Shipping Personal Property Back to USA - Looking for Duty/Taxes Advice

[CrashTestDummy]

Greetings,

 

I’m returning to the US indefinitely and have made the decision to send some of my property back by either Thai Post or DHL. At this point, best guess is around 75KG of property, distributed over 3-4 boxes.

 

I’ve never shipped anything to the US from Thailand and I’m hoping to minimize any duty fees or taxes. I have no idea what fees to expect on the US side and am hoping to get some guidance. 

 

The property that we’ll be shipping is overwhelmingly stuff purchased in America (stuff we brought with us from the US when we moved to Thailand). The stuff will mostly consist of small personal items, such as clothing, shoes and electronics. I also have a lot of high-value photography equipment. I’m very particular about keeping receipts for expensive purchases and have receipts for all of my photography gear, to prove it’s originally from the US. I’d normally prefer my expensive photography gear to fly with me, but I thought it may be better to send it by mail since I can provide proof of purchase for these items in the US (and thus maybe dodge taxes/fees?). Some relevant info here: https://help.cbp.gov/app/answers/detail/a_id/348/related/1

What documentation should I include in the packages to minimize any customs or import fees? It was previously suggested that I include a “pro forma invoice” with the package. I’ve confirmed DHL provides these. If I ship with Thai Post, do they provide some sort of "pro forma invoice"or will I need to provide one myself? Does this need to be a specific form or can I just write up my own inventory list?

 

Does it matter if I address the packages to myself versus a friend or family member? Is there any benefit to having the sender and recipient name match?

 

Any advice would be appreciate.

 

-CTD

[ELVIS123456]

Cant help about USA taxes/duties, but can help with Thai Post.  

 

Earlier this I shipped several 5kg and 10kg boxes via Thai Post to Australia. I had to declare what was in each box and that they were 'used' items (so as not to attract any customs taxes/issues in Aus).  I had already bought and wrapped up the boxes in advance, but luckily I had taken a photo of each one, and they accepted that as evidence of what was mainly inside each one (and Thai wife'd words helped too). Perhaps a less 'friendly' Officer would have made me undo and examine each box, so probably a good idea to buy the boxes in advance and then pack and take the boxes ready to seal up,  but do that at the Thai Post Office. Also it is probably a good idea to keep similar items in the one box - like computer gear, kitchen utensils, clothes etc etc. as they only wanted to give each box one description of contents, which I of course agreed to do.

 

I did a cost comparison and doing this via Thai Post was much cheaper than paying excess baggage via airlines. I put all the 'more valuable' things into the 5kg boxes (but nothing of serious value), just in case one went astray. I sent them 'special post' (wife cant remember word), which meant that they could be tracked - not sent as ordinary post items. They all arrived in perfect condition - well padded inside with bubble wrap etc. but none of the boxes had any marks or damage I sent them to my Brother, and think this would be a good idea rather then sending things to yourself.  

 

DHS was ridiculously expensive. They deliver 'urgent' only (airlines) and charge heaps for that. The packages sent via Thai Post all arrived within 2 weeks (sent via ship).  

 

 

[GinBoy2]

If everything is your property either from the US, or acquired overseas you can apply for free entry. Now I did this when I shipped a fairly substantial amount back home by sea, but refer to the customs form I filled out. Part 2, Para 10 is the important part. 

 

I'm assuming you could make the same declaration for stuff shipped through mail, but not sure

CBP FORM 3299-1.PDF

Edited August 16, 2017 by GinBoy2

[Dan5]

My experience and that of a number of people I know is that  a shipment valued at less than $2500 is extremely unlikely to even be checked by customs in the USA.I know of people who've sent dozens of such shipments and they all go right through without stopping at customs.

[CrashTestDummy]

12 hours ago, GinBoy2 said:

If everything is your property either from the US, or acquired overseas you can apply for free entry. Now I did this when I shipped a fairly substantial amount back home by sea, but refer to the customs form I filled out. Part 2, Para 10 is the important part. 

 

I'm assuming you could make the same declaration for stuff shipped through mail, but not sure

CBP FORM 3299-1.PDF

That's great. I'll include this with any shipments. It can't hurt to try. Thanks for sharing!

[Dan5]

1 hour ago, CrashTestDummy said:

That's great. I'll include this with any shipments. It can't hurt to try. Thanks for sharing!

One thing I should have mentioned is all the shipments I referred to were from China to the USA. Possibly they handle shipments form China differently, though I doubt it. I think it is just a matter of staffing. They have only so many people to check shipments so they generally don''t check the lower value shipments.

[CrashTestDummy]

41 minutes ago, Dan5 said:

One thing I should have mentioned is all the shipments I referred to were from China to the USA. Possibly they handle shipments form China differently, though I doubt it. I think it is just a matter of staffing. They have only so many people to check shipments so they generally don''t check the lower value shipments.

Thanks for the info. I'd guess I could expect similar results shipping from Thailand. 

[timendres]

Be sure to insure that high-end photography equipment, otherwise take it with you on the flight.

[CrashTestDummy]

20 minutes ago, timendres said:

Be sure to insure that high-end photography equipment, otherwise take it with you on the flight.

That's the plan. If I do ship the photography gear, I'll probably opt for the extra expense of DHL. If I need to deal with an insurance claim, I'd rather do it with DHL than Thai Post. 

[GinBoy2]

5 hours ago, CrashTestDummy said:

That's the plan. If I do ship the photography gear, I'll probably opt for the extra expense of DHL. If I need to deal with an insurance claim, I'd rather do it with DHL than Thai Post. 

I'd definitely go down the DHL/UPS/Fedex route for really high end photographic stuff. More trustworthy and the insurance is actually worth the paper it's written on, unlike Thai Post

[MyFriend You]

Mark your Customs Form "Returning used US Goods"  list them with the actual value, not the insured or replacement value..........you can import up to $2500.  good strong shipping boxes can be bought in Central Book store, keep weights under 25kgs, buy good strapping tape.  Thai post office will be much cheaper than DHL.

[CrashTestDummy]

5 hours ago, TunnelRat69 said:

Mark your Customs Form "Returning used US Goods"  list them with the actual value, not the insured or replacement value..........you can import up to $2500.  good strong shipping boxes can be bought in Central Book store, keep weights under 25kgs, buy good strapping tape.  Thai post office will be much cheaper than DHL.

If I'm shipping back stuff that totals over $2,500, can I expect to get them back in without taxes if I include US receipts for the more valuable items? 

[GinBoy2]

30 minutes ago, CrashTestDummy said:

If I'm shipping back stuff that totals over $2,500, can I expect to get them back in without taxes if I include US receipts for the more valuable items? 

Honestly, even if customs were to inspect, which is frankly unlikely. If it obviously not brand new you'll be fine