The de minimis rule: what changed when the $800 exemption ended

Last updated: 2026-06-02

For years, the de minimis rule (19 USC §1321) let shipments valued at $800 or less enter the US free of duty and with minimal formality. For cross-border e-commerce and DTC brands shipping direct from overseas, it was foundational — it’s why a lot of low-value parcels arrived with no duty at all.

What changed

In 2025 the $800 de minimis treatment was suspended and then ended for the shipments most importers care about. The headline consequences:

• Low-value parcels are now dutiable. A shipment that previously cleared free now carries the full stacked duty for its HTS code and origin.
• More formality. Entries that used to ride the simplified de minimis lane now need proper classification and valuation.
• The math moved upstream. DTC sellers shipping direct from China especially can no longer treat duty as zero on sub-$800 orders.

Why it matters for your pricing

If your unit economics assumed duty-free entry under de minimis, they’re now wrong. A $40 item from China that used to land duty-free might now carry Section 301 + IEEPA + the reciprocal baseline — easily 50%+ in duty. That’s a margin event, not a rounding error.

Recalculate

Work out the new landed cost per SKU. Find the code with the HTS lookup, then run value, origin and freight through the landed-cost calculator. If most of your volume is from one country, the duties by country pages are a fast way to see the new exposure across an HS chapter. And read tariff stacking explained to understand which layers now apply.

Informational only — not customs advice. Classification and valuation decisions are the importer’s responsibility under 19 USC §1484. For binding rulings, file CBP Form 19; for declarations, consult a licensed customs broker.