Customs duty on shoes shipped from Canada to the US: what you actually pay
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If you have ordered something from abroad in the last year and been surprised by a courier asking for money before handing over the box, this is the reason.
What changed
For years the United States let parcels worth under $800 enter duty-free under a rule called de minimis. On 29 August 2025 that exemption was suspended. Low-value parcels into the US are now dutiable like any other import, and the practical effect is that a package which would have sailed through in 2024 now has duty attached to it.
Two things follow, and it is worth knowing which one you are dealing with before you buy anything from outside the US.
DDU: you pay at the door
Delivered Duty Unpaid is the default for most small international sellers, because it requires no setup. The seller ships, the parcel reaches US customs, duty is assessed, and the courier fronts it and then collects from you before releasing the box. On top of the duty itself you usually pay the courier a brokerage or disbursement fee for the privilege, which on a small parcel can be a meaningful fraction of the duty.
The checkout total you agreed to is not the total. You find out the real number when someone is standing at your door.
DDP: it is settled before it ships
Delivered Duty Paid means the seller calculates the duty at checkout, collects it from you as part of the order, and the parcel travels with the duty already paid. Customs has nothing to collect, the courier has nothing to collect, and the box is simply delivered.
This is how we ship, to every country. Import duties and taxes are calculated and charged at checkout and shown to you as a separate line before you pay, so the number on the payment screen is the number. Nothing is owed on delivery. The full terms are on our shipping policy page.
How to tell which one a seller is using
Put something in the cart and go as far as the payment step without paying. Then look at the order summary.
- A line reading Duties, Import taxes or Duties and taxes with a number next to it means DDP. That money is being collected now and paid on your behalf.
- No such line, plus wording anywhere in the checkout or shipping policy like "the customer is responsible for any customs duties, taxes or fees", means DDU. Expect a second bill.
A seller who is silent on the subject is almost always DDU. Collecting duty properly takes deliberate setup; nobody does it by accident.
What determines the amount
Duty is a percentage of the declared customs value, and the percentage comes from the tariff classification of the item and its country of origin, not the country it was posted from. Leather footwear has its own classification and its own rate. This is why the duty on a pair of shoes is not the same as the duty on a t-shirt of the same price, and why the rate can differ between two shoes that look identical but were made in different countries.
You do not have to work any of this out. At our checkout it is calculated for you and shown before you pay.
The short version
The duty-free window into the US is closed, so somebody is paying duty on every parcel now. The only question is whether you find out the number at checkout or at your front door.