Border cost bench
Duty and tax assessed on the landed value, as a band.
Most people price an order to the penny and then discover that duty is assessed on goods plus postage, not on goods alone.
Basis. Thresholds come from public customs summaries for eight destinations, each with a check date. Rates are bands by category because the exact rate depends on fibre, construction and the officer’s reading. Parameters last confirmed 2026-09-18.
Border cost bench
Duty threshold 135 GBP · tax threshold 135 GBP
- Landed value
- 220
- GBP
- Duty
- 17.6 – 37.4
- GBP
- Border total
- 65.12 – 88.88
- duty plus tax
| # | Line | Low | High |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Goods | 180 | 180 |
| 02 | Postage | 34 | 34 |
| 03 | Other charges | 6 | 6 |
| 04 | Duty | 17.6 | 37.4 |
| 05 | Local tax | 47.52 | 51.48 |
| ∑ | Total payable at the border (GBP) | 65.12 | 88.88 |
Duty is assessed on the landed value, which is why postage appears in the table even though it is not goods.
Above the threshold, so duty is assessed. Courier lines often add a flat brokerage fee that is not part of the duty itself.
Below the threshold, VAT is normally collected by the seller rather than at the border. Above it, duty and import VAT are both assessed on the landed value.
Thresholds and rate bands were last confirmed 2026-09-18. Rates are given as a band because the exact figure depends on fibre, construction and the officer's ruling — treat the output as a planning range.
Solid bars cannot be brought down by any choice on this page. Lighter bars can, and each one carries the lever that moves it.
Why the landed value is bigger than the price you paid
Duty is normally assessed on the value of the goods plus the cost of getting them there. Insurance and handling charges often join that total. A parcel that looks comfortably under a threshold on goods alone can cross it once postage is added.
| # | Line | Counts towards duty |
|---|---|---|
| 01 | Goods price | Yes |
| 02 | International postage | Usually yes |
| 03 | Insurance | Usually yes |
| 04 | Local handling or brokerage | Charged separately, after duty is assessed |
| 05 | A discount applied by the seller | Only if the declared value reflects it |
Thresholds and rates are two different tests
A destination can have no duty below a threshold and still charge consumption tax from the first unit of value. Two of the eight destinations on this bench behave that way, which is why the output separates the duty line from the tax line.
Where the tax rate varies by state or member state, the bench leaves it blank rather than inventing a national figure. The override box is a required input for those destinations, not an optional extra.
What to do with a band
A band tells you whether a quote is ordinary. If a courier asks for a border charge well above the top of the band for your category and value, the question worth asking is what rate they applied and to which value.
- Keep the warehouse weight slip and the declared value in one place before the parcel lands.
- If the parcel is close to a threshold, ask whether postage is being included in the declared value.
- For anything with a legal deadline, read the authority notice directly rather than the band.
Questions this gauge gets asked
| # | Question | Answer |
|---|---|---|
| 01 | Why is the rate a range and not one number? | Because tariffs set rates by material and construction. A cotton hoodie and a coated shell can sit at opposite ends of the same category band. |
| 02 | Does a low declared value help? | It changes what is assessed, and under-declaring is a customs offence with consequences that cost more than the duty. The bench is built to plan a legal declaration, not to avoid one. |
| 03 | What is a brokerage fee? | A charge by the courier for clearing the parcel, separate from the duty itself. It appears on the invoice even when the duty line is zero. |
These are written as ordinary headings and paragraphs rather than as marked-up questions, because marked-up questions no longer produce a richer result in search.
Entries this gauge pairs with
- How is duty assessed when postage is added to the price?
They look at the landed value: goods plus international postage plus any insurance or declared handling charge on that shipment. The threshold is compared against that total, not against the goods alone. Above the line, duty is assessed on the whole landed value, and tax is then computed on the value plus the duty.
- What joins the declared value, and what does not?
Goods, international postage and any insurance or declared handling charge join the figure that gets assessed. What does not: a courier’s brokerage or clearance fee, domestic onward delivery after arrival, and anything you later recover by reselling. The figure describes the consignment, not the whole order and not your intentions.
- How do you split an order across shipments without paying twice?
You do re-pay the fixed lines — handling, packing work and one border assessment per shipment — so a split only makes sense when it removes something larger: a rounding step, a threshold crossing or a wait. Split by what the parcels are, and record the split before anything ships.
Other gauges on the bench
- Landed-cost ladder
Three ways to move the same parcel, priced side by side.
- Parcel weight bench
Which of volume and mass is actually paying for the flight.
- Slip cross-check bench
Compare what the slip claims against what you measured.
- Transit window bench
Reported arrival windows with the sample count attached.