Last year I helped a friend import a small batch of phone accessories from Shenzhen to the US. The quote from her supplier looked great — until the shipment got stuck in customs with a bill she never saw coming. That experience sent me down a rabbit hole, and I want to share what I learned about calculating true landed cost in 2026, because the rules changed dramatically in the past two years.
The five layers you actually pay
When people say "tariff", they usually mean just one layer. In reality, for most goods entering the US, you pay up to five:
- MFN duty — the baseline rate from the HTS code. Check it free on the USITC HTS search.
- Section 301 China tariff — if the product is China-origin, an additional 7.5%–25% applies to thousands of HTS lines. This is where most surprises happen.
- Reciprocal/global tariffs (2025–2026 layer) — the 2025 executive orders added country-level ad valorem tariffs that stack on top of #1 and #2. Rates have shifted several times, so check the current snapshot before ordering.
- MPF/HMF — the merchandise processing fee (0.3464%, min/max apply) for ocean/air entries. Small but real.
- State sales/use tax & last-mile — not customs, but part of true landed cost.
A worked example
Say you import $4,000 of LED desk lamps (HTS 9405.XX, China origin):
| Layer | Rate | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Invoice value | — | $4,000.00 |
| MFN duty | ~3.9% | $156.00 |
| Section 301 | 25% (List 3) | $1,000.00 |
| Reciprocal layer | current snapshot rate | varies |
| MPF | 0.3464% | $13.86 |
That "cheap" order carries 30%+ in duty layers before it leaves the port. If your margin math assumed invoice value + 10% shipping, you're underwater.
Three lessons I learned the hard way
1. Your supplier's HS code suggestion is a starting point, not gospel. Classification drives everything. A "lamp" classified under 9405 vs 8513 can differ by tens of percent in total duty. When in doubt, get a binding ruling or ask your broker in writing.
2. De minimis is not a strategy. The $800 de minimis exemption that fueled years of direct-from-China parcels has been tightened for covered-origin goods; building your unit economics on it is building on sand. Check the current de minimis policy per origin country every time.
3. Automate the boring math. I built a spreadsheet first, then realized the rates change so often that a static sheet rots within weeks. Rule tables need versioning and a changelog — which is why we ended up building InvoiceTariff, a free calculator with a versioned rule base (more on that in a future post; this one is deliberately method-first).
Your 10-minute pre-order checklist
- [ ] Get the exact HTS code from your supplier — in writing
- [ ] Look up MFN rate on USITC (free, 2 min)
- [ ] Check whether Section 301 applies to that HTS line for your origin country
- [ ] Check the current reciprocal-tariff snapshot for the origin country
- [ ] Add MPF (0.3464%) + freight + insurance
- [ ] Recompute your margin at the landed number, not invoice value
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