Section 321 De Minimis: Ship Under $800 into the US Duty-Free
The de minimis rule lets shipments under $800 per consignee per day enter the US duty-free. Here's how it works, what's changed in 2024-2026, and whether your shipments still qualify.
Short version. Section 321 of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 USC § 1321) lets shipments valued at $800 or less per consignee per dayenter the United States duty-free and without formal entry paperwork. It’s the legal foundation for most cross-border e-commerce into the US — the thing that makes “free international shipping” from an overseas vendor economically viable. The rules have tightened significantly in 2024–2026 around China-sourced goods; the general $800 threshold still stands for most destinations.
How Section 321 works
- Threshold: $800 fair retail value per consignee per day.
- Per whom: per consignee (buyer), aggregated across all shipments arriving that day.
- Effect: no duty, no formal entry required, no merchandise-processing fee. The courier files an informal release with CBP.
- Filing:usually under CBP’s Type 86 entry — an electronic filing with more data points than the legacy manifest process. Your forwarder or courier handles this.
- Not eligible: restricted merchandise (firearms, controlled drugs, certain apparel categories subject to quota), goods under anti-dumping or countervailing duty orders, goods subject to Section 201, 232, 301 penalty tariffs, and any merchandise requiring a formal entry regardless of value.
The economics that made it matter
Before the threshold was raised from $200 to $800 in 2016, small overseas sellers didn’t have a duty-free channel into the US and had to either use a bonded importer or price to cover duty. The $800 raise unlocked:
- Fast-fashion e-commerce from China (Shein, Temu) shipping direct to consumer without duty.
- Drop-shipping business models where the merchant doesn’t hold US inventory.
- Cross-border Shopify stores using international print-on-demand.
- Etsy sellers in the UK, Canada, and the EU shipping personal items into the US market.
For most US-destined consumer e-commerce orders, Section 321 is the difference between a profitable checkout and a 10–25% duty hit that kills the margin.
What’s changed since 2024
Three major regulatory shifts have narrowed the scope:
- Section 301 tariff exclusion. Goods subject to Section 301 tariffs on Chinese imports (i.e. most Chinese-made consumer goods) lost de minimis eligibility when shipped direct from China. CBP now requires these to enter through formal entry even if under $800, with full duty applied.
- Enhanced data requirements for Type 86. Each shipment must now include the HS code at 10-digit level, country of origin, fair retail value, consignee address, and seller information. Missing or inconsistent data triggers hold.
- Aggregation rules tightened. CBP is more aggressive about aggregating multiple shipments to the same consignee on the same day. Sellers splitting orders to stay under $800 are flagged and penalised.
The regulatory environment continues to evolve. Any business model betting on Section 321 from China should check the current CBP guidance and, ideally, have a contingency that works if de minimis is further narrowed or removed.
Using Section 321 correctly
Commercial invoice requirements
Even for de minimis shipments, a commercial invoice is required. Include:
- Shipper name, address, and tax ID (EIN / USCC / etc).
- Consignee name and full US address — single consignee per shipment, no “mail drop” addresses.
- Description of goods in plain English.
- HS code at 10 digits (HTS-US) for Type 86 filings.
- Country of origin.
- Fair retail value in USD — not a discounted or promotional value; what the buyer actually paid.
- Qty and unit price per line item.
- Incoterm (usually DAP or DDP for direct-to-consumer e-commerce).
The key field is fair retail value. CBP uses this to determine de minimis eligibility; under-declaring to squeeze a $900 shipment into the $800 bucket is fraud and is aggressively pursued.
The $800 is per consignee per day — meaning what?
If one consignee receives:
- One shipment of $500 and another of $200 in the same day → both qualify ($700 total).
- One shipment of $500 and another of $400 in the same day → the second loses eligibility ($900 total).
- One shipment of $500 on Monday and another of $500 on Tuesday → both qualify (different days).
- 10 shipments of $799 on the same day from different shippers → eligibility depends on whether CBP aggregates across shippers (they can).
Practical implication: don’t time repeat orders to the same buyer across the same day. If you run subscription or recurring models, the daily cap is a real constraint.
What replaces Section 321 if your shipment doesn’t qualify
- Type 11 informal entry — for shipments $800 to $2,500. Formal but streamlined; pay duty, file a Type 11.
- Type 1 formal entry — for shipments over $2,500 or subject to special rules. Requires a licensed customs broker or CBP Form 7501.
- Foreign Trade Zone (FTZ) — for high-volume importers. Goods enter duty-deferred, pay on final withdrawal.
- Bonded warehouse — duty deferred until withdrawal for consumption or re-export.
Practical e-commerce checklist
- Keep order values per consignee per day visibly tracked so you don’t accidentally cross $800.
- Declare the full HS code at 10-digit HTS level on every commercial invoice — our wizard has autocomplete.
- Declare the actual retail value — no under-declaration tricks.
- If your products are Chinese-origin, reassess: a domestic warehouse in the US or Mexico may be cheaper than de minimis even with 25% duty on bulk entries.
- Use a single consignee address per order — no split destinations.
- For DDP shipments where you pay duty if the shipment misses de minimis, build the duty into your contingency pricing.
FAQ
Is the $800 de minimis threshold per order or per customer?
Per consignee (buyer) per day, not per order. If a single customer receives $500 of goods in the morning and another $500 in the evening from the same shipper, both shipments exceed the daily $800 combined and the second may lose de minimis eligibility. Customs aggregates multiple shipments to the same address on the same day to catch splitting.
What's different about Section 321 and 'Type 86' entry?
Section 321 is the statutory duty-free allowance for shipments under $800. Type 86 is a specific CBP entry type that was introduced in 2019 to electronically file de minimis shipments with additional data points. Most high-volume e-commerce shipments now file under Type 86 because CBP uses it for risk-assessment and to track import volumes that were previously invisible.
Can I split a large order to stay under $800?
Technically no. CBP treats splitting — multiple shipments of the same goods to the same buyer designed to avoid duty — as a violation of 19 CFR § 10.151. Penalties include loss of de minimis privilege and back-duty with interest. If your product genuinely ships as separate units (for example, a subscription box that ships monthly), each shipment is evaluated on its own and is legitimately duty-free if under $800.
Does Section 321 apply to goods from China?
As of the most recent regulatory cycle, yes in general — but with significant narrowing. Goods subject to Section 301 China tariffs no longer qualify for de minimis when ordered directly from Chinese e-commerce platforms (Shein, Temu style imports). This has shifted the commercial model: many sellers now warehouse in the US or Mexico and ship domestically to customers. Check the current regulatory state before building a business model on Section 321 from China.
What to do next
If you’re shipping into the US, generate invoices with our wizard — it has HS autocomplete, HTS 10-digit support, and Incoterm validation. For the broader US clearance landscape, see the US country template. If you’re wrestling with the duty side of cross-border checkout, our DDP vs DAP post covers the pricing trade-offs for the B2C case.
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