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Home > Guides > Duties on gifts to Canada
Sometimes. Canada waives duty and tax on genuine gifts from friends or family worth sixty Canadian dollars or less, but anything above that is assessed on the amount over sixty Canadian dollars, and the carrier adds a handling fee on top. One limit up front: LetterAgent only sells Canada-origin labels, so this guide is about gifts mailed to you from the US, not something LetterAgent can ship.
Canada's customs rules give real gifts a break: a gift sent by a friend or family member abroad to someone in Canada is exempt from duties and taxes as long as it is worth sixty Canadian dollars or less. Below that line, the parcel clears with nothing owed. It is the CBSA's acknowledgement that a birthday present is not commerce.
Above sixty Canadian dollars, the exemption still helps: you pay duties and taxes only on the amount over sixty Canadian dollars, not on the full value. A gift worth one hundred Canadian dollars is assessed as if it were worth forty. Three things never qualify: alcohol, tobacco, and advertising material cannot be claimed as gifts at any value. And the exemption covers the gift from a person, not a purchase: something you ordered from a US retailer is assessed in full even if it was a gift to yourself.
There is also a separate twenty Canadian dollars rule worth knowing: most goods imported by mail worth twenty Canadian dollars or less are duty and tax free whether or not they are gifts. You cannot stack the two exemptions on the same parcel, but between them, small parcels usually clear free.
| Charge | What it is | How to think about it |
|---|---|---|
| Duty | A tariff based on what the item is and where it was made, applied to the value over sixty Canadian dollars | Varies by product; many everyday goods are low or zero under the US trade agreement |
| GST or HST | Federal tax on the dutiable value; HST instead of GST in participating provinces | The same tax you would pay buying it in a Canadian store |
| Carrier handling fee | Canada Post's fee for collecting the duties and taxes on the government's behalf | A flat fee added whenever duties or taxes are collected; it applies even when the duty itself is small |
The handling fee is the surprise. People expect the tax; they do not expect the carrier's collection fee on top of it. On a parcel where only a few dollars of tax are owed, the handling fee can exceed the tax itself. It is legitimate, it is standard, and it is the reason a "small" duty bill feels disproportionate. There is no way to waive it once duties are assessed; the only dodge is staying under the exemption thresholds.
This is general information, not tax advice.
On the customs declaration form, which every US-to-Canada parcel needs. The sender checks the "gift" box, writes an accurate description and value, and ideally includes a gift card or tag inside. The CBSA specifically recommends identifying the goods as a gift clearly: a parcel declared as "gift" with a birthday card inside sails through, while a vague declaration invites inspection.
Two mistakes undo the exemption. Undervaluing the gift to sneak under sixty Canadian dollars is misdeclaration, and if customs disagrees with the value, they assess on their own valuation plus potential penalties. And marking a purchase as a gift does not work: customs sees the commercial invoice, the retailer packaging, and the mismatch. Honest declarations clear faster than clever ones.
You can dispute it. If the CBSA valued the gift too high or missed the gift exemption, you can request a review with evidence: the sender's receipt, a screenshot of the item's price, proof it was a gift. Keep the customs form and any notices that came with the parcel; they are your paperwork for the dispute.
One practical note: you generally have to pay the assessed amount to receive the parcel, then dispute after. Refusing the parcel over a disputed charge sends it back to the sender, which resolves nothing. Pay, document, dispute: in that order.
Ready to ship it? Get a shipping label with LetterAgent: describe it to your AI assistant, approve the exact quoted price, and get your label.
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