There is no single rate, and anyone who gives you one is guessing. Customs duty depends on the commodity code of what you bought, and on whether the goods value is above £135. Import VAT at 20% applies to almost everything, and it is charged on the customs value plus the duty — so the tax is calculated on a bigger number than most buyers expect.
Import VAT is the part that catches people, because it is not optional and it is not avoided by a small parcel.
| Consignment (goods-only value) | Customs duty | Import VAT |
|---|---|---|
| At or below £135 | Normally none | Due, but for consumer orders it is usually charged by the seller or marketplace at checkout rather than at the border |
| Above £135 | Charged at the rate for the commodity code | Charged at the border on the customs value plus the duty |
| Excise goods (alcohol, tobacco) | Excise duty at any value | Due at any value — the £135 line does not apply |
| Genuine gifts between individuals, £39 or less | None | None |
Two details worth knowing: the £135 is measured on the intrinsic value of the goods alone, excluding postage and insurance, and it applies to the whole consignment, not to each item. Three items of £60 in one box are a £180 consignment, not three small ones.
Step 4 is the one people miss. Because the duty sits inside the VAT base, you pay VAT on the duty. And not everything is 20%: some categories are zero-rated or reduced-rated, but a zero VAT rate does not remove customs duty.
Say you import goods worth £200 with £50 of freight and insurance, and the commodity code carries a 4% rate. The arithmetic is illustrative; your own rate comes from the tariff.
| Line | Calculation | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Goods value | — | £200 |
| Freight and insurance | — | £50 |
| Customs value | 200 + 50 | £250 |
| Customs duty at 4% | 250 × 4% | £10 |
| Import VAT at 20% | (250 + 10) × 20% | £52 |
| Tax total | 10 + 52 | £62 |
| Plus carrier handling fee | varies by carrier | often a flat fee in the region of £8 to £15 |
Note what happened to the freight: it was taxed too. A buyer who budgets “4% on £200” is short by roughly a third before VAT is even considered.
Rates are set per commodity code, so the honest answer to “what percentage” is “look up your code”. The shape of it:
Find the rate on the official UK Trade Tariff service, using the commodity code and the country of origin. That is also where you confirm whether an anti-dumping measure applies.
Two things change:
The £135 customs duty relief has been under review, and the government has announced an intention to remove it, with the change not taking effect until the end of the decade at the earliest. Treat £135 as the current threshold and verify it before you build a price list around it. Tax thresholds in this area have moved repeatedly in recent years, which is exactly why this page gives you the method rather than a fixed number.
| Mistake | Why it costs you |
|---|---|
| Budgeting duty on the sticker price | Freight and insurance are inside the customs value, so the base is larger than the goods price |
| Forgetting VAT is charged on the duty | The duty sits in the VAT base, so tax is charged on tax |
| Treating £135 as tax-free | Duty is relieved, but VAT was usually collected at checkout |
| Measuring £135 including postage | The threshold is on the goods-only value, and on the whole consignment |
| Guessing the commodity code | Wrong codes cause delays, underpaid duty and penalties |
| Asking the seller to declare a lower value | Under-declaration is a penalty risk, not a saving, and it can void insurance |
| Ignoring the carrier handling fee | On a cheap parcel the fee can be a large share of the total |
No. Customs duty is set by the commodity code for the specific product, so two parcels of the same value can carry very different duty. Many finished consumer goods fall in the low single digits up to around twelve percent, while some categories such as clothing run higher, and a few China-origin products carry additional anti-dumping duty. Look the code up on the UK Trade Tariff rather than assuming a percentage.
Usually no customs duty, because consignments with a goods-only value at or below £135 are relieved of duty. Import VAT is still due, but for consumer orders it is normally charged by the seller or marketplace at checkout instead of at the border. So a cheap parcel is rarely tax free, the tax has simply been collected earlier.
On the customs value, which is built from the price paid for the goods plus transport and insurance to the UK border, commonly referred to as a CIF-style value. Import VAT is then charged on that customs value plus the duty itself, which means you effectively pay VAT on the duty. A low declared value that omits freight is under-declaring, not saving money.
That is a private clearance or handling fee, not a government tax. The UK does not add a government import processing charge, but the carrier or broker charges for clearing the parcel and advancing the duty and VAT on your behalf. On a low-value parcel this fee can be a large share of what you pay, so factor it in before ordering something cheap.
Importing into the UK and want the number before you order? Send me the product links and quantities. I quote goods, freight and my service fee as one figure, declare at the true value, and flag the commodity code questions before anything ships — so you are not surprised by a bill three weeks later.
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