How do you calculate import taxes on guitars?

[neurosis]

Simple question but doesn't seem to have an easy answer. Looking around here and other pages I can't wrap my head around it. Isn't there a percentage or specific ratio that's official? Looks like it depends greatly on how the guitar or other gear are sent and from where the package is coming.

Is there a difference ordering from Germany or Japan?

Say I want to order a guitar from Japan on Reverb, does Reverb charge the tax? Does customs in the US? Does DHL, UPS or FedEX? And how do I accurately calculate what it will rebased on a purchase?

Sorry if this will duplicate some info in other threads, I just don't get it.

Thanks!

 

[MaxOfMetal]

You take a dartboard and scribble random amounts of money all over it and then drink a case of beer, put on a blind fold, now spin around in a circle while counting to 100. Throw a live chicken at the board and wherever it sticks that's how much you pay.

I've bought about two dozen guitars from overseas and if there's a set formula for what you have to pay you'd have to be Alan Turing himself to break the code.

I've paid nothing and I've gotten invoices like two months later demanding I owe a couple hundred dollars.

Sorry I can't be more helpful, every time I thought I knew what I'd owe I've been dead wrong.

 

[budda]

Govt website should at least be a little helpful.

Max reminded me i got hit with a second UPS bill I completely forgot about. Gotta get that done today or tomorrow..

 

[lost_horizon]

It doesn't seem to depend on the purpose?

I send all my guitars as gifts, doesn't matter what I put on the box or the valuation it seems Reverb sends them the transaction on my behalf and then I get slugged? AS a seller!

I pay about $1500 a year in taxes even though I am a seller. averages about $99.

Canada and UK are the worst. Seems to get paid both ways? Seller and buyer.

Depending on the freight company they mostly just go with the sticker value on the address ticket. So private transactions are easier than official store transactions as they are covering their arse.

When I imported a guitar recently from America got it split into two packages and sticker valued at $500 each and paid no tax and no malarkey.

 

[Matt08642]

Govt website should at least be a little helpful.

Max reminded me i got hit with a second UPS bill I completely forgot about. Gotta get that done today or tomorrow..

The bill you get from them for them... paying your bill My favorite!

 

[iff]

I only have experience importing into Canada, but the US is pretty similar as far as I'm aware.

These are the usual fees for importing guitars:
- Duties - Only the country of origin matters, not where it's being shipped from. It's about 5% of the value of the item unless the US has a free trade agreement with the country of origin, in which case it's 0. Sometimes your package will squeak through customs and you won't be charged even if you "should" have been.
- Sales taxes - No federal sales tax in the US, but some states have a "use tax" on imports that would apply based on the value of the item.
- Brokerage - Basically a flat fee by the shipping company for taking a few minutes to fill out simple customs forms. You can avoid this by picking up and clearing the item yourself at a customs office, but that requires being near one and they're rarely conveniently located.

I don't believe Reverb will charge taxes themselves for anything that will be imported. Customs determines the fees (other than brokerage), you pay them to the shipping company, the shipping company pays the government.

 

[AltecGreen]

Us tariff rates for musical instruments can be found in chapter 92 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule.

Harmonized Tariff Schedule

hts.usitc.gov

The code for electric guitar is 9207.90. Acoustic guitars is 9202.90.

Duty depends on country of origin. It is not charged by Reverb. If sent via commercial carrier they will charge you plus a brokerage fee. You can opt to do the brokerage paperwork yourself or hire a third party.

From a practical standpoint, you won’t be charged duty if the total value is less than $800. If you send the package via EMS from Japan you also will tend to not get charged duty. With commercial carriers, expect a bill if it is a high value item. High value it’s str d to get more scrutiny.

 

[Hollowway]

As what others have said, but the use tax comes up, too, as the sale is registered with the government when it comes into the company. In other words, in California, a couple of after I get a guitar from overseas I get a use tax bill for like 8.xx% of the total.

 

[mehegama]

I have sold 2 guitars to the states, from the UK. The first arrived 3 days later with DHL, no questions asked. The second, with UPS was held in the customs for a week, and the buyer had to send paperwork and pay import duties (about $300, the guitar was about 3k).
In my experience the worst offender on this is UPS, it enforces all imported stuff through customs in order to collect custom brokerage fees. It is their policy. The first guitar was sent with DHL, and nothing really happened.

 

[Marked Man]

You could try praying......

 

[Neon_Knight_]

I've paid nothing and I've gotten invoices like two months later demanding I owe a couple hundred dollars.

I presume the "couple hundred dollars" was determined by specific percentage charges, while paying nothing was a lucky (for you) oversight. When you are charged, there really shouldn't be any randomness to the amount.

Perhaps it's more straightforward in the UK. VAT (20%) and Customs Duty (3.5%), so I simply budget for an additional 23.5%. This has to be paid before the delivery is completed, so if I receive the goods without having been charged in advance, I know I'm in the clear. The exact process for paying in advance depends on the courier. For example:
UPS - Invoiced prior to delivery and had ot pay online in advance.
DHL - Invoiced in advance. From memory, I think I had the choice of either paying online in advance or via card at the time of delivery (the courier brings card reader).
Royal Mail - Have to go to local depot to pay / collect.

I definitely agree that it's potluck whether charges are applied though. Large items are probably less likely to slip through untaxed, but with small items either most things slip through or I've been very lucky.
When I bought a J. Custom from Ibanez Rules!! a few years ago, that was delivered via UPS and I was fully expecting to be hit with the 23.5% charge before delivery, so there was no nasty surprise. Similar situation when I ordered a guitar from Canada last year, which was delivered by DHL.
I've also ordered guitars from Spain, but that was before we officially left the EU, so I didn't have to pay any VAT or customs duty (presumably the dealer paid tax in Spain from the price I paid, but that's not for me to worry about).
The smallest thing I've been charged VAT & Customs Duty on was a bulk box of guitar strings from the US. I had naively overlooked potential tax (I was relatively young at the time), so was surprised at having to cough up. The $ was pretty weak at the time and the strings were a very good price, so they still worked out significantly cheaper than anywhere in the UK, even with 23.5% added on.
If something fits in a jiffy bag (e.g. a pack of strings or a CD) I would be very surprised to be charged.

 

[Neon_Knight_]

I have sold 2 guitars to the states, from the UK. The first arrived 3 days later with DHL, no questions asked. The second, with UPS was held in the customs for a week, and the buyer had to send paperwork and pay import duties (about $300, the guitar was about 3k).
In my experience the worst offender on this is UPS, it enforces all imported stuff through customs in order to collect custom brokerage fees. It is their policy. The first guitar was sent with DHL, and nothing really happened.

I've had the same experience with UPS - held up in customs. In fairness, it was Jan/Feb 2020 and there were lots of customs delays at the time, due to a combination of the pandemic and the UK officially leaving the EU that month.

 

[neurosis]

Thanks all for the replies. I'll read into the .gov link that was shared and try to come up with an estimate based on everybody else's input. It does seem like the highest variation could be expected from UPS. I am thinking of getting an Edwards or something in that range to try. Seems like buying something for 1.3k may end up close to 1.5k total once it's all invoiced.

 

[c7spheres]

I think importing to the U.S .is cufrently 6-8% for musical insturments but amps are a lot more I think like 20-40 or something. There's a whole breakdown of fees and stuff but if you seach for import duty rates to the us omaybe on the uscustoms website you can get more specific. They sometimes duty the value of the item and shipping too. It varys depending on item type and value.

 

[Crungy]

Thanks all for the replies. I'll read into the .gov link that was shared and try to come up with an estimate based on everybody else's input. It does seem like the highest variation could be expected from UPS. I am thinking of getting an Edwards or something in that range to try. Seems like buying something for 1.3k may end up close to 1.5k total once it's all invoiced.

Did you end up buying that guitar? I'm curious about what you ended paying for fees.

 

[neurosis]

Something else got in the way but I saw this post yesterday and have been thinking of looking into it again. Do you have experience with buying from Japan?

 

[Crungy]

Something else got in the way but I saw this post yesterday and have been thinking of looking into it again. Do you have experience with buying from Japan?

I do not and was hoping you had experience

I might pull the trigger on something in Japan and if I do I'll post my experience here.

 

[neurosis]

I do not and was hoping you had experience

I might pull the trigger on something in Japan and if I do I'll post my experience here.

I'll keep an eye out. Maybe you beat me to it!

 

[Crungy]

I'll keep an eye out. Maybe you beat me to it!

Welp, I found one of the guitars in the US so I won't be ordering from Japan after all. Unless this one is hot garbage lol

 

[Alberto7]

I did order an Edwards E-Scythe from Japan to Canada in 2021, and have ordered a couple other valuable items from there. It's pretty hit or miss whether I get charged customs. You can bet there is always some sort of relatively low brokerage/handling fee on top of customs and shipping (and taxes if you pay them upon the item entering the country) that will depend on which courier was used to ship the item.