Don't forget to back out the VAT tax paid when listing out your purchases! If it is 20% VAT and you paid a total of $1000 then you should value the item at $800 as you don't pay duty on tax, only goods.
US Customs discussion - airports, importing
- Thread starter esyee
- Start date
This is exactly what I did.
I didn't necessarily write out how many but I basically had another sheet that showed the total price for the category MINUS the VAT and how I came up with the total. I then showed the Euro to USD conversion so that they could see how I came up with all math.
None of the agents cared to see the detailed list but basically they saw that I had done the work and trusted it.
I agree with the other poster that having multiple categories seems to really mean a lot more work so they just did the flat amount versus looking it all up. If I only had leather bags I think I would have just gotten the 9% tax.
I typically arrive through NYC (EWR or JFK) and when I came back in March, a male agent asked if purchased any bag or shoes since while I was in Paris and my honest answer was nothing since I got the flu 2 days before my departure and could barely standup straight. lol he told me to feel better. that was a first honest answer in 20 years of international travels!! normally I would be packing all kinds of goodies and only enough, had never been asked that question.
I want to add my experience to this thread.
I was travelling back from Paris with a friend and we came through JFK. I had bought a few items and my friend bought a few items for friends. At the customs kiosk, we both declared an estimated amount of what we bought minus the VAT refund (should have done total minus all VAT
) When I walked up to the customs agent, I got waved through instantly. My friend went right after me to the same agent and got pulled out of the line to talk to another agent. She stayed there for an hour to go through all her bags and purchases. The customs agent said that because she was honest, they would charge her only 3% versus the normal 9% on leather goods.
It really seems to depend on luck at this point since nothing seems to be consistent even at the same airport with the same exact agent checking within minutes of each other!
I was travelling back from Paris with a friend and we came through JFK. I had bought a few items and my friend bought a few items for friends. At the customs kiosk, we both declared an estimated amount of what we bought minus the VAT refund (should have done total minus all VAT
) When I walked up to the customs agent, I got waved through instantly. My friend went right after me to the same agent and got pulled out of the line to talk to another agent. She stayed there for an hour to go through all her bags and purchases. The customs agent said that because she was honest, they would charge her only 3% versus the normal 9% on leather goods.It really seems to depend on luck at this point since nothing seems to be consistent even at the same airport with the same exact agent checking within minutes of each other!
Don't forget to back out the VAT tax paid when listing out your purchases! If it is 20% VAT and you paid a total of $1000 then you should value the item at $800 as you don't pay duty on tax, only goods.
I was traveling with friends recently and we have this exact discussion -- whether it is appropriate to back out VAT. In my calculation I deducted the amount of the VAT refund, not the full VAT . I'm glad I read your post because now that I think about it, I totally agree it should be the full VAT!! Thanks for posting this!
I think we've seen in this thread that there is a lot of variability among locations and even among agents at a specific location . So matter what we say here , your experience may end up being different .
When I came through Detroit recently I was asked if I had my receipts and I said no without really thinking it through. I did have my receipts but they were buried in my suitcase and I didn't want to dig them out. These guys (I had two!) were very, very serious and I momentarily regretted my answer. But they just said OK and moved onto the next question .
Since that time I always make sure I have my receipts where I can get to them easily. However, it is my impression from reading this thread that they generally don't asked to look at the receipts -- they just ask if you have them.
I completely agree. I was one of the first people off of the plane, one of the first people through Global Entry, and I had a meat product. I KNEW the chance of my escaping notice would be slim especially since when we landed we were the ONLY international flight coming in - the Frankfurt flight had already managed to get through customs.
I just tried to remain super upbeat and happy. In fact when I was with the first customs agent (the guy who sees your global entry print out) a couple French folks came over to the line confused as to what to do. An elderly couple did not understand english so I translated in french and pointed out where they needed to go. The customs/border patrol agent thanked me quite a bit since he felt like they were just not "getting" what he was saying. It was at that point where I could tell he didn't want me to get "nailed" by a lot of taxes. He lowered his voice and said he was hoping whoever it was in the back that I got assigned to would just give me a generic rate versus the full rate that the items could get.
When I did make it to the secondary inspection area - they could have taken all of the time in the world with me since there were 3 free inspectors and only 2 of us having to see them. So once again, I just tried to be super chipper, super happy, gracious, answered everything with candor and full clarity without zero attitude. And when he said he would do the flat 3% I expressed sincere gratitude because let me tell you I WAS VERY GRATEFUL!
I'm sharing my experience with SFO. We were traveling with toddler so I know it's soeasy for us to get away but I didn't want to cheat on the system, so I declared everything on the sheet and put them on aside in bags with receipts on top of each box. The first agent seemed cold and she asked randomly questions about our trip and put some red signs on the back of our forms and told us to see the agent on the way out to claim our baggage. We got our baggages and was guided to see the inspection counter where there's about 3 agents there and there's a girl and a guy in front of us waiting for their turns. The Agent who checked on us was very friendly, he asked if there's anything else and what kind of material each items and the prices,....I told him whatever needed to be declared are already there in boxes and receipts included, then he said you guys are done, you can go now
I guess either we didn't shop enough or they valued our honestly lol, but overall it's a good experience with SFO.
I guess either we didn't shop enough or they valued our honestly lol, but overall it's a good experience with SFO.
Miami. Declared. Friendly officer asked me what I bought and then asked what brand it was. Not a good sign. Then he directed me to someone who escorted me to the path for additional inspection. I knew i was going to pay. When I got to the area there were three agents and no one else around. So I guess no one else declaring lol. They asked me what I bought and what was the most expensive item. One guy took control and said "she's honest, just charge her 5%". When I went to pay the cashier he seemed like he felt bad that I had to pay.
To add, they did not ask for receipts or to see anything.
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Hi everyone, I was wondering if any of you are non-american but fly thru USA in order to go to Europe.
I'm from South America, I do not hold a USA passport/residency/etc, and I'm planning my trip to Europa thru USA (ofcourse i will do some shopping in EU). Do I still have to declare it at the US customs if i'm just in transit (for 2 days) in the USA (Miami to be specific). I will ofcourse show my return ticket to my home country....
My other flying option is to fly out directly from south america (it would be a very long flight), thus, have any of you had to declare your good in any of the Latin countries..........?
I'm from South America, I do not hold a USA passport/residency/etc, and I'm planning my trip to Europa thru USA (ofcourse i will do some shopping in EU). Do I still have to declare it at the US customs if i'm just in transit (for 2 days) in the USA (Miami to be specific). I will ofcourse show my return ticket to my home country....
My other flying option is to fly out directly from south america (it would be a very long flight), thus, have any of you had to declare your good in any of the Latin countries..........?
I have no idea what the rules are on that. Miami is thorough so be prepared for all scenarios. For Latin America, you would have to look up the rules for each country. It would not be that much longer in terms of total travel time to go direct from Latinamerica because you will have to allow extra time in Miami for transfer Even transfer takes long time in that airport as gates can be far apart. Enjoy your trip!
I wish I was lucky as you. I found guys are much more friendlier and accommodating than female agents.
I came back from Paris in January. At O'Hare Chicago, I declared everything I bought, a total of 18,000 Euro (more or less, can't remember now), including a Kelly and a skeleton bag from Petite H. I took a lot of efforts breaking down my purchases into categories and writing on a piece of paper as suggested here. Unfortunately, I ran into two female agents. I almost felt they were jealous about the money I could spend. They kept me there for more than one hour, checked on their computer individual tax rate on every single category I listed on the paper, and asked me many questions. They did not give me any break. I ended up paying more than $1,200 for the duty.
On the other hand, my friend, who traveled with me at same time, declared slightly less amount than mine, including a Kelly, a Chanel WOC and a LV speedy. The amount she spent on leather bags were actually more than mine. She also wrote everything on a piece of paper. Although the male agent asked her about receipts, he specifically told my friend that he appreciated her honesty and would only charge half of the duty rate for her bag purchases. My friend only needed to pay $600 and got out half hour earlier than I did.
I felt I got penalized by honestly listing and declaring everything. It's a very bad experience. I am not sure I'd do this any more.
Not sure I understand your complaint. You complied with the law and paid the taxes required by law. If you do try to evade this process in the future, you risk being held for hours, charged taxes AND penalties, and being held for examination every time you return to the country. This has happened to more than one person I know who thought they could outsmart the agents. Not a good move IMHO.
Does anyone know how "import" is defined? Does it apply to whatever are brought into the country or only when the goods are staying in the country? What if someone's traveling around the world and have a stop in the U.S., not talking about just a stop-over at the airport, but everything leaves with him / her when he / she is gone? Do we also have to report the items in this case?