Border Basics
Duty, taxes and personal exemptions, oh my!
Runway Duty Free at YWG.
nadian Border Services. But wait, they want you to pay taxes on your purchas- es? You may think you pay enough taxes throughout the year, but depending on what you purchase while travelling out of the country, you may be responsible for paying, you guessed it, more taxes or duties. Duty is a tariff you pay on goods you import into Canada. Te rate is estab- lished by the Department of Finance Canada, not the border service agent enforcing the legislation on your pur- chases. Te duty varies depending on where the products were made, and personal exemptions are determined by how long you have been out of the country. If your products were made in the United States, Mexico or Canada, or
A Traveller personal exemption limits
Less than 24 hours
Personal exemptions do not apply to same-day cross-border shoppers.
24 hours up to 48 hours
Up to C$200 – Alcohol and tobacco cannot be claimed. Goods must be in your possession at time of entry to Canada. If the value of the goods you have purchased abroad exceeds $200 after a 24 hour absence, duty and taxes are applicable on the entire amount of the imported goods.
Up to C$800 – May include alcohol and tobacco products, within the
48 hours or more
prescribed limits set by provincial or territorial authorities. Goods must be in your possession at time of entry to Canada. Travellers absent for peri-
ods of 48 hours or more will have the applicable exemption level credited against the total value of goods.
Up to C$800 – May include alcohol and tobacco products, within the 7 days or more
prescribed limits set by provincial or territorial authorities. For the seven- day exemption, goods may be in your possession at time of entry to
Canada but are also permitted to follow entry to Canada (such as via couri- er, mail or delivery agency), except alcohol and tobacco products, which
must be in your possession. All the goods will qualify for duty- and tax-free entry if they are declared at the initial return to Canada.
fter a wonderful two week vacation you return home, fill out your declaration card and proceed through Ca-
there is no labelling indicating it was made somewhere else, it is duty-free - fantastic! No duty is required as long as the goods are for your own personal use. However, most imported goods over your personal exemption are subject to GST and PST (or HST in certain prov- inces). Confused? Don’t be. Tere is a Duty
and Taxes Estimator that provides an estimate of the import fees for goods for personal use by Canadian citizens returning to Canada. Te final amount may vary from the online calculator and will be determined by an agent. Person- al exemptions, tariff classifications and applicable rates of duty and taxes and other circumstances may affect what is owed on your imported goods and may change from time to time. Check out this link to stay up to date: cbsa-asfc.
gc.ca/travel-voyage/dte-acl/err-eng. html.
Personal
How do you get a personal exemption and what is it? exemptions
allow you to
bring goods of a predetermined value into the country without having to pay duty or taxes, but who gets one? Ca- nadian residents returning from a trip outside of Canada, former residents of Canada returning to live here, or tempo- rary residents of Canada returning from a trip outside of Canada are all entitled to personal exemptions. Exemptions are available to all residents even children and infants, as long as the goods are for the child’s use; therefore, you may have to debate whether your nine month old will be the actual user of the iPad you purchased under their exemption. Ex- emptions cannot be shared to accom- modate large purchases. Currently traveller personal exemp-
tions are determined based on your time outside of the country as outlined in the table to the left.
Alcohol Alcoholic beverages are products that
exceed 0.5% alcohol by volume. You are allowed to import only one of the fol- lowing amounts of alcohol and alcohol-
82 • Spring 2015 The Hub
Photo courtesy of Winnipeg Airports Authority.
Chart courtesy of Canada Border Services.
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