The phrase “low-value threshold” gets used as though there were one number for the world. There is not, and in 2026 the spread between countries has become wide enough that it changes what is worth ordering.
If you have ever read that a parcel below a certain value enters a country free, that is what a threshold means. Some countries still have one. The United States no longer does. This article sets out where things stand, and more usefully, how to think about a threshold when you are planning an order rather than reading the news.
What a low-value threshold actually is
A low-value threshold is a value below which a parcel is admitted with simplified or no duty treatment. It exists because assessing a $12 parcel at full customs process costs more than the duty would raise, so authorities set a floor and let small parcels through.
Two things are worth separating, because they are often mixed together in guides. Duty is the import charge on the goods. Import VAT or GST is a consumption tax, and many countries have moved to collecting it at the point of sale rather than at the border — which means a parcel can be “below the threshold” and still carry tax that was paid at checkout. Removing a duty threshold does not remove a tax rule, and vice versa.
The 2026 position, by destination
Here is where the six destinations we ship to currently stand. Where the position is moving, we say so rather than quoting a single figure as permanent.
| Destination | Low-value position in 2026 | What it means for a parcel from China |
|---|---|---|
| United States | The $800 de minimis exemption was suspended in 2025 and the suspension was made indefinite in 2026 — there is no longer a value floor. | Assume the entry is assessed. Small orders can still attract a small or no duty depending on classification, but that is an outcome, not a rule. |
| European Union | The €150 duty relief ended on 1 July 2026; a flat per-item duty applies during the transition period while the full customs reform is phased in. | Low-value parcels are no longer duty-free as a category. The flat per-item charge is designed to be simple rather than proportional. |
| United Kingdom | £135 remains a meaningful line for duty purposes, and import VAT rules continue to apply alongside it. | Below it, the seller shoulders the VAT accounting. Above it, the entry is assessed and the recipient is the importer. |
| Canada | Canada has never had a generous low-value relief, and its threshold sits far below the old US figure. | Assume a commercial parcel will be assessed. Budget for it rather than hoping. |
| Australia | Australia’s low-value arrangements have historically turned on a threshold in the region of AUD 1,000, with GST handled differently below it. | Check the current position before a large order — this is one of the markets where the treatment of tax and duty diverges. |
| Singapore, Malaysia, New Zealand | Each maintains its own low-value treatment, and they do not move in step with one another. | Treat every one as a separate question. There is no regional shortcut. |
Sources for each of these are linked on our Shipping & Duties page — the authority’s own page, not a summary of it. It is worth reading the one that applies to you, because this is a table about direction of travel, not a quote.
Why the United States stands alone
The old $800 figure came from a de minimis rule whose purpose was administrative convenience. Suspending it meant that convenience was traded away for revenue collection on a very high volume of small parcels.
The practical consequence is asymmetric. A large consolidated box was always going to be assessed. What changed is that a single $40 order now enters the same process, and the fixed components of that process — brokerage, handling, entry preparation — do not shrink to match a $40 order.
What the EU’s transition period means
The European Union removed its €150 duty relief in the middle of 2026 and replaced it with a flat per-item charge while its full customs reform is phased in. If you are shipping to the EU, the useful way to read that is: the exemption is gone, and the replacement is deliberately simple rather than fair.
A flat per-item charge is cheap on a high-value item and expensive on a low-value one. That inverts the usual advice — it makes consolidating several cheap items into one parcel less attractive than it used to be for EU destinations, because the charge applies per item, not per parcel. Worth checking, and worth asking us before you order six small things instead of one larger thing.
How to use a threshold when planning an order
Thresholds are more useful as planning inputs than as facts. Four habits that hold regardless of which rules are in force:
- Decide your ceiling before you shop. A figure you set in advance is the only one that can actually stop a purchase.
- Price the whole parcel, not the item. Item cost, our 5% fee, packing and international freight are all known before shipping; duty sits on top.
- Ask whether consolidating helps where you are. For the United States, one parcel instead of four reduces the fixed customs-handling components. For the EU, a per-item charge can work the other way.
- Re-check before a large order. Rules have changed more than once. A position from six months ago is not evidence about today.
The mistake people make with thresholds
The mistake is treating a threshold as a target. Once you know a number, the temptation is to design an order to sit just under it — split into two, or trim the declared value.
Both are visible on the entry documents. Splitting a single order into parcels that each sit under a line is the pattern that threshold enforcement is built to catch, and under-declaring converts a duty question into a misdeclaration one. When a threshold is removed entirely, as in the United States, there is not even a number to sit under — the tactic has nothing left to aim at.
Questions we get asked
Which countries still have a real low-value relief?
The United Kingdom’s £135 line for duty purposes is the clearest remaining one among the destinations we ship to. Australia’s arrangements have historically allowed low-value imports through with the tax handled earlier in the chain. The European Union removed its relief in mid-2026 and the United States removed its exemption entirely. Because these positions move, check the authority’s page for your destination before a large order rather than relying on a summary — including this one.
Does the duty threshold have anything to do with import VAT or GST?
They are separate rules that often get described together. Duty is the import charge on the goods; VAT or GST is a consumption tax. Several countries now collect that tax at the point of sale, so a parcel can be below a duty threshold and still carry tax that was settled at checkout. Removing a duty threshold does not change how the tax is collected, and the reverse is also true.
If I split my order into smaller parcels, will it cost less?
For the United States, usually not — and it creates a pattern worth avoiding. Splitting reduces nothing about the fixed components and turns one entry into several, each with its own handling. For the European Union, splitting can be actively worse because the flat charge applies per item. If you are thinking about splitting to manage cost, ask us first; the arithmetic is not intuitive in either direction.
How do I find out what my product’s rate actually is?
Your customs authority publishes a classification schedule, and a licensed broker can give you a binding answer for a specific product. We can tell you the declared value and the description the parcel will carry — which is the input the assessment is built from — but classification is a professional judgement about your goods, not something a purchasing agent should guess at on your behalf.
Do these changes mean buying from China is no longer worth it?
Not for the reasons the headlines suggest. What changed is the total cost of small parcels into some markets, which is an arithmetic question you can work out before you commit. Our photo upload box on our home page separates the known figures from the one we will not invent, so you can see whether the total still makes sense for what you want to buy.
Where to start
Upload photos of the items (or the product name) in the photo upload box on our home page and you will get item cost, our fee, packing and freight broken out, with the declared value stated and no invented duty figure at the bottom. If you want the mechanics of shipping first, Shipping & Duties covers the lines and the official sources.
Related reading
- The $800 De Minimis Is Gone: What Buying From China Costs Now — why the cost sequence changed for US buyers.
- Who Actually Pays the Import Duty on a China Parcel? — the liability question, answered properly.
- Estimating Your Landed Cost Before You Buy From China — the six-line worksheet, with the two lines nobody can quote.
- Shipping & Duties — delivery lines, charging basis, and each customs authority’s own page.
- Send Photos — the four figures we can give you, and no invented duty number.
- How It Works — the four steps of a purchasing order.
This article describes how importing works in general terms as we understand it in September 2026, and is not customs or tax advice. Thresholds and rates change, and your own authority’s rules on the day of entry govern your parcel. For a binding position on your goods, ask a licensed customs broker. Questions about a specific order? Email info@elovyrhaven.com.
