How Much are Canadian Duties?
The amount of Duty you will have to pay depends on the type of goods you are importing and the country where they were made. Also remember this is only part of the picture, as you may also have to pay PST or other types of taxes.
Notes on How the Duty is Calculated
Where specific products within a category of goods have different rates of duty, the highest rate has been used to produce the estimate. Personal exemptions, tariff classifications, tax rates, and many other things that affect the amount of duty change frequently so you may find that how much you pay changes over time.
You may also be interested to know that you only have to pay provincial tax if you’re arriving in the province in which you live. If you live in British Columbia but are going through customs in Alberta, you will only pay the GST. You are however, supposed to go to your own liquor board upon arriving in your province and pay the provincial taxes at that time.
Silver Lining to a Long Wait
If there can be any silver lining to being stuck in line for hours at the border it might be that Canadian officers are sometimes told to waive through travelers who owe duties on goods purchased in the U.S. This is done to keep the line moving. Obviously there is no guarantee this will happen and you are still required to declare all of your purchases.
Canadian Duty Calculator
The Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA) has a duty calculator you can use to estimate the amount of duty you will pay on various products you purchase in the U.S. and bring back across the border to Canada. Although this tool is provided by the CBSA, Canadian Customs is not bound by the estimate and does not guarantee its accuracy. The actual amount of duty you pay could be higher, or lower, than the amount shown. Having said that, this is a very useful way to get an idea of how much you will owe when you reach the border crossing.
You can compute the estimated Canadian duty on clothing, household appliances, automotive items, baby items, home furnishings, electronic equipment, food, health products, jewelry, movies, music, books sports equipment, toys and similar items.