Ordering from Japan to the US in 2026: What You'll Pay in Duties, and When

If you order from a Japanese shop and have it shipped to the US, expect to pay import duties, taxes or fees on almost every order, even small ones. The $800 duty-free allowance that used to cover most small packages has been suspended for all countries since 29 August 2025. What differs from shop to shop is not whether you pay, but when: included in the price at checkout, or collected by the carrier at your door.

That second difference matters most when the package is a gift. This page explains what changed, why a “gift” label doesn’t help, how the two ways of paying work, and what to check before you order. It isn’t legal or tax advice; for your own shipment, the carrier or CBP has the final word.

What changed

• 29 August 2025. CBP suspended duty-free de minimis treatment, the exemption for shipments worth $800 or less, for goods from all countries. CBP says these shipments now owe “all applicable duties, taxes, fees, exactions, and charges” (CBP, e-commerce FAQs).
• 24 June 2026. CBP announced regulations that keep the suspension in place indefinitely and apply it consistently to every way a package can arrive, including international mail (CBP, 24 June 2026).
• The rates themselves keep moving. US tariff measures have changed several times since 2025. In February 2026 the Supreme Court ended the tariffs imposed under emergency powers, and CBP stopped collecting them from 24 February; other measures have replaced them since (summary of CBP’s guidance). None of this restored the $800 allowance. CBP says duty is charged at the rates in effect when the shipment enters the country. That’s why this page doesn’t quote a percentage: any number would go out of date. The shop’s checkout, or the carrier’s bill, is where you’ll see the real figure.

“But it’s a gift”

A gift label doesn’t make a purchase duty-free.

CBP still exempts bona fide gifts worth $100 or less, but its definition is narrow. The gift must be something the sender owned and gave outright, without payment or a promise of payment. CBP’s definition specifically excludes articles “given” in connection with a purchase (CBP, e-commerce FAQs). An item you buy from a shop and have shipped to a friend doesn’t qualify, even if the shop wraps it.

Discovery Japan Mall says the same from the shop’s side. Choosing its gift option marks the package as a gift and leaves prices off the packing slip, but it still has to declare the item’s value on the outside, and a gift marking doesn’t exempt the package from customs taxes (Discovery Japan Mall, customs duties). It also won’t declare a lower value than the price you paid, and coupons or points don’t lower the declared value.

Two ways you end up paying

	Duties included at checkout	Collected on delivery
Also called	DDP (Delivered Duty Paid)	DAP (Delivered at Place), or “duties unpaid”
When you pay	At checkout, as part of your order total	When the package arrives, before the carrier hands it over
Who pays	The buyer, in advance	Whoever receives the package
Surprises	Few; the total is known before you pay	Duty, tax and possibly a carrier fee on top of the price
Best for gifts sent direct	Yes	Only if the recipient expects to pay

When it’s collected on delivery, the carrier pays customs for you to get the package through, then bills the recipient. DHL, for example, says its bill can include the customs duty, local taxes, a “DHL Advance Payment surcharge” and any regulatory charges. It releases the goods only once those are repaid (DHL, duties and taxes FAQ). Other couriers charge their own clearance fees, so the amount at the door can be more than the duty alone.

When it’s included at checkout, the shop arranges customs in advance and adds the charges to your order. The price looks higher at checkout, but nothing is due at the door.

If the parcel goes by mail, Japan Post now requires duties on US-bound parcels worth up to $2,500 to be prepaid before sending, through operators it has approved (from 24 July 2026). Gifts between individuals worth $100 or less, and documents, are still exempt (Japan Post, US-bound mail, in Japanese). So a shop that ships your order by Japanese mail is likely to collect those charges when you order.

How the shops on this site handle it

These are the two shops Okurimono Japan links to. Both were checked on 26 September 2026; terms can change, so check again before you order.

Shop	What it sells here	US import charges
Hocho Knife	Kitchen knives	Mostly paid by the shop. Its shipping page says customers may pay part of the duties at checkout, and that it advances and pays all import duties on eligible US orders, so nothing more is due on delivery; some couriers may charge a small administration fee (shipping & returns).
Discovery Japan Mall	Watches, fishing tackle, pens, glassware	Collected on delivery. Its customs page says duties and taxes aren’t included in its prices or shipping, are collected when the package is delivered, and can’t be refused once it’s delivered. It also says it won’t refund an order whose shipment the customer refuses (customs duties).

Neither is better in general. Choose with the charges in mind: for a gift delivered straight to someone else, “included at checkout” spares them a bill at the door. For an order to yourself, “collected on delivery” is fine, as long as you’ve set money aside for it.

Before you order: a short checklist

1. Find the shop’s duty page. Look for “duties included”, “DDP”, or “collected on delivery”. If you can’t find it, ask before you order.
2. Read the checkout total. If duties are included, they should show there. If they aren’t, budget for duty, tax and a carrier fee on top.
3. Decide where it’s delivered. If duties are collected at the door, a gift sent straight to someone becomes their bill. Ship it to yourself instead, or pick a shop that includes duties.
4. Don’t plan on refusing it. Discovery Japan Mall says it won’t refund an order whose shipment is refused, so check who pays before you choose where the parcel goes.
5. Keep the paperwork. If a bill looks wrong, carriers have dispute processes with deadlines that start at clearance. DHL lists a duty and tax support contact for this.

For everything else about ordering through this site (payment, delivery times, returns and warranties at each shop), see How to Buy.

Where this leaves a gift from Japan

A knife, a watch or a pen from Japan is still a lovely gift. The difference since 2025 is that “free shipping” and a price in yen are no longer the whole cost. Check how the shop handles duties, choose where the package goes with that in mind, and nobody gets an unexpected bill with their present.

Looking for the gift itself? Start with santoku or gyuto as a gift, JDM watches worth importing, or a first fountain pen from Japan.

Sources

Checked 26 September 2026.

• US Customs and Border Protection, e-commerce FAQs (last modified 2 September 2026): the suspension, what’s owed, how duty is calculated, the bona fide gift definition.
• International Trade & Supply Chain Insights, CBP to cease collecting IEEPA duties on February 24, 2026: the end of the emergency-powers tariffs.
• US Customs and Border Protection, CBP modernizes low-value shipment processing (24 June 2026): the indefinite suspension across all modes.
• Japan Post, US-bound mail (Japanese): duty prepayment for parcels up to $2,500 from 24 July 2026.
• DHL, duties and taxes FAQ (US): what a receiver’s bill includes and when goods are released.
• Hocho Knife, payment, shipping & returns; Discovery Japan Mall, customs duties.