US Customs Allowance: Duty-Free Limits for Returning Travelers

What is the US customs allowance?

When you return to the United States, you can bring back a certain value of goods without paying duty. For US residents back from a trip of at least 48 hours, that duty-free personal exemption is $800, and you can use it once every 31 days.

Going over the limit does not mean your things get seized. It means you declare them and pay duty on the amount above $800 — usually a small, flat percentage. The mistake travelers make is not the going-over; it's the not-declaring.

The allowance, by the numbers

Situation	Exemption	Alcohol	Tobacco
Standard (48+ hrs abroad)	$800	1 liter (21+)	200 cigarettes / 100 cigars
From US Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa	$1,600	up to 5 liters*	1,000 cigarettes*
Under 48 hrs, or 2nd trip in 30 days	$200	150 ml only	limited

*From insular possessions, at least 4 of the 5 liters must have been bought in the territory, and at least 1 must be a product of it.

Alcohol: the one that trips people up

You can bring 1 liter of alcohol duty-free if you're 21 or over — a little more than a standard bottle of wine. That liter counts toward your $800.

Here's the catch most guides miss: alcohol above that 1 liter is taxed even if you haven't used up your $800 exemption. Unlike a bracelet or a painting, extra bottles don't just ride along under the value cap — they're dutiable the moment you pass one liter. It's usually not much (the flat 3% band, plus a modest federal excise tax), but it's not zero, and it surprises people.

And state law can be stricter than federal. Some states cap how much alcohol you can bring in without a license, and CBP enforces the law of the state where you land — even when it's tighter than the federal rule. Check your arrival state, not just the federal allowance.

What happens if you go over $800

The next $1,000 of value above your exemption is charged a flat 3% duty. So if you come home with $1,300 of goods, you'd owe roughly 3% on the $500 over your $800 exemption — about $15. Above $1,800 total, the regular tariff schedule applies, which varies by item.

Some categories are duty-free regardless: original art, and many household effects for personal use. A $500 painting on top of $800 of other goods still comes in free, because fine art isn't dutiable.

Families can pool exemptions

This is the tip worth the whole page. Family members traveling together can combine their individual $800 exemptions on one joint declaration. A family of four has $3,200 of duty-free room, and it doesn't matter which person is physically carrying which item.

So the $2,000 rug is fine for a family of four even though it's over one person's $800 — it fits inside the pooled $3,200.

Declare it. Always.

The single rule that keeps customs boring: declare everything on your form. Going over the allowance costs a few percent. Failing to declare something you should have can mean seizure and penalties far beyond the duty you were avoiding. The honest declaration is almost always the cheap option.

If you're unsure whether something counts, declare it and ask. CBP officers would rather answer a question than find an undeclared item.