Tools

Merchandise processing fee (MPF) for fiscal 2027

Independent site, not a government agency or a customs broker. General information, not legal advice or customs advice.

Enter the customs value: the fee for this entry, with the limits from the current notice and the harbor fee for ocean cargo.

Merchandise processing fee

Fee for this entry

$69.28

Entryformal
Before limits$69.28
Harbor fee, ocean$25.00

Amounts for fiscal year 2027, from 1 October 2026. Goods over $250 that owe an additional duty in chapter 99 cannot use an informal entry, so the formal fee applies.

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The merchandise processing fee is a charge by US Customs and Border Protection for handling formal entries. It is 0.3464% of the value of the goods, under 19 CFR 24.23, with a floor and a ceiling adjusted each year for inflation. For fiscal 2027, from October 1, 2026, the notice of July 31, 2026 sets the minimum at $34.58 and the maximum at $670.86. The fee reaches its ceiling at a value of about $193,666. Informal entries pay a set amount: $2.77 when automated. On ocean cargo, the harbor maintenance fee of 0.125% under 19 CFR 24.24 is added, with no ceiling. Goods from Canada or Mexico that originate under USMCA are exempt from the processing fee, and so are certain other goods. All read on November 2, 2026. The calculator uses these amounts for each shipment.

Fees and duties together

Other > Other > Valued over $12/pair

Where the goods were made, not where they ship from.

Price paid for the goods, without international freight and insurance.

Duties and customs fees

$4,394

6404.19.90: duties $4,300, 21.5% of value

Ordinary duty (9%)
Column 1 General		$1,800
Section 301, 60 economies (12.5%)
Heading 9903.05.84		$2,500
Merchandise processing fee
0.3464% of value, min $34.58, max $670.86		$69
Harbor maintenance fee
0.125% of value, ocean cargo at covered ports		$25

Rates of 2026 HTS Revision 22, read on 2026-11-02. Antidumping and countervailing duties, state taxes and USTR exclusions are not included. Estimate, not a customs ruling. Everything you enter stays in this browser: nothing is sent or stored.

Link to this calculation · Method

Rates read by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · Method and sources

The three bands

Fiscal 2027. Value thresholds are worked out from the rate and the limits.
Customs valueFormal entry fee
Up to $9,983$34.58 minimum
$9,983 to $193,6660.3464% of value
Over $193,666$670.86 maximum

Informal entries

The amounts in the same notice are $2.77 for an automated entry, $8.30 for a manual entry not prepared by CBP, and $12.45 for a manual entry prepared by CBP. Express consignment has its own amount of $1.38. A manual surcharge of $4.15 can apply to a formal entry that is not automated.

Why $250 now matters

The limit of $2,500 is well known. The exception at $250 in 19 CFR 143.21 is less so. It concerns articles classified in subchapters III and IV of chapter 99, which is where Section 301 and Section 232 duties are written. So a shipment carrying those duties can reach the formal entry requirements at a low value. Ask a broker whether CBP has waived the limit for your goods. The de minimis page covers the low-value rules.

Questions importers ask

When can a shipment use an informal entry?

Under 19 CFR 143.21, shipments not exceeding $2,500 generally qualify, except for articles valued over $250 classified in chapter 99, subchapters III and IV. That exception now reaches many goods with additional duties, so a shipment of $1,000 can need a formal entry and the formal fee. The calculator applies that test when an additional duty is present in the result.

Is the MPF charged on goods entered duty free?

Usually yes. The fee is separate from duty, so goods with a free rate still pay it. The exemptions are specific: chapter 98 goods with limits, products of insular possessions, products of Caribbean Basin beneficiaries and least-developed beneficiary countries, and originating USMCA goods, among others listed in 19 CFR 24.23(c). Other agreements may have their own treatment, so check for your agreement.

Who pays the harbor maintenance fee, and when?

The importer of commercial cargo unloaded from a vessel at a covered port pays it, at 0.125% of the value. It does not apply to air or truck shipments. The fee goes on the entry summary in most cases. There are exceptions, including some cargo moving between certain ports, and 19 CFR 24.24 lists them, so ask your broker if yours seems an unusual case.

Check next

Import duty calculator

HTS code, origin and value: each duty that applies, customs fees and the landed cost.

Landed cost calculator

Goods, duties, fees, freight and delivery in one total per unit.

De minimis

The $800 exemption is suspended for all origins: what applies today.

Customs broker cost

No official scale of fees: what to ask and where to add it.

Trade agreements and column 2

Tariff symbols by partner, what a claim removes, and column 2 countries.

Official sources behind this page

Written by

Independent publisher of a reference to US import duties: the tariff schedule, additional duties by origin, customs fees and freight measures, with free calculators

Tariff and notices read on · Editorial policy · Contact

US tariff schedule 2026, read in the USITC files and the Federal Register, last checked on