Duty free:
Most US companies will blanket charge you 20% duty if you ask them to ship to Canada, on top of the insane shipping costs. The only way to get around it is to ship within the US, usually free shipping, and the responsibility of crossing the goods is on you (dirt bike parts are duty free), not the company. Ship to the border, cross it over duty free, pay 13% tax, done. This PSA is to show you how you can also get stuff tax free, saving 13% on your goods.
Tax free:
If you are out of the country for +7 days, you can claim free importation of personal goods up to $800 per person.
The "loop hole" is that the goods can be ordered from anywhere in the world and don't have to follow you back in the country at your time of re-entry.
I recently returned from a trip and my interaction with the border agent (it was their first time filling out a bsf192 for my scenario) at the airport made me realize how little people know about this. I personally discovered this from a border agent in Ogdensburg chatting about what I can and can't do while importing dirt bike parts 2 years ago. This is fully legal and have done this successfully 3 times from business and personal trips under this scenario:
1 - While away on your trip go online and buy what you want. Ship it to the US / Can border using Kinek (google it).
2 - On re-entry into Canada, go to the cashier / border agent desk and tell them you have "goods to follow" / need a BSF192 form. They will ask for receipts, digital form from an e-mail is fine, they will list out the items on the form and fill out a few details, give you a copy of the BSF192 and that's it, you are done.
3 - Wait for all your goods to arrive at the border.
4 – Drive to Ogdensburg, pick up my goods, drive back and show my BSF192 to the border agent, no duty, no taxes, good to go. You must bring your receipts in case they ask for them at the border, don't forget that.
Give me moar!
-You can claim under multiple people. E.g.: wife and I just got back from a trip, I put stuff under her $800 allowance, and stuff under my $800 allowance, we got 2 BSF192 forms for $1600 of total tax free goods that were not with us upon re-entry, all shipped at the border.
-The receipts do not need to be in her name, you just need to tell the border agent filling out the BSF192 what goes under who.
-The only downside to this is you have to drag wifey with you to go pick up your items as she needs to be present for the BSF192 to be valid once you cross back over with the goods.
https://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/publication ... 2-eng.html
Questions? Fire away or PM.
Most US companies will blanket charge you 20% duty if you ask them to ship to Canada, on top of the insane shipping costs. The only way to get around it is to ship within the US, usually free shipping, and the responsibility of crossing the goods is on you (dirt bike parts are duty free), not the company. Ship to the border, cross it over duty free, pay 13% tax, done. This PSA is to show you how you can also get stuff tax free, saving 13% on your goods.
Tax free:
If you are out of the country for +7 days, you can claim free importation of personal goods up to $800 per person.
The "loop hole" is that the goods can be ordered from anywhere in the world and don't have to follow you back in the country at your time of re-entry.
I recently returned from a trip and my interaction with the border agent (it was their first time filling out a bsf192 for my scenario) at the airport made me realize how little people know about this. I personally discovered this from a border agent in Ogdensburg chatting about what I can and can't do while importing dirt bike parts 2 years ago. This is fully legal and have done this successfully 3 times from business and personal trips under this scenario:
1 - While away on your trip go online and buy what you want. Ship it to the US / Can border using Kinek (google it).
2 - On re-entry into Canada, go to the cashier / border agent desk and tell them you have "goods to follow" / need a BSF192 form. They will ask for receipts, digital form from an e-mail is fine, they will list out the items on the form and fill out a few details, give you a copy of the BSF192 and that's it, you are done.
3 - Wait for all your goods to arrive at the border.
4 – Drive to Ogdensburg, pick up my goods, drive back and show my BSF192 to the border agent, no duty, no taxes, good to go. You must bring your receipts in case they ask for them at the border, don't forget that.
Give me moar!
-You can claim under multiple people. E.g.: wife and I just got back from a trip, I put stuff under her $800 allowance, and stuff under my $800 allowance, we got 2 BSF192 forms for $1600 of total tax free goods that were not with us upon re-entry, all shipped at the border.
-The receipts do not need to be in her name, you just need to tell the border agent filling out the BSF192 what goes under who.
-The only downside to this is you have to drag wifey with you to go pick up your items as she needs to be present for the BSF192 to be valid once you cross back over with the goods.
https://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/publication ... 2-eng.html
Questions? Fire away or PM.