What you actually pay in duty on clothes into Canada

Duty on most clothes into Canada is 17 or 18 per cent, and the tax is charged on the duty too. By post, you meet the real figure in your hallway, on Form E14 stapled to the box.

Read the neck label before the price tag. Since 8 September 2026, a Made in USA label on some clothes costs more than a Made in Italy one: 50 per cent against 18.

The rate follows where a piece was sewn and how it travelled, and the seller picked courier or post when somebody printed the label.

Quick facts

• Courier from the U.S. or Mexico: free to CAD $40, tax only to $150, duty and tax above
• Courier from elsewhere, or by post: free only to CAD $20
• Clothing duty: 17 or 18 per cent in the 2026 Customs Tariff, Free for CUSMA origin
• Ontario HST: 13 per cent, charged on goods plus duty
• Counter tariff: 50 per cent on listed U.S. made clothing from 8 September 2026 (Department of Finance Canada, read 25 September 2026)

The three numbers that decide it

Since CUSMA came into force on 1 July 2020, a courier parcel from the United States or Mexico is duty and tax free up to CAD $40. It is taxable to $150 and pays both above that. From anywhere else by courier, the line is CAD $20.

Mail never moved: CAD $20 from every country, under the Postal Imports Remission Order of 16 October 1985.

Duty free is not tax free

A CAD $120 courier parcel from a New York shop pays no duty and still pays 13 per cent HST in Ontario.

Above $150, section 215 of the Excise Tax Act adds the duty to the value being taxed, so you pay 13 per cent on the 18.

CUSMA pays for where it was sewn

Under CUSMA's yarn forward rules, the yarn, the fabric and the sewing all have to come from Canada, the United States or Mexico.

Under CBSA Memorandum D11-4-13 (19 May 2021), a personal order from the U.S. takes the United States Tariff if marked a product of any of the three. Unmarked goods qualify too, if nothing shows otherwise.

A dress marked Made in Italy from a Manhattan boutique pays the full rate.

The 50 percent counter tariff on American made clothes

On 8 September 2026, Canada began charging counter tariffs of 15, 25 and 50 per cent on $27.6 billion of imports from the United States. The rates match what the United States charges.

Clothing sits at 50, with furniture and steel and aluminum products.

Clothing on the list includes cotton T shirts, cotton and man made fibre pullovers, women's dresses and synthetic trousers, and men's wool suits, jackets and trousers. It adds overcoats of man made fibres, track suits and synthetic gloves. Footwear, handbags, jewellery and watches are not on it.

The tariffs apply only to goods originating from the United States, meaning goods eligible to be marked as a good of the U.S. An Italian coat bought in New York owes none of it.

The Department of Finance page names no exemption for personal, low value, courier or postal shipments. Plan on the 50 per cent for any listed piece made in the United States.

The rate band for clothes and shoes

In the 2026 Customs Tariff a wool coat is 18 per cent Most Favoured Nation, and a cotton one 17. Dresses run 18 in wool or synthetics, 17 in cotton, 16 in silk. The United States Tariff column reads Free for all of them.

Leather shoes are 18 and rubber soled ones 17.5, but women's leather footwear at $30 or more a pair is 11 while the men's stays 18.

One coat, all the way through

Take a wool topcoat made in Italy, value for duty CAD $1,000, bought from a U.S. retailer and couriered to Ontario. Section 48 of the Customs Act keeps the freight out of the value for duty.

• Duty at 18 per cent on $1,000: $180.00
• HST at 13 per cent on $1,180: $153.40
• Payable to the CBSA: $333.40
• Landed cost before the courier's own fee: $1,333.40

Marked Made in USA, the same coat pays no duty and $130.00 in HST, so one label is worth $203.40. Overcoats of man made fibres are on the counter tariff list, so check a U.S. coat's tariff item first.

A $120 cotton shirt pays $15.60 in HST by courier and $38.65 by post, before the handling fee. Somebody in a shipping room made that choice.

Duty follows where the coat was sewn, never who designed it.

The fee that is not a tax

The charge people hate most is the one the government does not collect.

Couriers bill their own clearance on delivery, and the CBSA says it "will not refund any broker's fees, or shipping and handling costs."

What happens when you send it back

Returning the coat does not return the duty. Claim it on Form B2G, printed on the back of the E14's top copy, and send that to the Casual Refund Centre for your address. Include proof the goods left Canada and that the seller credited you.

The CBSA aims to process a refund within 30 business days of a complete package.

Before you click buy

Ask the shop where the piece was made and which carrier and service go to Canada. If it was made in the U.S., look up its tariff item on the Department of Finance list. The CBSA's duty and taxes estimator will check the rest.

Take Delivered Duty Paid only when the quote is close to your own sum; the CBSA will not adjust an overcharge there. Our note on whether Cettire is legit reads one duty paid checkout line by line.

Or buy from a shop already in Canada: no E14, nothing to claim back. The women's coats and men's coats on within are already in Toronto boutiques.

Sizing is the bigger border cost, so read designer sizing by brand as well. Duty on the Italian coat is $180. The wrong shoulder is $1,000.

Common questions

Do you have to pay duty on clothes from the USA?

Above CAD $150 by courier or CAD $20 by post, yes, unless it was made in Canada, the United States or Mexico. The catch since 8 September 2026: U.S. made clothes on the counter tariff list owe 50 per cent instead.

What is the duty rate on clothing imported into Canada?

Most apparel is 17 or 18 per cent under the 2026 Customs Tariff, with GST or HST charged on the duty too. Listed clothing made in the United States owes a 50 per cent counter tariff. At Ontario's 13 per cent, a fully dutiable $1,000 wool coat lands at $1,333.40 before brokerage.

Do you get duty back if you return an item to the US?

Yes, if you claim it on CBSA Form B2G with proof the goods left Canada and the seller credited you. Courier brokerage is never refunded.

Every business above is independent, was verified open as of August 2026, and nobody paid to be here. If one has closed or moved, tell us at hello@shopwithin.co and we will fix it.

within is open, with boutiques in Toronto and more cities to follow. The quizzes will read your taste and the journal has the rest of the city.