Trade compliance · United States

De minimis (Section 321), explained

For decades, an import valued at $800 or less could enter the United States free of duty and with minimal paperwork under a rule called de minimis. As of 2025 that duty-free channel is closed for commercial shipments from every country — so a parcel that used to clear without a second thought now has to compute duty like any other import. Here is a plain-language map of what de minimis was, what changed, and what a low-value shipment now owes.

The de minimis suspension and the duties that now apply are set by executive action and can change, so this page explains the durable structure and links to the official sources rather than quoting volatile per-country rates. To compute the duty on a specific HTS code and value, use the live tool linked below; it applies the figures in force today.

What de minimis is

De minimis is an administrative exemption in the customs statute — section 321(a)(2)(C) of the Tariff Act of 1930, codified at 19 U.S.C. § 1321 — that let shipments valued at $800 or less be admitted free of duty and tax, usually through a simplified informal entry rather than a full formal one. Because it removed both the duty and most of the paperwork, it was the backbone of low-value cross-border e-commerce: a single buyer’s parcel rarely crossed the threshold, so it entered free. The $800 figure is the commercial de minimis level set under that statute; it is the one this page is about.

What changed in 2025

The duty-free channel was withdrawn in stages, first for the largest origin and then for the whole world:

• May 2, 2025 De minimis ends for China and Hong Kong Executive action · low-value shipments from China/HK The first step removed duty-free de minimis treatment for goods from China and Hong Kong — the largest origin of low-value parcels — so those shipments began owing duty and needing a proper customs entry regardless of value.
• Aug 29, 2025 De minimis suspended for all countries Executive Order 14324 (signed Jul 30, 2025) · § 321(a)(2)(C) Executive Order 14324 suspended the duty-free de minimis exemption under section 321(a)(2)(C) of the Tariff Act of 1930 for covered articles valued at $800 or less from every country, and required them to be entered under an appropriate entry type in CBP's Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) by a party qualified to make entry. Postal-network items got their own duty mechanism.
• Feb 2026 Suspension continued indefinitely Presidential action · ongoing A subsequent presidential action continued the suspension with no set end date, so the duty-free $800 commercial channel should be treated as closed until an official action reopens it — confirm the current state against the sources below rather than a remembered headline.

What a low-value shipment owes now — the method

With the exemption gone, a formerly-exempt parcel is treated like any other import: you classify it, enter it, and compute the full landed duty, in order:

1. 01

   Classify the goods under an HTS code

   A low-value shipment that used to clear without classification now needs the correct 10-digit HTS code, because the code is what determines the base duty rate and which trade-remedy programs attach. This is the same classification any formal import has always needed.

2. 02

   Determine the entry type

   Non-postal shipments valued at $800 or less must now be entered in ACE under an appropriate entry type by a qualified filer, rather than waved through as de minimis. Whether it is a formal or informal entry follows the normal value thresholds, and that choice drives the paperwork and the user fees.

3. 03

   Apply the base duty and any trade-remedy surcharges

   The landed duty is the HTS base rate plus any Section 301, Section 232 or AD/CVD charges that apply to that code and country of origin — the same stack a larger shipment faces. Goods that were economically viable only because they entered duty-free now have to absorb this.

4. 04

   Add the user fees and compute the landed cost

   On top of duty, an entry can owe the Merchandise Processing Fee and, for ocean freight, the Harbor Maintenance Fee. Items moving through the international postal network are handled under a separate duty mechanism set by the order. Getting the true cost right means stacking duty, surcharges and fees — not assuming a low value means a low charge.

What was not suspended

Two other exemptions in the same statute are often confused with commercial de minimis but are separate and remain in place:

• § 1321(a)(2)(A) Returning-traveler personal exemption Accompanied personal/household articles The duty exemption for articles a returning U.S. resident brings back as accompanied baggage is a separate paragraph of the statute and was not part of the commercial de minimis suspension.
• § 1321(a)(2)(B) Bona fide gifts Genuine person-to-person gifts The exemption for bona fide gifts sent person-to-person from abroad is also a distinct paragraph and remains in place. Neither of these is the commercial-shipment de minimis that importers and e-commerce sellers relied on.

Where to verify (authoritative sources)

These are the official sources. The policy has changed by executive action more than once, so confirm what is in force against them before relying on anything, including this page.

• Cornell LII — 19 U.S.C. § 1321 (de minimis statute) The administrative-exemptions statute, including § 1321(a)(2)(C) — the commercial de minimis the suspension targets — and the separate (A)/(B) traveler and gift exemptions.
• CBP — Section 321 programs Customs and Border Protection’s page on the Section 321 / de minimis programs and entry handling — the authority on how low-value entries are processed now.
• Federal Register — implementation of EO 14324 (all-country suspension) The notice implementing Executive Order 14324, suspending duty-free de minimis treatment for all countries effective Aug 29, 2025, and setting out the entry and postal-duty requirements.
• White House — continuing the suspension (2026) The presidential action continuing the de minimis suspension for all countries — the authority on whether the channel is still closed today.
• CRS — Imports and the Section 321 (De Minimis) Exemption (R48380) The Congressional Research Service backgrounder on the origins, evolution and use of the Section 321 exemption — useful neutral context on how it worked and why it changed.

Related: How U.S. import duty is calculated — the full stack a formerly-exempt parcel now faces · How to read an HTS code — the classification you now need · The Merchandise Processing Fee — a user fee these entries can also owe · Section 301 vs 232 vs AD/CVD — the extra duties that can stack on top.

This is an independent, plain-language explainer produced by an autonomously operated software workshop under human oversight. It is not legal, customs or tax advice, is not the official version of any statute, order or regulation, and may be out of date. The duties and entry requirements on a given import are the importer's legal responsibility — always verify against CBP, the eCFR, the U.S. Code and the Federal Register before relying on it. No affiliation with, or endorsement by, any U.S. government agency is implied.