How Much Is Duty from the US to Canada? 2026 Guide with Examples

Short answer: most goods made in the United States enter Canada at 0% customs duty under CUSMA. You still pay GST or HST (5% to 15% depending on the province), and some US goods also pay a counter-tariff surtax of 15%, 25% or 50%. Goods that are only shipped from the US but made somewhere else — China, Vietnam, Germany — do not get the CUSMA rate: they pay the regular duty of their country of origin.

Four things decide the bill: where the goods were made, their tariff classification, their value for duty, and the province they are going to.

1. Customs duty: CUSMA or the regular rate

Canada's regular duty rate — the Most-Favoured-Nation (MFN) rate — ranges from 0% to 18% for most goods, and far higher for dairy and poultry above their import quotas. Goods that qualify as originating under the CUSMA rules of origin get the United States Tariff (UST) treatment instead, which is 0% for almost every tariff item.

"Originating" is not the same as "bought from an American company." A product qualifies when it meets the rule of origin for its tariff item — usually a change of classification or a minimum regional content. A US distributor selling Chinese-made goods ships non-originating goods: they pay the MFN rate, and any surtax or SIMA anti-dumping duty that applies to Chinese goods.

To claim CUSMA you need a certification of origin from the exporter, producer or importer, and you claim the UST treatment on your declaration. More on the rules in our CUSMA guide.

2. Surtax on certain US goods

Canada applies counter-tariffs to listed US-origin goods (situation on September 28, 2026):

• Steel and aluminum — 50% on most goods since September 8, 2026; 25% on a short list.
• Motor vehicles — 25% on certain US vehicles.
• United States Surtax Order (2026) — 15%, 25% or 50% on dairy, appliances, agricultural equipment, pulp and paper, electronics and more.

The surtax follows the country of origin, is calculated on the value for duty, and comes on top of the CUSMA 0% duty — CUSMA does not cancel it. A good pays one surtax even when several orders list it, and a remission order cancels it for some users and uses (manufacturing inputs, hospitals, public safety and more).

3. GST and HST

Tax is charged on the value for duty + duty + surtax:

• GST 5% applies in every province.
• In the HST provinces, HST replaces it: 13% in Ontario, 14% in Nova Scotia, 15% in New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador and Prince Edward Island.
• Quebec, British Columbia, Saskatchewan and Manitoba add a separate provincial tax under their own rules — see the provincial tax guide.

Businesses registered for GST/HST usually recover it as an input tax credit, so for them it is a cash-flow cost, not a final one.

4. Small shipments: the CUSMA thresholds

For shipments sent by courier from the US:

• Duty-free up to CA$150 for goods that originate in the US or Mexico.
• Tax-free up to CA$40.

Through Canada Post, the threshold is CA$20 for both duty and tax (CA$60 for a gift). Above those amounts, the full duty and tax apply to the whole value, not to the part above the threshold.

Four worked examples

All amounts in Canadian dollars; the tariff rates are illustrations — check your own item in the calculator.

1. US-made goods, CUSMA-qualifying, not on a surtax list — CA$10,000 into Ontario

• Duty (UST 0%): $0
• HST 13% on $10,000: $1,300
• Total: $1,300

2. The same order, but made in China and bought from a US distributor — MFN rate of, say, 6.5%

• Duty 6.5%: $650
• HST 13% on $10,650: $1,384.50
• Total: $2,034.50 — before any China surtax or SIMA duty that applies to the item

3. US-origin steel plate (tariff item 7208.51.00) — CA$50,000 into Alberta, after September 8, 2026

• Duty (0%): $0
• US steel surtax 50%: $25,000
• GST 5% on $75,000: $3,750
• Total: $28,750

4. A US-made item ordered online — CA$120 by courier to Ontario

• Duty: $0 (under the CA$150 CUSMA courier threshold)
• HST 13% on $120: $15.60 (over the CA$40 tax threshold)
• Total: $15.60, plus the courier's brokerage fee

Costs that are not duty

Customs brokers and couriers charge for clearing the goods — a brokerage fee per entry, sometimes a disbursement fee for paying the duty on your behalf. These are not government charges, but they belong in your landed cost.

Get the exact figure for your product

Enter your product or tariff item, the US as country of origin and your province in the TariffCalc calculator: it applies the CUSMA rate when the item has one, detects the US surtax and the remission that may cancel it, and adds the right GST/HST. Not sure of the code? Start with the HS code directory.