shipping from Canada to USA (NC) - taxes?

tradernick · #1 02-28-2013, 11:05 PM

Hi guys

Can anyone tell me whether a buyer in North Carolina receiving a FedEx Ground shipment from a shipper in Canada would be charged taxes? We here in Canada know that anything shipped up here from the US is subject to taxes, but I'm wondering about what happens when something goes to the USA. I am assuming that anything USA made does not get charge import duty (that would be bizarre).

**David Wilson** · #2 03-01-2013, 07:07 AM

anything that goes fedex/ups to canada from ups gets charged a brokerage fee that is charged to the recipient. If they don't pay it, the shipper is liable for it.

I don't know about the reverse scenario, but I'd imagine same would apply so make sure recipient is aware / agrees to pay brokerage fees.

As for taxes, if the bass is of North American origin there should be no import duties under Nafta.

But take this as one persons experience, not legal advice

tradernick · #3 03-01-2013, 08:28 AM

David, thanks a lot for the reply. Yes, duty won't be an issue. I'll talk to the buyer about the brokerage thing.

What I was really concerned about was actual sales tax, which is 7% in the buyer's city. It seems, though, that this will not be levied, if my information is correct.

blindrabbit · #4 03-03-2013, 08:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by David Wilson

anything that goes fedex/ups to canada from ups gets charged a brokerage fee that is charged to the recipient. If they don't pay it, the shipper is liable for it.

I don't know about the reverse scenario, but I'd imagine same would apply so make sure recipient is aware / agrees to pay brokerage fees.

As for taxes, if the bass is of North American origin there should be no import duties under Nafta.

But take this as one persons experience, not legal advice

My experiences are on the "US to Canada" end of things, but I'll guess there are some similarities.

Yes, couriers tend to take a brokerage fee, which is irrespective of duties and taxes. From experience, UPS is the worst in terms of how big their fee is - I've had UPS impose brokerage fees as high as $30 on a $100 pedal. This is one of the reasons now why I tend to recommend and also ask for exclusive use of Canada Post / USPS.

For items that are made in Canada or USA, we do have "free trade", so at least in theory there should be no duties to pay. If an item originated from another country, then you'll need to pay whatever duties that apply to the item as though it had been shipped straight into USA (or Canada).

As far as taxes go, if your state (or province or territory) or country has any sort of sales tax, be prepared for that to be imposed, especially if you used a courier.

Hopefully that's helpful. Shipping in between the two countries really isn't that different or scary, once you are aware of the expenses and potential pitfalls.

**awilkie84** · #5 03-16-2013, 02:06 PM

Shipping items as a gift can help with this, too.
I recently did a trade of hardware with another member in the US and neither of us paid duty/tax.

Datsgor · #6 03-26-2013, 02:02 PM

I received a bass shipped from Canada to California. I ended up having to write a check to the Fed Ex driver for some fees. These were separate from the shipping charges I paid.

tradernick · #7 03-26-2013, 02:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Datsgor

I received a bass shipped from Canada to California. I ended up having to write a check to the Fed Ex driver for some fees. These were separate from the shipping charges I paid.

Thanks for the info, and thanks to all who responded. I think the fees you paid were probably relatively small, like $30 or $40, right?

Just a quick update here. For my shipment from Toronto to North Carolina, there were no taxes assessed to the buyer, although because the value of the bass was more than $2000, FedEx required him to fill out a form which included his Social Security number. We did pay a brokerage fee to FedEx of around $40, but this beats the crap out of what we would have paid to UPS. Golden Rule #1 is this: never ship anything with UPS.

Hope this helps someone who is wondering about US buyers paying tax on a shipment from Canada. Of course, things could vary from state to state, but this was my experience shipping to NC.

Datsgor · #8 03-26-2013, 02:21 PM

I don't remember exactly, $30 to $40 sounds about right.

Quote:

Originally Posted by tradernick

Thanks for the info, and thanks to all who responded. I think the fees you paid were probably relatively small, like $30 or $40, right?

Just a quick update here. For my shipment from Toronto to North Carolina, there were no taxes assessed to the buyer, although because the value of the bass was more than $2000, FedEx required him to fill out a form which included his Social Security number. We did pay a brokerage fee to FedEx of around $40, but this beats the crap out of what we would have paid to UPS. Golden Rule #1 is this: never ship anything with UPS.

Hope this helps someone in the future who is wondering about US buyers paying tax on a shipment from Canada. Of course, things could vary from state to state, but this was my experience shipping to NC.