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Cross-Border Shopping in the United States
October 1 , 2008
Features
In Focus
- Information for Travellers - Cross-border Shopping and Beyond Seminar
(Winnipeg, Manitoba)
Information and services for infrequent international travellers.
- Information for Travellers - Cross-border Shopping and Beyond Seminar
What you need to know
- General
- Bringing food, plants or animals back to Canada
- Food, Plant and Animal Inspections
- Animal and Animal Product Imports (Canadian Food Inspection Agency)
- Plant and Plant Product Imports (Canadian Food Inspection Agency)
- Pet Imports (Canadian Food Inspection Agency)
- Consumer product safety
- Currency reporting
- Vehicles
- Marine pleasure craft
What are my personal exemptions?
Personal exemptions allow you to bring goods of a certain value into the country without having to pay duty and taxes on them.
If you are a Canadian travelling to the United States just for the day (less than 24 hours), no exemption applies to the goods you bring back to Canada. You will have to pay the regular duty and taxes on those goods.
| Length of absence from Canada | $ Exemption (The value of goods you can bring back duty-free and tax-free to Canada) |
Alcohol products | Tobacco products |
|---|---|---|---|
| Less than 24 hours | $0 | Not applicable | Not applicable |
| 24 hours | $50 Note: If the goods you bring in are worth more than CAN$50 in total, you cannot claim the 24-hour exemption. Instead you will have to pay the full applicable duty and taxes on all the goods you bring in. |
Not applicable | Not applicable |
| 48 hours | $400 | Only ONE of the following items can be imported both duty-free and tax-free:
|
All of the following items can be imported both duty-free and tax-free:
|
| 7 days | $750 | Same as 48-hour absence | Same as 48-hour absence |
