My sister and I will be going to London in March of 2004. Everything I have read says you can only bring back $400 worth of souvenirs per person without paying a duty. We will be there 10 days and are BIG shoppers, so I know we will spend more money than that! Is it cheaper to mail stuff home, to pay the duty, or ...? Thanks!

Mailing stuff back can become a crap shoot Customs-wise. Sometimes, BUT NOT ALWAYS, goods will pass through without any duty being levied and other times you'll be hit with a Customs charge by the Post Office.
I'm sure you'll have people here telling you they've mailed stuff back and it has NEVER been Customs-levied and that is probably true..but don't count on it. If you do, and you get dutied, just don't get mad later on!

Same experience here. Most of the items that we have mailed home did not arrive with a duty charge, but a few have. It seems the more expensive the item, the more likely this will happen.

Good news..the duty free exemption has been raised to $800 per person.

And..Duty on items you mail home to yourself will be waived if the value is $200 or less.

Here's a brochure, "Know Before You Go," that explains it all...

http://www.customs.ustreas.gov/xp/cg...know_brochure/

Since you are sisters you will only need to fill one claim form one Surname and use the Faimly exemption it is much higher. Just a note go to the US customs web site and check they have Change the Personal Exemption to $800. The duty-free exemption, also called the personal exemption, is the total value of merchandise you may bring back to the United States without having to pay duty. You may bring back more than your exemption, but you will have to pay duty on it. In most cases, the personal exemption is $800, but there are some exceptions to this rule, which are explained below.

Exemptions
Depending on the countries you have visited, your personal exemption will be $600, $800, or $1,200. (The differences are explained in the following section.) There are also limits on the amount of alcoholic beverages, cigarettes, cigars, and other tobacco products you may include in your duty-free personal exemption.

The duty-free exemptions ($600, $800, or $1,200) apply if:

* The items are for your personal or household use.
* They are in your possession (that is, they accompany you) when you return to the United States. Items to be sent later may not be included in your $800 duty-free exemption.
* They are declared to Customs. If you do not declare something that should have been declared, you risk forfeiting it. If in doubt, declare it.
* You are returning from an overseas stay of at least 48 hours. For example, if you leave the United States at 1:30 p.m. on June 1, you would complete the 48-hour period at 1:30 p.m. on June 3. This time limit does not apply if you are returning from Mexico or from the U.S. Virgin Islands. (See the section on the $200 exemption.)
* You have not used your exemption, or any part of it, in the past 30 days. If you use part of your exemption - for example, if you go to England and bring back $150 worth of items - you must wait another 30 days before you are allowed another $800 exemption. (However, see the section on the $200 exemption.)
* The items are not prohibited or restricted as discussed in the section on Prohibited and Restricted Items. Note the embargo prohibitions on products of Cuba.

Thanks to everyone for their quick replies! One more question (and it is a stupid one!): I wouldn't have to pay anything to the UK for taking items out of their country, would I? Sorry - I can hear the "stupid american" comments coming already!!

No Heather, that's what the sales tax is, but you can get it refunded in some cases...do a search on VAT refunds. It'll help make up for any duties you'll have to pay...

swalter518 is right, you can get the VAT refunded, but it seems to only be worthwhile on pricier items (say over £100). Some merchants have the forms you need to fill out, but it's a bit of a hassle so many won't do it on purchases under a certain limit. This has been discussed in greater detail in the past, so do a search on VAT under UK.

When did the personal exemption increase to $800? I came back from Italy in May and I thought it was still at $400.

no, it changed about at the beginning of the Federal fiscal year back in 2002 (Nov 4, 2002).

http://www.customs.ustreas.gov/xp/cgov/
newsroom/press_releases/102002/
duty_free_exemption_increase.xml

Heather, I have the same problem, but the other way around; I like to visit New York and buy much more than I am allowed to bring in without paying duties. With clothes; just take off all labels so they don't look like you bought them in London. With any electronic items or CD's I just take off the packaging (but it's unlikely you will buy those in London since these are so much cheaper in London). And one other thing: mail back your receipts to yourself in a plain envelope; I know of someone who had to show customs all receipts he kept in his wallet, so then he couldn't pretend he had not bought all the stuff.

A small caveat to the VAT refund thread...

I'm married to a very impatient person, and the line to turn in VAT refund requests at Paris/CDL was too long to deal with. Leave yourself plenty of time to stand in line if you spend big bucks expecting to get some back.

Ireland was not a problematic, tho we did have to stop at two different VAT counters to turn all the paperwork in.

So - how does the family exemption thing work?
My folks went with me to Ireland in April. Should their limit have been $1600 for the 2 of them? or $800???

God, I can't imagine how much more Mom would have bought if it was supposed to be 1600.......

I meant electronics are much cheaper in NY of course! And let me know if you need any shopping tips (lots of London shopping expertise here!)

Debbie: read http://www.customs.ustreas.gov/xp/cg...re/declare.xml ... look under joint delaration

I just returned from Buenos Aires on June 13, 2003. The personal exemption was $800 for US residents. You only have to pay 10% duty on any amount over $800. So, if you spent $1000, you would only have to pay $20. This is another good reason to shop DUTY FREE at the airport for expensive, luxury goods.

As ThinG said, the customs duty is now 10% on just about everything.

In order to receive a refund on VAT you have to spend about 200 GBP ***in each shop***.

Families can combine exemptions at the rate of $800 each.

A family of 4 including 2 small children would wqualify for $3200 in exemption