Shipping to the US after de minimis: a guide for non-US sellers (2026)

Shipping to the US after de minimis means every order you sell to an American customer is dutiable, whatever its value, and someone has to pay that duty: you before it ships, or your customer at the door. The US$800 duty-free allowance for commercial shipments has been suspended for all countries since 29 August 2025, it's now suspended indefinitely in CBP's own regulations, and a statute repeals it outright from 1 July 2027. This guide sets out the dates from the official pages (all opened on 26 October 2026), then explains DDP and DAP, postal and courier routes, how Shopify collects duties, and the four practical ways to keep selling.

Where US de minimis stands today

US de minimis for goods you sell is switched off, and there's no date on which it comes back. The gift exemption still exists: CBP says bona fide gifts under US$100 and personal travel items remain unaffected. But a gift means one person sending to another, not a business order. Australia Post, for example, says business lodgements can't select "Gift" as the reason for export.

Here's the timeline, each date as printed on its official page:

Why the Supreme Court ruling didn't bring it back

On 20 February 2026 the Supreme Court decided Learning Resources, Inc. v. Trump, holding that IEEPA doesn't let the President impose tariffs. CBP's June 2026 rule notes that the decision "did not address the suspension of the de minimis administrative exemption." The same day, Executive Order 14388 kept the suspension going, effective 12:01 a.m. EST on 24 February 2026. CBP then wrote it into regulations, citing both the orders and its own authority under section 321 of the Tariff Act. So a court win against tariffs doesn't reopen duty-free shipping.

The 1 July 2027 statutory repeal

The repeal date is in the statute itself. Section 70531(b)(3) of Public Law 119-21 says the amendments striking the US$800 "any other case" exemption "shall take effect on July 1, 2027." From then on, a future administration couldn't simply lift the suspension; Congress would need to change the law.

What happened to the 28 February 2026 postal date

If you've read that postal rules switched on 28 February 2026, that was a scheduled date that never ran its course. Executive Order 14324 let postal carriers choose between an ad valorem duty and a flat duty of US$80, US$160 or US$200 per item, with the flat option available for six months. The tariff schedule note said the flat duty would end on 28 February 2026. But the annex to Executive Order 14388 deleted that whole note from 24 February 2026 and replaced it with a single ad valorem rate: the 10% surcharge in Proclamation 11012, which was imposed for 150 days. That postal rate was set to run until the surcharge expired or CBP's new postal entry process began, whichever came first. The new process began on 24 July 2026.

DDP vs DAP: what your customer sees at the door

DDP means you pay the import costs; DAP means your customer does. Shopify's help page defines them plainly: under DDP "the seller assumes responsibility for any import costs," and under DAP the seller "is only responsible for shipping the product," so "the customer is responsible for paying any import costs to the shipping carrier."

For the customer, the difference is the whole experience:

• DDP: they pay one total at checkout, and the parcel arrives with nothing more to pay.
• DAP: they pay you for the product and shipping, then get a bill from the carrier before or at delivery. Shopify notes that some carriers charge extra for collecting duties on delivery when they weren't paid in advance.

The carrier's own clearance charge sits on top of the duty. Shopify's customs fees page says a brokerage or disbursement fee "is the carrier's, not a customs charge," and it isn't included in the duties Shopify calculates at checkout.

When de minimis covered most orders under US$800, DAP was mostly invisible to American buyers. Now it isn't, and a surprise bill at the door is a fast way to turn US orders into refused parcels and refund requests.

Postal vs express courier routes

Postal and courier parcels now go through different CBP processes, and the postal one leans hard towards DDP.

Postal parcels

Since 24 July 2026, CBP's postal rule says CBP officers no longer prepare entries for these mail parcels, and "duties will not be collected upon delivery of such shipments to addressees." Instead, a filer (the owner or purchaser of the goods, or a licensed customs broker they appoint) needs a customs bond, sends CBP a spreadsheet with the 10-digit HTSUS code, country of origin, value and duty owed, and pays through Pay.gov by the 7th of the month after arrival. The new process covers mail shipments up to US$2,500.

In practice, your national post does this through an approved third party, and you pay before the parcel leaves:

• Australia Post says US duties must be paid to CBP by the sender, not the receiver. Business customers set up a Zonos Verified Account, which charges a handling fee of 10% of payable duties plus a flat admin fee. From 24 July 2026 it needs a 10-digit HS code on US parcels and may return items without one. Shipments over US$2,500 still leave the receiver to pay.
• Canada Post requires a 13-character Declaration ID before it will print a US label, created through Zonos. It lists a $1.99 remittance fee plus 10% of calculated duties for Zonos Verified Accounts. When we checked, that page still described the August 2025 rules and hadn't mentioned the July 2026 changes, so confirm the current process with Canada Post.

We couldn't load Royal Mail's own pages on 26 October 2026 (they returned errors), so we've left out its US details. Check royalmail.com directly if you ship from the UK.

The 20 January 2027 change for some postal goods

Not every product can use the simple postal process. CBP's rule excludes goods facing duties under HTSUS chapters 98 or 99, goods subject to partner government agency requirements (Australia Post names FDA and CPSC as examples), and goods claiming free trade agreement treatment. From 20 January 2027, CBP says postal shipments subject to Section 201, 232 or 301 duty, or under a partner agency's jurisdiction, must be filed electronically through Entry Type 13, or else go through formal entry. That date was moved from 22 October 2026 by a rule published on 22 October 2026. CBP says there are no changes to mail entry procedures before then. Its voluntary Entry Type 13 test, running since 22 September 2026, was widened on 22 October 2026 so a filer can send an Entry Type 13 without complete electronic partner agency data while they get ready to send all of it.

If your products are regulated by a US agency or could face Section 232 or 301 duties, ask your post now whether they fall into this group.

Express couriers

Courier parcels under US$800 now go through normal entry like any other import. CBP's rule for non-postal shipments says they "must utilize formal or informal entry procedures." Its e-commerce FAQ says informal entry is generally allowed for shipments of US$2,500 or less, and formal entry is required above that. Express couriers generally arrange the entry for you as part of the service, and your shipping terms decide whether the duty and its fee are billed to you or your customer.

Most of the volume was never postal anyway: CBP said in August 2025 that only 5% of de minimis shipments came through the mail.

We tried to check DHL, UPS and FedEx's own US duty pages on 26 October 2026, but they either blocked us or timed out, so we haven't quoted their fees or billing options. Ask your account manager for the current DDP surcharge and the fee your customer pays when duties are left unpaid.

How Shopify sellers collect duties at checkout

Shopify can add duties and import taxes to the checkout total so you ship DDP. Its help page lists the conditions: your products need HS codes, you can't use Shopify Fulfillment Network, and if you buy labels through Shopify, your carrier must support DDP labels. You switch it on in Settings, then Taxes and duties, then Set up under Duties and import taxes.

What it costs and covers:

• Fees: 0.85% of the order with Shopify Payments, or 1.5% with another gateway. The page says that from 2 February 2025 the fee was "temporarily lowered to 0.5%" for all merchants, with no end date given, so check your admin.
• Labels: Shopify's carrier list for DDP labels bought through Shopify is Canada Post (US destinations only), DHL Express, DHL Express Canada and DHL eCommerce. With any other carrier, you can't buy a Shopify label for an order where duties were collected; you buy it elsewhere.
• Accuracy: checkout amounts are estimates, and carrier brokerage fees aren't included. You collect the money; your carrier or postal partner still has to remit it to CBP.

There's also Managed Markets, where Global-e acts as merchant of record and the duties shown at checkout are guaranteed. It costs 3.25% per transaction on Shopify Plus or 3.5% on Basic, Grow or Advanced, plus currency conversion. Shopify says it's available to businesses in the continental US and to certain stores in Canada and the UK, so many non-US sellers won't qualify. Our guide to merchant of record vs Stripe explains what handing over that role means for your margins and refunds.

Your four practical options

You have four realistic ways to keep selling to US customers, and most growing brands move from the first two to the third as volume builds.

1. Price duties in. Raise US prices to absorb the duty, ship DDP, and advertise "no extra fees on delivery." Simple for customers, but you carry the risk if rates change.
2. Collect at checkout. Show duties as a separate line using Shopify's duty feature or your post's tool. Prices stay comparable, and customers see exactly what they're paying.
3. Ship in bulk to a US 3PL. Send stock by freight to a US fulfilment warehouse, clear it once under formal entry (shipments over US$2,500), then ship orders domestically. Parcels then never cross a border, so there's no duty step for the customer. You need an importer of record and a customs broker, and you fund stock in advance.
4. Set up a US entity. A US company can act as importer of record, hold the 3PL contract, and open US bank and payment accounts. It adds tax filings and running costs, so it usually follows option 3 rather than leading it. See setting up a US LLC as a non-US founder and where to incorporate as a remote founder.

What's coming next

More paperwork is on the way. On 8 October 2026 CBP proposed a Low-Value Shipments rule that would change filing for informal entries of US$2,500 or less, create a new electronic informal entry type for mail, add a data element for carriers on mail shipments and require bonds for certain informal entries. Comments close on 7 December 2026. It's a proposal, not a rule yet, but it points one way: more data per parcel, not less.

If you ship from Bali or elsewhere in Indonesia, the same US rules apply to your parcels; ask your courier for its DDP option and your HS codes before you quote US prices. For local founder events, see Bali Startup & Tech.

Common mistakes

The most expensive mistake is shipping DAP to customers who expect a duty-free parcel, then eating the refund when they refuse the bill. Others to avoid:

• Trusting old blog posts. Many still quote the US$80 to US$200 per-item postal duty, which was replaced from 24 February 2026, or say the postal change happened on 28 February 2026. Check the date on any page you rely on.
• Assuming the Supreme Court ruling restored de minimis. It struck down IEEPA tariffs, not the suspension, and the statute ends commercial de minimis on 1 July 2027 regardless.
• Marking orders as gifts. The gift exemption is for a person sending to another person, under US$100. Business shipments aren't gifts, and Australia Post won't let business lodgements select it.
• Using 6-digit HS codes. CBP's postal process asks for 10-digit HTSUS codes, and Australia Post may return US parcels without one.
• Forgetting the carrier's fee. Duty isn't the only charge. Brokerage and disbursement fees belong to the carrier and aren't in Shopify's checkout estimate.
• Missing the 20 January 2027 date. If your goods face Section 232 or 301 duties or partner agency rules, the simple postal route stops working for them on that date.
• Setting up a US company first. An LLC doesn't remove duty. It helps once you're importing stock in bulk, not before.

To compare notes with other founders selling across borders, join Remote Builders (it's free). For more ecommerce-specific groups, see our guide to communities for ecommerce founders.