Check if your import shipment qualifies for the $800 duty-free threshold under Section 321 (19 USC §1321) — updated for the 2025 China/HK elimination and textile exclusions.
China & Hong Kong: De Minimis ELIMINATED
Effective May 2, 2025, Executive Order 14256 eliminated the $800 de minimis exemption for goods from China and Hong Kong. ALL shipments — regardless of value — are now dutiable and subject to IEEPA tariffs of up to 145%.
The customs-declared value of the shipment in US dollars
De minimis exemption ELIMINATED for all goods from China as of May 2, 2025 (EO 14256). All shipments require formal customs entry.
📊 Estimated Duty Owed
Default: 7.5% estimated composite rate for China (MFN + applicable surcharges)
Estimated Duty
$500.00 × 7.5%
$37.50
January 20, 2025
Executive Order 14195 Signed
President Trump signed EO 14195 directing the elimination of de minimis treatment for goods subject to IEEPA tariffs from China. Implementation set for later date.
February 4, 2025
Initial Implementation Attempt
First attempt to eliminate de minimis for China/HK. Paused due to logistical challenges with CBP processing systems.
May 2, 2025
De Minimis Elimination Takes Effect
EO 14256 implemented the elimination of de minimis for China/HK. All postal and courier shipments now require formal entry and are subject to either a 120% ad valorem rate or a per-item fee ($100 per item, rising to $200 on June 1).
June 1, 2025
Per-Item Fee Increase
The per-item postal fee for Chinese de minimis shipments increases from $100 to $200 per item (alternative to the 120% ad valorem rate).
2025–2026
Broader De Minimis Reform Pending
The Trump administration has signaled potential reforms to the broader de minimis program beyond China/HK, including possible threshold reductions or category restrictions.
The de minimis exemption is one of the most important — and now most contested — provisions in U.S. customs law. Under Section 321 of the Tariff Act (codified at 19 USC §1321), goods valued at $800 or less can enter the United States duty-free without the need for a formal customs entry. For years, this provision enabled fast, cheap, and frictionless cross-border commerce. But in 2025, major policy shifts have fundamentally changed the landscape.
The de minimis threshold is the maximum value of a shipment that can enter the U.S. without paying duties or going through formal customs entry. The current threshold is $800 per shipment, per day, per importer. This was raised from just $200 by the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act of 2015 (TFTEA), effective March 10, 2016. The increase was designed to reduce customs processing burden and facilitate e-commerce, but it had far-reaching consequences that lawmakers didn't fully anticipate.
After the threshold increase to $800, de minimis shipments exploded. CBP processed an estimated 1 billion de minimis shipments in fiscal year 2023 alone — up from roughly 140 million in 2015. Platforms like Shein and Temu built entire business models around shipping individual packages directly from Chinese factories to U.S. consumers, each valued just under $800 to avoid duties. This meant billions of dollars in goods entered the U.S. duty-free while domestic retailers and traditional importers paid full tariffs on identical products. Congress and the executive branch viewed this as an untenable loophole.
On January 20, 2025, President Trump signed Executive Order 14195, directing the elimination of de minimis treatment for goods subject to IEEPA (International Emergency Economic Powers Act) tariffs from China. After an initial implementation attempt on February 4 was paused for logistical reasons, the elimination took full effect on May 2, 2025 under Executive Order 14256.
Under the new regime, all goods from China and Hong Kong — regardless of value — must undergo formal customs entry. Importers face a choice between paying the full ad valorem duty rate (which can reach 145% under combined IEEPA + Section 301 tariffs) or paying a simplified per-item postal fee of $100 per item (rising to $200 on June 1, 2025). This change has devastated direct-to-consumer platforms and forced a fundamental restructuring of cross-border e-commerce from China.
Even before the 2025 changes, certain product categories were never eligible for de minimis treatment. The most significant exclusion is textiles and apparel, which have been historically excluded under 19 CFR 10.151 due to complex quota, labeling, and country-of-origin requirements. Other excluded categories include goods subject to anti-dumping or countervailing duties, goods requiring FDA or other agency review, and goods subject to trade embargoes.
Food and agricultural products, while not categorically excluded, may face additional requirements from the FDA, USDA, or other agencies that effectively require formal entry even for shipments under $800. Electronics generally qualify for de minimis from non-China origins, but may be subject to FCC or other regulatory requirements.
Section 321 applies to both personal (B2C) and commercial (B2B) shipments, but CBP applies different levels of scrutiny. Personal shipments — items purchased by an individual consumer for their own use — generally receive straightforward de minimis treatment. Commercial shipments, however, are monitored for patterns that suggest abuse.
The most common enforcement action involves "split shipments" — the practice of breaking up a larger commercial order into multiple packages, each valued just under $800, to avoid duties. CBP has explicit authority to deny de minimis treatment when it determines that shipments are being artificially split. Importers who receive multiple shipments per day from the same vendor are flagged for additional review. If found to be splitting, the importer may be required to pay back duties plus penalties.
Determining your de minimis eligibility requires evaluating four key factors: (1) the country of origin, (2) the declared value of the shipment, (3) whether the shipment is personal or commercial, and (4) the product category. Our calculator above automates this analysis, but here is the decision framework:
When a shipment is not eligible for de minimis and requires formal customs entry, importers incur several fixed costs: customs broker fees (typically $150–$300 per entry), the Merchandise Processing Fee (MPF, typically 0.3464% of value with a minimum of $31.67), single entry bond premiums (typically $50–$100), and administrative costs. These costs add up to approximately $485 per entry on average, making de minimis eligibility particularly valuable for low-value shipments where the duty savings alone might be modest.
The China/HK elimination may be just the beginning. The Trump administration has signaled interest in broader de minimis reform, and several Congressional bills have been introduced to lower the threshold or add new restrictions. Key developments to watch include potential threshold reductions (from $800 to $200 or lower), extension of the de minimis elimination to other countries, new product category restrictions, and enhanced data requirements for all de minimis shipments. Importers should build contingency plans now for a world where de minimis coverage is significantly narrower than it has been since 2016.
The de minimis exemption (19 USC §1321, also called Section 321) allows goods valued at $800 or less to enter the United States duty-free without a formal customs entry. This threshold was raised from $200 to $800 by the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act of 2015, effective March 10, 2016.
No. Effective May 2, 2025, Executive Order 14256 eliminated the de minimis exemption for goods from China and Hong Kong. All shipments from these origins — regardless of value — now require formal customs entry and are subject to IEEPA tariffs of up to 145%, plus any applicable Section 301 tariffs.
Generally no. Textiles and apparel products have been historically excluded from de minimis informal entry under 19 CFR 10.151. These goods require formal entry regardless of value and are subject to textile-specific duties averaging 12%–32% depending on fiber content and construction.
Both personal and commercial shipments can qualify for de minimis, but CBP scrutinizes commercial shipments more heavily. Commercial importers shipping multiple packages per day from the same origin may be flagged for 'split shipments' — artificially breaking up larger orders to stay under the $800 threshold.
Shipments valued above $800 require formal customs entry through a licensed customs broker. You'll need to file a formal entry (CBP Form 3461), pay applicable duties and taxes, and potentially provide additional documentation such as commercial invoices, packing lists, and country-of-origin certificates.
Yes, as of 2025, the de minimis exemption still applies to goods from most countries including Mexico, Canada, Vietnam, India, the EU, Japan, South Korea, and others — as long as the shipment value is $800 or less and the product category is not excluded (e.g., textiles).
IEEPA (International Emergency Economic Powers Act) tariffs are emergency tariffs imposed under presidential authority. In 2025, IEEPA tariffs on Chinese goods reached 145%. Executive Order 14256 specifically eliminated de minimis treatment for IEEPA-covered goods, meaning these items are dutiable regardless of value.
De minimis eligibility saves you the applicable duty (typically 2.5%–25% depending on the product and origin), plus approximately $485 in formal entry costs including customs broker fees, merchandise processing fees, and bond premiums. For a $500 shipment with a 5% duty rate, that's roughly $510 in total savings.
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Disclaimer: This calculator provides estimates for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal, customs, or trade compliance advice. Tariff rates, de minimis rules, and executive orders may be updated without notice. Always verify eligibility with CBP or a licensed customs broker before making import decisions. Duty rate estimates are composites — actual rates depend on your specific HTS classification code.