You must state on the CBP declaration, in U.S. currency, what you actually paid for each item. The price must include all taxes. If you did not buy the item yourself—for example, if it is a gift—get an estimate of its fair retail value in the country where you received it. If you bought something on your trip and wore or used it on the trip, it’s still dutiable. You must declare the item at the price you paid or, if it was a gift, at its fair market value..
What You Must Declare
* Items you purchased and are carrying with you upon return to the United States.
* Items you received as gifts, such as wedding or birthday presents.
* Items you inherited.
* Items you bought in duty-free shops, on the ship, or on the plane.
* Repairs or alterations to any items you took abroad and then brought back, even if the repairs/alterations were performed free of charge.
* Items you brought home for someone else.
* Items you intend to sell or use in your business.
* Items you acquired— whether purchased or received as gifts in the U.S. Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Guam, or in a Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery Act country ( see section on $800 exemption for a list of these countries) that are not in your possession when you return. In other words, if you acquired items in any of these island nations and asked the merchant to send them to you, you must still declare them when you go through Customs. This differs from the usual procedure for mailed items, which is discussed in the section on Sending Goods to the United States. Joint Declaration
Family members who live in the same home and return together to the United States may combine their personal exemptions. This is called a joint declaration. For example, if Mr. and Mrs. Smith travel overseas and Mrs. Smith brings home a $1,000 piece of glassware, and Mr. Smith buys $600 worth of clothing, they can combine their $800 exemptions on a joint declaration and not have to pay duty.
Children and infants are allowed the same exemption as adults, except for alcoholic beverages.
Register Items Before You Leave the United States
If your laptop computer was made in Japan – for instance – you might have to pay duty on it each time you brought it back into the United States, unless you could prove that you owned it before you left on your trip. Documents that fully describe the item—such as sales receipts, insurance policies, or jeweler's appraisals—are acceptable forms of proof. |
