Overseas Purchase Customs Duty & VAT Calculator

Enter the shipping origin, item price and shipping cost (USD), and today's exchange rate and duty rate for an overseas direct purchase shipped to Korea to check whether it's under the duty-free de minimis threshold (list clearance) and calculate the estimated customs duty, VAT, and total payment.

Shipping origin

Enter any freight not already included in the item price, such as shipping to a forwarding address. Leave blank to treat it as 0.

Exchange rates change daily, so no default value is pre-filled. Look up the rate that actually applies to today's payment (or expected clearance date) and enter it yourself — Korea Customs' notified exchange rate or your card issuer's settlement rate are common references.

Duty rates vary by item (HS code), so no default value is pre-filled. Look up the rate for your specific item via Korea Customs' tariff schedule, the UNI-PASS system (unipass.customs.go.kr), or your shipping forwarder's guide, then enter it here.

Enter the details above to calculate the result.

About Korean customs duty for overseas purchases

When you buy goods from overseas retailers and have them shipped directly to Korea, customs duty and VAT can apply once the item's value exceeds a duty-free threshold — this threshold differs depending on the shipping origin country, with US-origin purchases getting a notably higher exemption than purchases from other countries. This tool estimates your total expected customs charges based on the item price, shipping cost, exchange rate, and applicable tariff rate.

How the customs charges are calculated

The taxable value is (item price + shipping cost) × exchange rate, converted into won. If that value is under the duty-free threshold for your shipping origin ($200 for US-origin shipments, $150 for most other countries), the purchase clears as duty-free with no further charges. Above that threshold, customs duty is taxable value × your entered tariff rate (which varies by product category), and VAT is calculated as (taxable value + customs duty) × 10% — notably, VAT is calculated on the value plus the duty already added, not on the original taxable value alone, since duty becomes part of the base VAT applies to.

Frequently asked questions

Why is the US duty-free threshold higher than for other countries?
The $200 threshold specifically for US-origin shipments (versus $150 for most other countries) reflects a bilateral trade arrangement between Korea and the US that established a higher personal-use exemption for goods shipped from the US, rather than a general international standard applied uniformly to all countries.
Why does the tariff rate need to be entered manually rather than calculated automatically?
Korean tariff rates vary by the specific product category (HS code) being imported, and rates can also change periodically based on trade policy — since this calculator can't know your exact item's classification, it lets you enter the specific rate that applies to your product rather than assuming one universal rate for all goods.
Does going slightly over the duty-free threshold mean I pay tax on the entire amount, or just the excess?
You pay duty and VAT on the entire taxable value, not just the amount exceeding the threshold — the threshold works as an all-or-nothing cutoff (below it, fully exempt; at or above it, the full value is taxable) rather than a bracket-style exemption that only taxes the excess portion.