You don’t need a customs degree to estimate what a shipment costs at the border — but you do need to stop treating “tariff” as a single number. Here’s the breakdown that actually matters in 2026.

What you pay, line by line

Most people hear “the tariff is 16.5%” and stop. That’s the MFN (most-favored-nation) base rate. It’s rarely the whole story:

• MFN base duty — the standard rate from the destination country’s tariff schedule.
• Additional duties — country-of-origin surcharges. The big one right now is the US Section 301 tariff on China-origin goods (often +25%, sometimes more). The EU runs anti-dumping duties on specific products.
• VAT / GST — charged on (value + duty) in most countries. The US is the exception: no federal import VAT.
• De minimis — the threshold below which duty is waived. The US cancelled its $800 de minimis for China-origin goods in 2025 and is phasing it out broadly, so assume duty applies.

A worked example: $1,000 of cotton t-shirts from China to the US

HS code 610910 (cotton knitted t-shirts):

1. Value: $1,000
2. MFN duty: 16.5% → $165
3. Section 301 (China origin): +25% → $250
4. Total duty: $415 (41.5% combined)
5. No de minimis (cancelled) → full duty applies
6. US has no import VAT → landed cost before freight: $1,415

That’s a 41.5% hit most “duty calculators” silently miss because they only show the base rate.

Country notes

• United States — base rates via HTS; Section 301 surcharges on China; no federal VAT; de minimis effectively gone for China-origin and shrinking elsewhere.
• European Union — TARIC rates; VAT typically 19–21% on (value + duty); anti-dumping on select lines; low-value consignment rules changed, verify current thresholds.
• United Kingdom — UK Integrated Online Tariff; 20% VAT; many lines at 0–12% MFN.
• China — import VAT 13%; MFN duties vary by chapter; preferential rates under FTAs.

Verify before you ship

Rates move. A 2026 number can be wrong by the time your container sails. Always confirm against the official source for the exact subheading, and for anything high-value, talk to a licensed customs broker. Treat any online estimate — including ours — as a planning figure, not a quote.

Do the math per HS code

Our HS code tool pulls the reference MFN, additional, and VAT rates for a product across the US, EU, UK, and China, then runs the landed-cost math so you’re not hand-multiplying percentages.