Import Duty Exemptions for Travelers

Very helpful. Thanks

Yeah, the other thread on this topic turned into a mess, but if you read the executive order, it only refers to shipments through the "International Postal Network"

The $800 exemption covered small shipments through the mail and other carriers, making the postal system much more efficient Lots will be affected, but not what you physically carry back while traveling.

There are murmurings though of stricter enforcement of the $800 limit and payment of duties, maybe a return to the old forms, or closer questioning of what you have.

Thanks for this article, Laurel. I am traveling to Greece in October and will likely return home with more than $200 worth of items for personal use. I was a little concerned about delays (which may still happen due to confusion). The $800 exemption gives me more breathing room. I'm sure we will hear more on this topic in the coming weeks.

I’m not worried about the $ amount exempted when returning home, I’m more concerned with mailing personal items home. We leave for Europe tomorrow and arrive home on November 17, and we will be in various climates over the 11 weeks. I was hoping to ship a package home about 7 weeks into the trip before we leave Paris. I just want to offload some things that are useful in warm weather but not needed as things cool down. These would be used items that we originally brought from home. I worry about the possibility of doing this and any additional cost involved. We did this in France 3 years ago and the process was easy at that time.

Andrea, It should still work identifying the shipment as used personal clothing. Really, you are doing nothing more than you would in checking a bag on your flight. BUT, you might go to a place like MailBoxes, Etc. They can fill out the form appropriately. Or perhaps a service like Send My Bag, although that’s pretty expensive.

Thanks Laurel. Using the French postal system is fairly inexpensive, but I might have to resort to another method if comes down to that. I will have time to search out options because we will be in Paris for a month. Off the subject, but we will be arriving in Wengen on Friday and I’m looking forward to using your book to determine our hikes.