U.S. Customs Duty-Free Allowance 2026: $ Limit Per Person, Alcohol & Tobacco

Last updated: 29 October 2026. Figures below follow U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). Rules change — confirm on CBP before you travel.

In the first lines: standard $800 per person (48+ hours abroad); family pooling on a joint declaration when you live in the same household and return together; alcohol 1 liter duty-free (21+); tobacco 200 cigarettes and 100 cigars within the personal exemption when arriving from other than a beneficiary country or insular possession.

Travelers searching for the duty free allowance USA, duty free allowance for America, or United States duty-free limits are looking at this same returning-resident personal exemption.

Per person vs per family

Each qualifying traveler gets their own $800 exemption. Family members who live in the same household and return together may file a joint declaration and combine purchases so the household uses the pooled flat-duty band. CBP’s example: a family of four can combine flat-rate treatment up to $4,000 of merchandise subject to the flat rate. The short-trip $200 exemption cannot be pooled the same way.

Alcohol limit

One American liter (33.8 fl oz) of alcoholic beverages may be included in the returning-resident personal exemption if you are at least 21, it is for personal use, and it does not violate the arrival state’s laws. Alcohol above that liter is dutiable even if you have leftover exemption value. From many Caribbean Basin countries, CBP allows two liters within the $800 exemption when one liter was produced in a listed beneficiary country. From U.S. insular possessions, up to five liters can qualify under the $1,600 exemption with CBP’s product-origin conditions.

Tobacco and cigarette limit

Within the standard personal exemption from other than a beneficiary country or insular possession, returning residents may include not more than 200 cigarettes and 100 cigars. Quantities beyond what the exemption allows can be detained or seized. The tobacco exemption applies to adults 21 and over.

What happens if you go over

Declare everything. The next $1,000 above the exemption is typically assessed at a flat 3% duty (plus any Internal Revenue Tax). Above that band, regular Harmonized Tariff rates apply. Alcohol beyond the duty-free quantity is taxed even if your total purchases are still under $800.

Duty-free vs duty-paid

Goods bought in a duty-free shop are free of that shop’s local taxes for export — they are not automatically free of U.S. duty when you return. If purchases exceed your personal exemption, CBP can assess duty on the excess, including items bought in duty-free shops. See how the mechanism works in our duty-free explainer, then come back to these U.S. limits.

The allowance table

Situation	Exemption	Alcohol	Tobacco
Standard (48+ hrs abroad)	$800	1 liter (21+)	200 cigarettes / 100 cigars
Caribbean Basin (with rules)	$800	up to 2 liters if one is local product	as CBP exemption allows
US Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa	$1,600	up to 5 liters*	higher IP limits per CBP
Under 48 hrs, or 2nd trip in 30 days	$200	150 ml	50 cigarettes / 10 cigars

*Insular-possession alcohol: CBP requires most liters to be bought in the territory, with at least one a product of it. State arrival laws can be stricter than federal.