected to a CAPTCHA, so the rates were confirmed via corroborating HTS-data mirrors consistent with Federal Register notice 01-22112 (“Change in Flat Rate of Duty”).
  • CBP — “Know Before You Go” / “Types of Exemptions” for the $200 reduced-exemption amount and the alcohol/tobacco allowances. cbp.gov returned HTTP 403 to direct fetch, so those figures are carried from CBP page text surfaced via search and are labelled as such; the disqualification mechanics ($200 when under 48h or used within 30 days) are confirmed primary at 19 CFR 148.35 / 148.36.
  • Distinct-from-de-minimis basis: 19 CFR 10.151 (the commercial $800 de minimis) and Executive Order 14324 (the 2026 suspension) — named only to keep the two $800 figures separate.

General guidance and an estimate, not legal or customs advice. Your exemption, admissibility and duty are determined by CBP at the port of entry under 19 CFR Part 148 and the HTSUS. Confirm current allowances at CBP “Know Before You Go” before you travel.