Canada Import Duty & GST Calculator

How import duty and GST work in Canada

When you import goods into Canada, two federal charges can apply at the border: customs duty and the 5% Goods and Services Tax (GST). Provincial tax may apply on top (more on that below). The key thing most importers miss is what goes into each base — and in Canada, your international freight is left out of both.

Value for duty (the duty base)

Canada charges duty on the value for duty (VFD). Under the transaction-value method this is the price paid for the goods at the place of direct shipment — the point where they begin their continuous journey to Canada. Crucially, transportation and insurance from that point to Canada are not included in the value for duty. Foreign inland costs before that point are included.

So the VFD is broadly an FOB figure. If you bought on CIF terms (freight and insurance baked into the price), you back those international transport costs out to find the VFD — provided they're shown separately. On FOB or EXW terms you're already close to the base.

Customs duty rates

The duty rate depends on the tariff classification (HS code) under the Canada Customs Tariff. A large share of goods are 0%, but Canada keeps some notably high rates — clothing is often around 18% and footwear can run to ~20%. The other big lever is origin: if your goods qualify under a free-trade agreement — CUSMA (US/Mexico), CPTPP, CETA (EU) and others — and you hold valid proof of origin, duty drops to 0%. Without that proof, the regular (MFN) rate applies even from a partner country.

US-origin goods — watch the 2025 surtax. In 2025 Canada imposed retaliatory surtaxes on a list of US-origin goods, which stack on top of the regular duty. Because the US is Canada's largest source of imports, this is the single most important variable to check on that lane. If your goods are US-origin, look up the current surtax rate and enter it in the additional-tariff field — the calculator adds it to the duty.

GST on the value for tax — freight stays out

GST is 5%, charged on the value for tax, which is:

value for duty + customs duty (+ any excise duty/tax).

This is the structural point that trips people up. The international freight and insurance you excluded from the duty base are not added back for GST — unlike Australia, which adds them back into its GST base. So in Canada the same freight cost sits outside both the duty base and the GST base; only the goods value and the duty itself are taxed.

GST applies to most imports, but basic groceries, prescription drugs and many medical devices are zero-rated (0%), so check whether your goods fall in a GST-free class.

Provincial tax (PST / HST) — 5% is not the whole story

The 5% collected at the border is only the federal GST. What you ultimately pay depends on your province:

• HST provinces: a single Harmonized Sales Tax — Ontario 13%, Nova Scotia 14% (reduced from 15% on 1 April 2025), and New Brunswick, PEI and Newfoundland & Labrador 15%.
• PST provinces (British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Manitoba) and Quebec (QST): 5% GST plus a separate provincial tax of roughly 6%–10%.
• Alberta and the territories: 5% GST only.

For commercial imports, CBSA collects the 5% GST at the border and the provincial portion is handled separately (often self-assessed). For casual/personal imports, CBSA generally collects the full HST or GST + PST based on your province of residence. The calculator defaults to 5% GST — if you want your all-in provincial rate, just type it into the GST/tax field (e.g. 13 for Ontario).

The de minimis — which threshold applies

Canada has two low-value regimes, and the right one depends on how and from where the goods ship:

1. Courier from the US or Mexico (CUSMA). No duty at or under CA$150, and no tax at or under CA$40, measured on the value for duty. Between CA$40 and CA$150 you pay GST but no duty.
2. By post, or from any other country. The older CA$20 threshold applies to both duty and tax.

Alcohol and tobacco are always assessed regardless of value. This calculator defaults to the CUSMA courier thresholds; for a postal parcel or a shipment from outside North America, treat CA$20 as your cut-off.

Other charges (no government processing fee)

Canada has no broad government merchandise-processing fee like the US MPF. What you'll usually see is a private clearance or disbursement fee from your courier or customs broker for handling the entry and fronting the duty and GST. We treat that as an editable estimate, because it varies by carrier and isn't set by CBSA.

Incoterms: what your supplier price already includes

The Incoterm on your invoice tells you where the seller's costs stop and yours begin. Get it wrong and you'll either double-count freight or under-budget your landed cost. Here's what each common term leaves for you to add before you can work out the Canadian value for duty, duty and GST.

EXW (Ex Works). Goods only, at the supplier's premises. You add everything after: origin handling, export clearance, foreign inland freight, international freight and insurance to Canada.

FOB / FCA (Free On Board / Free Carrier). Common terms for Canadian importers. The supplier has cleared the goods for export and handed them over at the origin port or carrier. You add international freight and insurance — but note those don't enter the Canadian duty or GST base; they're part of your cash landed cost only.

CFR / CPT (Cost & Freight / Carriage Paid To). The international carriage is already in the price. You still add insurance.

CIF / CIP (Cost, Insurance & Freight / Carriage & Insurance Paid). Freight and insurance to Canada are both in the price. For the value for duty you back those international transport costs out (when shown separately) to reach the FOB-equivalent VFD.

DAP / DDP (Delivered At Place / Delivered Duty Paid). Under DDP the seller has paid Canadian duty and GST and delivered to your door. Under DAP the seller delivers but you still owe the duty and GST.

The Canada-specific point

Canada values duty on the FOB-equivalent value for duty, and charges GST on value for duty + duty. The upshot: international freight and insurance to Canada are excluded from both the duty base and the GST base. That's the opposite of Australia, which adds international freight back for GST. So whether you buy FOB or CIF, the freight to Canada doesn't get taxed — but it's still real money in your landed cost, which is why the calculator tracks it on a separate line. Pick the Incoterm that matches your invoice and it handles the split for you.

Worked example: CA$5,000 shipment of clothing

Numbers make the order of operations obvious. Take a real-world consignment: CA$5,000 of clothing, bought FOB, with CA$600 of ocean freight and CA$50 of insurance to get it to a Canadian port. Assume an 18% duty rate (typical for apparel under the Canada Customs Tariff) and the standard 5% GST.

The trap is taxing your freight. Canada doesn't — it's excluded from both bases. Duty is charged on the value for duty (the FOB figure), and GST is charged on the value for duty plus the duty. Here's how it flows:

Line item	Basis	Amount (CAD)
Value for duty (FOB)	goods only	5,000
Duty @ 18%	18% of value for duty	900
International freight (ocean)	not taxed	600
Insurance	not taxed	50
Value for tax	value for duty + duty	5,900
GST @ 5%	5% of value for tax	295

Reading it down: duty of CA$900 sits on the 5,000 value for duty. The value for tax is 5,900 — the goods value plus the duty, and nothing else. The CA$650 of freight and insurance is not in the GST base, so GST is just CA$295. (Had Canada taxed freight the Australian way, the GST base would have been 6,550 and GST CA$327.50 — Canada doesn't do that.)

Add it all up — goods, freight, insurance, duty and GST:

5,000 + 600 + 50 + 900 + 295 = CA$6,845.

The duty and GST together come to about CA$1,195 on CA$5,000 of goods — roughly 24% on top of the goods value, driven mostly by the high apparel duty. That's the number to build into your pricing. Two caveats that can move it: if you're in an HST/PST province, your effective sales-tax rate is higher than 5% (enter it in the GST field); and if the goods are US-origin, a 2025 surtax may stack on the 18% duty — check the current rate. A broker or courier clearance fee, if you use one, sits on top and is private, not government-set.