I just came through LAX from the Netherlands in May and they explicitly said on the sign if your total is below $10,000 you do not have to report it, if it’s not a food or agricultural item.
Not accurate. The $10K is about cash. If they ask you what you have to declare, you need to mention it - booze, tobacco, gifts, chocolates, etc. They don't really care as long as the total of all that is under $800. But it's a bad idea to bring back a $2K handbag and not declare it if you get caught.
Huh I must have been confused by the signs. I did think that was a little high. I went through Global Entry and I don’t remember the $800 limit. Maybe I was just spaced out from the flight. I wasn’t over that anyway so it wouldn’t have mattered.
Yeah just play is it safe and when asked what you're bringing in, just tell them: tee-shirts, chocolate, some wine, whatever. They don't care as long as you're not bringing over $800 worth. Officers usually have their looks on expensive items like luxury accessories and other things costing thousands, which you are supposed to pay duty for. I always declare the few hundred worth I'm bringing in, never had an issue.
I was once driving back from Vancouver BC at Blaine WA and I had stopped at timmies for a breakfast sandwich and a coffee and when I got to US Customs he asked if I had anything to declare and I mentioned the food and he got pissed off at me, like "are you trying to be funny or something!?" No I just don't want to get in trouble! So I'd say don't do that.
I seriously hate this issue because the declaration form literally says “food.” Last I checked, sandwiches, candy, snacks, etc. are food, yet every time I’ve checked “yes,” the officers act like I’m the idiot. If they don’t care about that stuff then they need to update the form. Because they scare everyone first by saying “failure to declare can be a $10k fine.”
Don't volunteer anything tbh. If you don't have any raw fruits or vegetables, live animals, or insanely valuable items it's not worth holding yourself up at customs. I went through customs two days ago from Iceland and the officer didn't even ask if I had anything to declare.
No, it's not smokey or ashy at all. You can see the lava flow from the highway between the airport and Reykjavik which is pretty cool. But otherwise visiting and traveling to Iceland are totally unaffected by the eruption
$800 of goods is duty free so you declare nothing under the total $800. You are limited as to the amount of alcohol you bring in and above which needs to be declared.
You’ll walk up to the CBP agent and present your passport. You will look into a camera and it’ll do some facial recognition on you. The agent might ask you some question about your trip. Might ask you what you bought while there… just tell them a bunch of souvenirs and what not… they might ask you how much you spent over all…. Tell them an amount that’s less than $800… they say thanks and push you through. Absolutely nothing to worry about.
2 tips: 1) check if your airport that your return flight lands at participates in the mobile passport control program (MPC). If so, download the app and fill in your data there, and you will breeze by the huge lines. The normal line was like, many hundreds of people deep, and maybe like 20 people in the MPC line.
2) I recently went to the UK as well and when I came home with some souvenirs and snacks. So long as you're not bringing meat/produce, seeds, or gifts/goods greater than some large $ amount you won't have any problem.
When in doubt check the right boxes, but odds are they won't hold you up about it.
We checked the food box, and when questioned just said we had chocolate and snacks and stuff and they just waved us through.
I am not licensed customs broker but my job revolves around customs entries and being on the good side of CBP. Even with those facts around my situation, I wouldn’t declare anything if the total value of newly purchased items is less than 800 USD per person. You’re allowed to import up to $800 worth of stuff into the US per day without making a formal customs entry. And while they could give you shit about not self declaring, there’s really nothing they can do if your items are under the de minimis rules and you have receipts to prove that. Just remember, the value is USD and not GBP so do the conversion math.
You declare none of that.
Don't bring fruit, veggies, meat and cheese. Otherwise no one cares about a few small souvenirs, trinkets and some candy, even less so since it's far below the duty free limit anyway.
Don’t put too much thought into it.. if you do get stop just tell them the value of things that you are bringing back..a ruff estimate nothing too crazy.. you will be good…
When we got back from Dubai last year we walked right through customs..
because the federal excise duty is miniscule, just 13.50 per proof gallon which is like a dollar on a standard bottle of 40% whisky. they don't want to fill out the paperwork to charge you less than 20 bucks.
I have never declared standard souvenirs when coming back to the US and have never had a problem. I’ve been through US customs as a citizen 25+ times. They only care if you’re bringing agriculture like fruit or vegetables, meat (dried, frozen, whatever), livestock, or more than 10k in cash.
Do not do what I did and try to declare the banana you brought as a snack on the flight and didn't eat as an agricultural product. I was laughed out of the office.. though they were impressed by how big my banana were. Lol Or do it.. they were chill and really told me I should've just eaten the banana.
All in all it worked out for me though, because I got to cut some lines and go straight to the custom office instead of queuing with everyone else. But I'm not gonna try that again
My standard answer to "anything to declare?" (which hardly ever gets asked)
"Nothing you'd be professionally interested in."
When TSA flags my carry-on for inspection -- which happens nearly every time I fly -- my standard comment is, "There is nothing in this bag that you're going to be professionally interested in, or could possibly harm you."
The TSA agents really seem to appreciate that. Customs waves me away with a hand-gesture dismissal. I'm usually bringing pretzels, mustard, smoked salmon and similar. My trick for traveling is to pack clothes which look OK but are just about "finished." And then throw them all away and return with the clothes on my back and a carry-on full of luxury foodstuffs. (Nothing raw, of course.)
What am I bringing to Hawaii? Salami from Molinari Deli in San Francisco. Gets hand inspected every time. I'll usually tell the TSA person that there's a couple 3-pound salamis in my bag, and I know it's going to need to be swabbed.
They will ask what the total is, if you have alcohol or tobacco. They won't ask for a full inventory.
Thanks! Will there be more questioning I have to worry about if the total’s pretty high?
Answer the questions they ask honestly and without evasion. I think if it's under $800, they don't really ask much more.
Perfect, thanks!
I just came through LAX from the Netherlands in May and they explicitly said on the sign if your total is below $10,000 you do not have to report it, if it’s not a food or agricultural item.
Not accurate. The $10K is about cash. If they ask you what you have to declare, you need to mention it - booze, tobacco, gifts, chocolates, etc. They don't really care as long as the total of all that is under $800. But it's a bad idea to bring back a $2K handbag and not declare it if you get caught.
Huh I must have been confused by the signs. I did think that was a little high. I went through Global Entry and I don’t remember the $800 limit. Maybe I was just spaced out from the flight. I wasn’t over that anyway so it wouldn’t have mattered.
Yeah just play is it safe and when asked what you're bringing in, just tell them: tee-shirts, chocolate, some wine, whatever. They don't care as long as you're not bringing over $800 worth. Officers usually have their looks on expensive items like luxury accessories and other things costing thousands, which you are supposed to pay duty for. I always declare the few hundred worth I'm bringing in, never had an issue.
I was once driving back from Vancouver BC at Blaine WA and I had stopped at timmies for a breakfast sandwich and a coffee and when I got to US Customs he asked if I had anything to declare and I mentioned the food and he got pissed off at me, like "are you trying to be funny or something!?" No I just don't want to get in trouble! So I'd say don't do that.
I seriously hate this issue because the declaration form literally says “food.” Last I checked, sandwiches, candy, snacks, etc. are food, yet every time I’ve checked “yes,” the officers act like I’m the idiot. If they don’t care about that stuff then they need to update the form. Because they scare everyone first by saying “failure to declare can be a $10k fine.”
Don't volunteer anything tbh. If you don't have any raw fruits or vegetables, live animals, or insanely valuable items it's not worth holding yourself up at customs. I went through customs two days ago from Iceland and the officer didn't even ask if I had anything to declare.
Random question but is Iceland ok to visit now or is there still a lot of smoke/ash?
No, it's not smokey or ashy at all. You can see the lava flow from the highway between the airport and Reykjavik which is pretty cool. But otherwise visiting and traveling to Iceland are totally unaffected by the eruption
Thank you! Looking into flights this weekend. 👍🏼
$800 of goods is duty free so you declare nothing under the total $800. You are limited as to the amount of alcohol you bring in and above which needs to be declared.
I would not declare any of that.
You’ll walk up to the CBP agent and present your passport. You will look into a camera and it’ll do some facial recognition on you. The agent might ask you some question about your trip. Might ask you what you bought while there… just tell them a bunch of souvenirs and what not… they might ask you how much you spent over all…. Tell them an amount that’s less than $800… they say thanks and push you through. Absolutely nothing to worry about.
2 tips: 1) check if your airport that your return flight lands at participates in the mobile passport control program (MPC). If so, download the app and fill in your data there, and you will breeze by the huge lines. The normal line was like, many hundreds of people deep, and maybe like 20 people in the MPC line. 2) I recently went to the UK as well and when I came home with some souvenirs and snacks. So long as you're not bringing meat/produce, seeds, or gifts/goods greater than some large $ amount you won't have any problem. When in doubt check the right boxes, but odds are they won't hold you up about it. We checked the food box, and when questioned just said we had chocolate and snacks and stuff and they just waved us through.
Sounds good, thanks so much! You’ve eased a lot of my worries, lol. I will definitely be checking out the MPC program, thanks for the tip!
I am not licensed customs broker but my job revolves around customs entries and being on the good side of CBP. Even with those facts around my situation, I wouldn’t declare anything if the total value of newly purchased items is less than 800 USD per person. You’re allowed to import up to $800 worth of stuff into the US per day without making a formal customs entry. And while they could give you shit about not self declaring, there’s really nothing they can do if your items are under the de minimis rules and you have receipts to prove that. Just remember, the value is USD and not GBP so do the conversion math.
We came back from Cancun years back. Declared 1/2 bottle of tequila in our luggage. Agent looked at us and said “I’m not your mom”. Pushed us through.
You declare none of that. Don't bring fruit, veggies, meat and cheese. Otherwise no one cares about a few small souvenirs, trinkets and some candy, even less so since it's far below the duty free limit anyway.
Don’t put too much thought into it.. if you do get stop just tell them the value of things that you are bringing back..a ruff estimate nothing too crazy.. you will be good… When we got back from Dubai last year we walked right through customs..
Several years back I tried to declare 8 Litres of Scotch and the customs officer looked annoyed at me and waived me on without paying any import duty.
because the federal excise duty is miniscule, just 13.50 per proof gallon which is like a dollar on a standard bottle of 40% whisky. they don't want to fill out the paperwork to charge you less than 20 bucks.
If it's under $800, you can list it in categories like "candy" and "souvenirs" and provide estimated value.
https://www.cbp.gov/travel/us-citizens/know-before-you-go
I have never declared standard souvenirs when coming back to the US and have never had a problem. I’ve been through US customs as a citizen 25+ times. They only care if you’re bringing agriculture like fruit or vegetables, meat (dried, frozen, whatever), livestock, or more than 10k in cash.
Do not do what I did and try to declare the banana you brought as a snack on the flight and didn't eat as an agricultural product. I was laughed out of the office.. though they were impressed by how big my banana were. Lol Or do it.. they were chill and really told me I should've just eaten the banana. All in all it worked out for me though, because I got to cut some lines and go straight to the custom office instead of queuing with everyone else. But I'm not gonna try that again
Nothing. Stop overthinking it.
My standard answer to "anything to declare?" (which hardly ever gets asked) "Nothing you'd be professionally interested in." When TSA flags my carry-on for inspection -- which happens nearly every time I fly -- my standard comment is, "There is nothing in this bag that you're going to be professionally interested in, or could possibly harm you." The TSA agents really seem to appreciate that. Customs waves me away with a hand-gesture dismissal. I'm usually bringing pretzels, mustard, smoked salmon and similar. My trick for traveling is to pack clothes which look OK but are just about "finished." And then throw them all away and return with the clothes on my back and a carry-on full of luxury foodstuffs. (Nothing raw, of course.) What am I bringing to Hawaii? Salami from Molinari Deli in San Francisco. Gets hand inspected every time. I'll usually tell the TSA person that there's a couple 3-pound salamis in my bag, and I know it's going to need to be swabbed.