Import Cost Calculator

The full cost of importing a shipment — duty, brokerage, port charges, inland delivery and import tax — with the tax kept separate because for most importers it is recoverable.

Enter Your Import Costs

CIF value of the shipment ($)

Quantity (pieces)

Import duty rate (%)

Import tax rate — VAT / GST (%)

Customs brokerage ($)

Destination port charges ($)

Inland delivery ($)

Your Import Cost

CIF value —

Import duty —

Import tax (recoverable when registered) —

              Import cost, tax excluded
              —
            

              Cash needed at clearance
              —
            

Import cost per piece —

Next step

Landed cost per unitThe same import charges, expressed per unit.
Compare supplier quotesRank quotes on landed cost per unit, not on unit price.
Work back to the CIF valueThe CIF value these charges are assessed on.

All free tools on this site. No account, no sign-up, nothing to pay.

Basic or Advanced?

Basic — the landed cost calculator

CIF value + duty + destination port charges + inland delivery. Four inputs, one total. Use the landed cost calculator when you want the headline number quickly and tax is not part of the question.

Advanced — this page

Adds customs brokerage and import tax, and splits the tax out from the cost instead of burying it in the total. Use it when you are pricing a landed cost for resale, or working out the cash a clearance will actually demand.

Why tax is broken out

Duty is a cost. Import VAT or GST is usually recoverable by a registered importer, so it is a cash-flow item rather than a cost of goods. Adding it to the landed cost overstates what the goods cost you.

Why the base matters

Import tax here is charged on the CIF value plus duty, which is how most jurisdictions compute it. Duty therefore increases the amount of tax, and the two compound.

A Worked Example

A shipment with a CIF value of $8,568.22, 1,000 pieces, duty at 6%, brokerage $150, destination port charges $240, inland delivery $320, and import tax at 20%.

CIF value	$8,568.22
Import duty at 6%	$514.09
Customs brokerage	$150.00
Destination port charges	$240.00
Inland delivery	$320.00
Import cost, tax excluded	$9,792.31
Import tax at 20% on $9,082.31	$1,816.46
Cash needed at clearance	$11,608.78

Three things this example makes visible. Brokerage is a real cost and it is easy to leave out — $150 is small against this shipment, but on a low-value consignment it can exceed the duty. The tax is the largest single line at $1,816.46: if you are registered and can recover it, your import cost is $9,792.31 and the tax is a timing cost, not a cost of goods. If you cannot recover it, your import cost is $11,608.78 — 18.5% higher. The tax base is not the CIF value. Tax was charged on $9,082.31, the CIF value plus duty, not on $8,568.22.

Per piece, the tax-excluded import cost is $9.79. That is the figure to compare against your selling price, not the CIF unit price of $8.57.

Where the Rates Come From

This calculator contains no tariff data and does not guess one. Duty and tax rates depend on your product's HS classification, its origin, and the trade agreements in force — and a wrong rate produces a confidently wrong answer.

Import duty: look up your HS code in the destination country's official tariff. The EU publishes its tariff through TARIC, the United States through the Harmonized Tariff Schedule published by the USITC, and most other customs authorities publish an equivalent. Your customs broker will classify the goods for you if you are unsure.
Import tax: the standard VAT or GST rate in the destination country, applied to the customs value plus duty.
Port charges, brokerage and inland delivery: ask your forwarder or broker. These are commercial charges, not published rates, and they vary by port and by shipment size.

Not everywhere assesses duty on the CIF value. The United States generally uses the transaction value of the goods, which normally excludes international freight and insurance — so for a US import, entering a CIF figure as the duty base will overstate the duty. Check your own country's valuation rule, and see the landed cost calculator for the fuller note on this.

Landed cost calculator — the basic four-input version.
CIF calculator — produce the CIF value that duty is assessed on.
CIF vs DDP — who pays duty and tax, and why import VAT decides whether DDP is workable.
Incoterms 2020 explained — where these costs fall under each rule.

The formulas and assumptions used on this site are documented on the methodology page.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is import cost?

The total cost of bringing goods into a country and getting them to your premises: the value of the goods plus freight and insurance (the CIF value), plus import duty, brokerage, port charges and inland delivery. Import tax is added on top where it applies.

Is import tax part of the landed cost?

Usually not, in economic terms. VAT and GST at import are normally recoverable by a registered importer, so they are a cash-flow cost rather than a cost of the goods. This calculator reports them separately so you can decide which treatment applies to you.

Is duty calculated on the CIF value or the FOB value?

It depends on the country. Many use the CIF value; the United States generally uses the transaction value, which normally excludes international freight and insurance. Enter the base your own customs authority uses.

How do I find the duty rate for my product?

From your product's HS code in the destination country's official tariff. Your customs broker can classify the goods, and the classification — not the invoice description — determines the rate.

Why does this calculator ask me for the rate instead of looking it up?

Because duty rates depend on the HS code, the origin and the applicable trade agreements, and a built-in rate table would be wrong for most users while looking authoritative. Your own rate is the only accurate one.