The end of the $800 de minimis exemption: what every ecommerce seller must do now

For almost a decade, a parcel worth $800 or less could enter the United States with no duty and almost no data. Section 321 of the Tariff Act made that possible, and it built the cross-border ecommerce model: ship single orders from a warehouse in Shenzhen, Toronto or London straight to the customer. That model now pays duty on every parcel. This article explains what happened, what rules apply as of October 22, 2026, and what to change in your business.

How de minimis ended

Many sellers expected de minimis to come back after the Supreme Court ruled in Learning Resources v. Trump on February 20, 2026 that IEEPA does not authorize tariffs. It did not come back. The suspension is not a tariff, and the government moved it onto a separate footing the same day. On August 13, 2026 the Court of International Trade upheld the suspension in Axle of Dearborn v. Department of Commerce (Slip Op. 26-94), finding that IEEPA lets the President suspend a privilege like de minimis. Part of that case is still open and we have not found an appeal decision, so treat the litigation as unfinished. In practice, plan as if duty-free parcels are gone for good, because by July 2027 the statute removes them anyway.

What a parcel needs now

Without de minimis, low-value goods clear through the ordinary entry types. "Release from manifest" is no longer available for these shipments, and CBP's Entry Type 86 test for low-value goods has been suspended since September 2025.

• Value of $2,500 or less: informal entry (Type 11) is usually allowed. It is faster and cheaper than formal entry, but it still needs the 10-digit HTS code, country of origin, value and the duty paid.
• Value over $2,500: formal entry under 19 U.S.C. 1484, with a customs bond and the Merchandise Processing Fee at formal rates.
• Goods subject to extra duties or agency rules: CBP can require formal entry at any value. Chapter 99 goods over $250 generally need formal entry, which catches many Section 301 and Section 232 products.

The duty itself is the same as for a container load. A $30 cotton T-shirt pays the same rate as a pallet of them:

Postal shipments have their own rules

Mail moves through the U.S. Postal Service, not a courier, so CBP built a separate process. From August 29, 2025, carriers could choose either the ad valorem duty or a flat per-item duty of $80, $160 or $200 depending on the country's tariff rate. The flat option was only temporary, ran for six months, and CBP says every qualified party actually chose ad valorem. After the IEEPA ruling, the interim postal rate was tied to the 10% Section 122 surcharge, which expired on July 24, 2026.

Since July 24, 2026, mail shipments pay all applicable duties based on the 10-digit HTS code and country of origin. Key points of the new postal informal entry process:

• Only the owner or purchaser of the goods, or a licensed customs broker, can file. The earlier non-broker "qualified parties" are gone.
• The filer needs a basic importation bond.
• Shipment data goes on CBP's International Mail Duty Worksheet, and duty is paid through Pay.gov, both by the 7th of the month after arrival.
• Goods subject to Section 232 or 301 duties, antidumping or countervailing duties, quotas, partner agency requirements, or a trade agreement claim must use formal entry instead.
• October 22, 2026 is the compliance date for certain of these provisions. A voluntary electronic "Type 13" mail entry test started on September 22, 2026.

We could not find a published flat postal duty rate after July 24, 2026, and you should be wary of any article quoting one. The rule is: the normal duty for the product and origin.

Who pays: DDP or DDU

The duty is owed by the importer of record. Who that is depends on your shipping terms.

For most direct-to-consumer brands, DDP wins. A buyer who ordered a $40 jacket will often refuse a $12 duty bill plus a carrier fee. Carriers set their own brokerage and disbursement fees, and they change often, so check the current published surcharge page for UPS, FedEx, DHL or your postal partner before you model costs.

A worked example

A Shopify store ships a $60 order from its warehouse in Vietnam: two women's cotton T-shirts at $20 each and a $20 base metal necklace. Under de minimis, this parcel paid nothing. Here is the base duty now:

Vietnam is in the 12.5% band of the Section 301 action that took effect July 24, 2026, which would add $7.50 on $60 of goods. Add the FY2027 informal entry Merchandise Processing Fee of $2.77 for an automated entry, and the government's share is about $19 on a $60 order. That is 32% of the order value before any broker fee. If your margins assumed zero duty, they are wrong.

What to do now: a checklist

1. Classify every SKU to 10 digits. Store the code, the reasoning and the material breakdown in your product data. Customs entries for low-value goods now need this for every line.
2. Record country of origin per SKU. Origin is where the goods were made or last substantially transformed, not where they ship from. A Chinese-made item shipped from a Canadian warehouse is still Chinese for duty.
3. Pick DDP or DDU on purpose. If you go DDP, collect duty at checkout and choose a carrier or platform that will act as importer of record or file for you.
4. Reprice. Build duty, fees and broker charges into landed cost per SKU. See our landed cost guide.
5. Consider bulk import. Shipping inventory in one formal entry to a U.S. warehouse often costs less per unit than thousands of informal parcels, because formal entry MPF is capped at $670.86 per entry in FY2027.
6. Check partner agency rules. Cosmetics, food, supplements, electronics and children's products may need FDA, FCC or CPSC data even when duty is zero.
7. Watch the October 8, 2026 proposed rule. CBP's "Low-Value Shipments" proposal would change informal entry filing for goods of $2,500 or less, add a new electronic mail entry type and require bonds for some informal entries. Comments are due December 7, 2026. It is not final.

What is still uncertain

• Whether the August 2026 Court of International Trade decision is appealed, and the remaining open claim in that case.
• The final form of CBP's October 2026 low-value shipments rule.
• How fast carriers and platforms change their brokerage fees and DDP programs as the new mail rules phase in.

None of these is likely to bring back duty-free parcels. The statutory repeal on July 1, 2027 settles that question for anything that arrives after that date.