Work out the true landed cost of an imported shipment -- product cost, freight, insurance, duty, and standard U.S. customs fees -- broken down per unit.
This tool provides estimates for planning purposes and is not financial, tax, or customs advice.
Landed Cost Calculator
LiveBroker & other fixed fees optional
The formula
500 units at $10,000 total invoice cost, $2,000 ocean freight, $60 insurance, a researched 12.5% duty rate, and $250 in broker/inland fees: customs value $12,060, duty $1,507.50, MPF $41.77, HMF $15.08, total landed cost about $13,874 — roughly $27.75 per unit, a 38.7% premium over the $20 invoice price per unit.
Once landed cost is known, it's the number that should feed pricing decisions — the ROI Calculator and Markup Calculator both work from a true cost basis, not the invoice price alone.
Why this calculator won't guess your tariff rate
Nearly every landed-cost tool includes a built-in duty-rate table or lookup by country and product category. Checking several of them against each other during research turned up genuinely different numbers for what should be the same period — one source citing a 145% reciprocal rate on Chinese goods, another citing 12.5% for a related but distinct duty, both dated within the same recent window. One major freight platform's own public change log shows tariff rule updates on three separate dates within a single month.
Every one of those tools' own fine print says the same thing in the end: consult a licensed customs broker for a binding determination. Given that, building in a specific rate here would risk being confidently wrong within days rather than months — a tighter staleness window than any other estimate on this site. This calculator instead asks for your own researched rate as an input, and points you to the source that actually stays current:
- USITC HTS Search — the official U.S. Harmonized Tariff Schedule lookup, searchable by product description or HTS code.
- A licensed customs broker — for a binding determination, particularly if additional layers (Section 301, Section 232, antidumping/countervailing duties) might apply to your specific product and country of origin.
What MPF and HMF actually are
Unlike tariff duty rates, these two fees are stable administrative formulas set by U.S. Customs and Border Protection, not subject to the same rapid political change:
| Fee | Rate | Applies to |
|---|---|---|
| Merchandise Processing Fee (MPF) | 0.3464% of customs value, minimum $33.58, maximum $651.50 (FY2026) | Formal entries, all freight modes |
| Harbor Maintenance Fee (HMF) | 0.125% of customs value | Ocean freight only — not charged on air or courier shipments |
Incoterms: who pays for what, at each stage
The specific term your supplier quotes under changes which of the costs above you're responsible for — and which ones are already baked into the invoice price you're calculating from. These four cover the large majority of import shipments:
| Term | Full name | Supplier pays | You pay |
|---|---|---|---|
| EXW | Ex Works | Nothing beyond making goods available at their facility | Everything: origin pickup, export clearance, freight, insurance, duty, delivery |
| FOB | Free On Board | Origin handling, export clearance, loading onto the vessel | Freight, insurance, duty, destination delivery — the most common term for U.S. imports |
| CIF | Cost, Insurance, Freight | Freight and insurance to the destination port, in addition to FOB obligations | Duty, unloading, and delivery from the port onward |
| DDP | Delivered Duty Paid | Everything, including duty and delivery to your door | Nothing extra — but rare for tariff-heavy imports, since the supplier bears the duty risk |
Enter this calculator's "Product cost" and "Freight" fields based on what your specific quote actually includes — an FOB quote needs freight added separately, while a CIF quote already has it folded into the price your supplier gave you.
Common mistakes
Frequently asked questions
What is landed cost?
The total cost of getting a product from a supplier to your warehouse or customer, including the product price itself plus every cost incurred to get it there: freight, insurance, customs duties, and processing fees. It's the number that should drive pricing decisions, not the invoice price alone.
What's the difference between CIF and FOB?
FOB (Free On Board) means you pay separately for shipping and insurance on top of the product price. CIF (Cost, Insurance, Freight) means the supplier's quoted price already includes shipping and insurance. Most countries, including the U.S. by default, use the CIF value as the base for calculating duty — check your specific situation, since U.S. duty is sometimes assessed on FOB value depending on the entry.
Where do I find my product's duty rate?
Start at the USITC Harmonized Tariff Schedule Search, searchable by product description or HTS code. For anything beyond a basic estimate — especially goods that might carry additional Section 301, Section 232, or antidumping/countervailing duties — a licensed customs broker can give you a determination you can actually rely on.
Why doesn't this calculator have a duty rate for my country already filled in?
Because those rates are changing fast enough right now that a built-in table would likely be wrong within days, not months. See "Why this calculator won't guess your tariff rate" above for the specific evidence behind that decision.
What is MPF?
The Merchandise Processing Fee, a CBP administrative fee for formal customs entries: 0.3464% of the customs value, with a minimum of $33.58 and a maximum of $651.50 for fiscal year 2026. It applies regardless of freight mode.
What is HMF and why does freight mode matter for it?
The Harbor Maintenance Fee funds the upkeep of U.S. ports, so it's charged only on shipments that actually use them: ocean freight. It's 0.125% of customs value with no cap, and doesn't apply to air freight or courier/express shipments at all.
Does this include VAT or GST for destinations outside the U.S.?
No — MPF and HMF are U.S.-specific CBP fees. If you're importing into a country with VAT or GST on imports, add that as a separate line using the "other fixed fees" field, calculated at your destination country's rate.
Is my shipment exempt from duty if it's under $800?
No, not currently. The de minimis exemption under Section 321 that historically allowed shipments valued at $800 or less to enter duty-free is indefinitely suspended as of a June 24, 2026 Federal Register rule. Every commercial shipment, regardless of value, now requires customs entry and applicable duties — there is no remaining low-value shortcut.
Why is my landed cost so much higher than the invoice price?
Non-product costs commonly add 20-50% on top of the invoice price once freight, duty, and fees are included — higher for tariff-heavy product categories or countries. This is exactly why pricing decisions should use the landed cost per unit, not the invoice cost.
Sources
- Landed cost formula and worked example. Freightos, Landed Cost: Meaning, Formula & Calculator.
- MPF and HMF rates. U.S. Customs and Border Protection fee schedule, FY2026 — MPF 0.3464% (min $33.58, max $651.50), HMF 0.125% (ocean freight only), as documented across multiple current customs-industry sources.
- Duty rate lookup. U.S. International Trade Commission, Harmonized Tariff Schedule Search — the authoritative, continuously updated source for current U.S. duty rates by product and origin.
- Tariff rate volatility evidence. Cross-referenced current duty-rate claims across multiple industry calculator tools during research (August 2026), finding materially inconsistent figures for the same period, and a major freight platform's own public change log showing rate updates on three separate dates within a single month.
- De minimis exemption suspension. Federal Register, Indefinite Suspension of the De Minimis Exemption (June 24, 2026), confirmed by the corresponding White House presidential action.
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