What you can and cannot take with across borders, and how much it will cost, may be a determining factor in your purchases made abroad. 

The Process

Every time you enter a new country, or return to your own, you’ll need to clear customs. The primary mission of customs is to ensure that nothing harmful, potentially harmful, or illegal is brought into the country. With that in mind, every traveler will be asked if they have anything to declare. What they mean is: did you bring anything back with you that was purchased or received as a gift on your trip. If you are traveling into another country, customs officials will want to know if you are traveling with anything potentially dangerous or illegal. This could include plants, fruits and vegetables, meats, alcohol, automobiles, and animals. Traveling with these items can be prohibited or heavily restricted. All items must be declared when crossing borders, and must comply with the country’s regulations or they will be confiscated. 

Those items are the big ones. Customs officials will also want to know if you purchased anything else on your trip. They want to know about clothes, jewelry, electronics, furniture, or anything else that may be dutiable. When you purchase goods outside of your own country, you are subject to a duty fee upon returning with those items. The cost of the duty fee will vary depending on the item and its worth. Be careful when buying expensive jewelry or electronics from certain countries because they can be subject to a 100% duty fee at border crossing. This means that you would pay the full amount of the item at the time of purchase and again at border crossing.

Duty Free Shops

When purchasing items in a duty free shop, be aware that you may also be subject to duty fees on these items upon returning to your country. Articles sold in a duty-free shop are free of duty and taxes only for the country in which that shop is located. So if your purchases exceed your personal exemption, items you bought in a duty-free shop, whether in the United States or abroad, will likely be subject to duty.

Before Traveling

If you are planning a trip abroad make note of what you pack. Any expensive jewelry, foreign made electronics or camera equipment can be questioned upon your return. If you leave the country with these items, be sure to bring along receipts or register the items before leaving the country or they can be subject to duty fees upon your return

VAT

Items purchased in many countries may have been charged a VAT (value added tax) at the time of purchase. If you purchased an item that included a VAT, you may get the VAT amount refunded as you leave the country. Be sure to have any receipts for these items and plan on extra time to process the paperwork at border crossing. For most countries, you must apply for your VAT refund as you leave the country, or you are no longer eligible for the refund.

The next time you travel abroad, you might want to think twice about that ivory necklace from Africa or the pricey video camera from Japan. You could end up paying double for it, or have the item confiscated altogether as you return to your home country. The bottom line: you may want to think twice about any unusual or highly expensive item when making your purchases, and check with customs first.