Sales Tax vs Import Duty: Two Different Bills Explained

The sales tax vs import duty question has a short answer: they are two separate bills from two different governments. US sales tax is added by the retailer at checkout, based on the US address the order ships to. Import duty and tax are charged by your own country when the parcel arrives, and paying or avoiding one does nothing to the other.

Sales tax vs import duty at a glance

The retailer has no say over what your customs authority charges. Your country’s import rules apply whichever US state the order passed through.

How US sales tax shows up at checkout

Sales tax in the USA is set state by state. When you enter a delivery address on a US store’s website, the retailer works out the tax for that address and shows it as a tax line (often labelled estimated tax) before you pay. The amount depends on the state and the item, so the same cart can show a different tax line for a different address.

Some states have no general state sales tax. New Hampshire is one of them, and it is where our US buying base is. That can benefit eligible purchases delivered to the confirmed New Hampshire receiving address, which we explain in our guide to the New Hampshire tax-free US shopping address.

Two practical points apply here. Get the complete receiving address and suite details from your Forwarding account before checkout, and never ship to an incomplete address. Then read the retailer’s order summary before paying, because the retailer’s checkout decides what tax line appears. Our US forwarding address checkout checklist covers the address step.

How import duty and tax show up on arrival

Import duty and import tax belong to the country the parcel is delivered to. In general, customs looks at the declared value, the description of the goods and the supporting receipt, then decides whether anything is payable. The buyer pays any duty or tax.

We do not quote duty rates or thresholds here, because each country sets its own and they change. Check your customs authority’s current guidance for the items you plan to buy.

With Amaboxly, the import side appears in a different place depending on how you shop:

• Shop orders shipped internationally: customs, duties and taxes are set by the destination country, are the buyer’s responsibility and are not included in our prices or delivery fees. We declare the accurate item value on customs forms.
• Forwarding to Malaysia: we handle US and Malaysia customs clearance. Your quote covers measured weight and dimensions, freight, delivery, import treatment, timing and services before you authorize shipment.
• Forwarding to other countries: you need a destination-specific quote before buying or shipping. Door delivery, import or clearance charges and services are confirmed separately in that quote.

Why a tax-free US address does not remove import duty

The two charges get mixed up easily. New Hampshire having no general state sales tax affects only the US side of the purchase. It does not remove your destination country’s import duties, taxes or clearance charges.

So an order with no sales tax line at the retailer can still attract an import charge at home. The reverse also holds. If a retailer does charge sales tax on an order, do not assume your country will credit it against import charges. Your customs authority’s guidance is the place to confirm how the taxable value is worked out.

Freight is a third cost, separate from both. For Malaysia, air freight is the billed weight multiplied by the tier rate on our rate card. A parcel billed at 2 kg is 2 x USD 31.00 = USD 62.00, before door delivery. The shipping calculator shows the current figures and the exchange rate used.

Where each bill appears in our three ways to shop

For Buy for me requests, send the exact US product URL, the store price and a cart or product-page screenshot. That lets us review the purchase details before anything is bought. The assisted-purchase fee is shown on the Buy for me page and in your payment request.

Keep the receipt and declare the real value

Whatever your country charges on arrival is worked out from what is declared. After buying, keep your receipt and the retailer tracking number. Then declare the parcel in your forwarding account with accurate contents and the paid value.

An accurate declaration is your responsibility even where we handle clearance. Our guide to tracking and declaring a forwarded parcel explains each step.