EU shipping cost calculator: duty, VAT and fees under the 2026 rules

The country the parcel physically leaves from, not where the product was made or where your company is registered. This one choice decides whether the parcel crosses the EU customs border.

Choose a country outside the EU and the parcel is an import: it needs a customs declaration, pays customs duty and is charged import VAT. Choose an EU country and none of that applies, because goods already cleared into the EU move between member states without customs. The United Kingdom has been outside the EU customs union and VAT area since 1 January 2021.

Stock imported in bulk before it is sold is cleared once, at the normal tariff rate, and then ships as EU parcels. Orders already sold to individual customers before import remain distance sales, and customs treat them as such even when they travel together in one shipment.

Goods with preferential origin under a trade agreement, such as UK-made goods that meet the origin rules of the EU–UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement, can be declared at the preferential rate instead of the €3 duty, but only on a full customs declaration and only if the VAT is not paid through IOSS. The calculator does not apply preferential rates.

The EU country where your customer receives the parcel. Import VAT is charged at that country's rate (see the table of standard rates above), and the country decides which national fee, if any, applies. For a parcel sent without IOSS, the customs declaration must also be lodged there.

Some territories belong to an EU country but sit outside the EU VAT area, among them the Canary Islands, the Åland Islands and the French overseas departments. They have their own tax rules and are not covered here.

The price of the goods in the parcel, excluding VAT and delivery. Customs call this the intrinsic value: the price of the goods themselves, without transport and insurance unless those are included in the price and not shown separately on the invoice.

It is the most important number in the form. At €150 or less, the parcel pays the flat €3 duty per item and can use IOSS. Above €150, the product's normal tariff rate applies and IOSS is not available. The limit applies to the whole parcel, not to each product, and every parcel shipped separately is assessed on its own.

What it costs to get this one parcel to the customer's door: your carrier's or fulfilment centre's rate, or the delivery charge you pass on. Real prices depend on your contract and volume, so the calculator never guesses one. Ask for a rate using the billable weight in the result.

Shipping is also taxed. Import VAT is charged on the goods plus transport to the destination. Under IOSS, VAT is charged on what the customer pays you; if you offer free delivery that is the goods price alone, so the calculator's VAT figure will be slightly high. Above €150, duty is charged on the customs value, which includes transport only as far as the EU border; using the full shipping cost slightly overstates it.

The outside measurements of the packed box in centimetres, taken at the widest point of each side, bulges included. Carriers measure the box, not the product inside it.

They are used only to work out volumetric weight and have no effect on duty, fees or VAT. A box that fits the product is the easiest saving there is: 40 × 30 × 20 cm counts as 4.8 kg, while 30 × 20 × 15 cm counts as 1.8 kg.

The actual weight of the packed parcel on a scale: product, box, filling and label. Carriers compare it with the volumetric weight and charge for whichever is higher. Express carriers usually round the billable weight up to the next half kilo.

Weight affects only the shipping price, never customs duty or VAT.

How many different products are in the parcel, not how many units. Customs charge the €3 per item, and an item is one line of the customs declaration: goods sharing the same tariff code and description (and, on a full declaration, the same country of origin), whatever the quantity.

Five identical T-shirts are one item and pay €3; a T-shirt and a watch are two items and pay €6. Products that look alike can still be separate items if they fall under different tariff codes, for example garments made of different materials. The same count multiplies the EU handling fee and any national fee charged per item. The field appears only for parcels from outside the EU.

Appears only when the goods value is above €150, where the flat €3 no longer applies and the product's own rate from the EU tariff does. Look it up in TARIC, the European Commission's online tariff database, using the product's commodity code and the country it comes from.

Rates vary widely: 0% for most computers and mobile phones, 12% for most clothing. A trade agreement can cut the rate to zero for goods with proof of preferential origin. Anti-dumping duties, which hit certain products from certain countries, are not included. The calculator applies the rate to the goods plus shipping as an estimate of the customs value.

IOSS, the Import One-Stop Shop, has been available since 1 July 2021 for parcels worth up to €150. The seller, or the marketplace the order is placed on, charges the customer's VAT at checkout and pays it to a single EU tax office in a monthly return. The parcel then clears customs under the seller's IOSS number and the customer pays nothing more at the door.

Without IOSS, VAT is paid at import. Usually the postal operator or courier collects it from the customer on delivery, often with a clearance fee of its own, and that VAT is also charged on the €3 duty. With or without IOSS, the duty itself applies.

IOSS cannot be used above €150 or for goods subject to excise duty, such as alcohol and tobacco, and sellers based outside the EU generally need an EU intermediary to register. The switch therefore disappears when the goods value is above €150.

The Union handling fee is a new charge under the reformed Union Customs Code, meant to cover the cost of customs checks on e-commerce imports. On 21 September 2026 the European Commission set it at €2 per item. It applies to every online sale shipped to an EU customer from outside the EU, whatever the value, from the tenth day after the act is published in the EU's Official Journal, which is expected by 1 November 2026.

Until the fee is in force, the calculator leaves it out of the total; tick the box to preview its effect. Once it applies, the box disappears and the fee is always counted.

The weight the carrier charges for: the higher of the actual weight and the volumetric weight. Volumetric weight is length × width × height in centimetres divided by 5000, the divisor used by express carriers such as DHL Express, UPS and FedEx. Air freight and some economy services divide by 6000, which gives a lower figure. No EU rule sets this; it is carrier practice.

The note under the line tells you which of the two counts. When the volumetric weight wins, you are paying to ship empty space, and a smaller box will lower the price.

Your shipping cost from the form, repeated so the result adds up. It is marked as your figure because it is the one number in the result that does not come from official data.

Until 30 June 2026, most parcels worth up to €150 entered the EU free of duty. Since 1 July 2026 they pay a flat €3 per item instead, until 1 July 2028; after that, normal tariff rates are due to apply to parcels of every value. Above €150 the line shows your tariff rate applied to the goods plus shipping. Inside the EU it is always zero.

The duty is owed by whoever declares the parcel to customs: the IOSS seller or marketplace, or a customs agent acting for the carrier. Under DDP terms the seller bears it; under DAP the customer usually pays it on delivery. If the goods are returned, the €3 can no longer be recovered by cancelling the customs declaration; only the general refund rules remain.

A charge that some EU countries add on their own to low-value parcels from outside the EU, on top of EU duty. The line shows the rule for the country you deliver to: none, in force, scheduled for a later date, or suspended. Only a fee in force is added to the total; scheduled and suspended fees are shown for information.

Each country sets its own basis, per parcel or per item. The fees tracked here apply only to parcels worth up to €150, so above that value the line is zero. Which countries charge what, and since when, is listed in the FAQ and the sources above.

Shown when the fee is counted: €2 multiplied by the number of product types. It is not a customs duty but a payment for a public service, so it falls outside the scope of VAT and is never part of the VAT base.

VAT at the standard rate of the destination country. With IOSS it is charged at checkout on the goods plus shipping. Without IOSS it is collected at import on the goods, shipping and customs duty, but not on the EU handling fee. Above €150 IOSS is not available, so VAT is always collected at import.

For a parcel sent within the EU the line is called VAT and reads “In your price”: there is no import VAT, because you charge VAT on the sale yourself. Once your cross-border sales to EU consumers pass €10,000 a year, that is the rate of your customer's country, declared through the One-Stop Shop (OSS).

The calculator uses standard rates. Many countries apply a reduced rate to products such as food, books or children's clothing, so check the rate for your product.

Everything the parcel costs beyond the goods themselves: shipping, customs duty, national and EU fees, and VAT. Set it against the goods value to see how much of a low-value order goes on getting it to the customer.

For example, €40 of goods in two product types, sent from China to Germany by an IOSS seller for €8 shipping, adds €23.12: €8 shipping, €6 duty and €9.12 VAT (19% of €48). That is 58% on top of the goods.

The goods value plus everything added on top: the landed cost of one order at the customer's door. Who pays which part depends on how you sell. With IOSS the customer pays the VAT at checkout and the parcel's declarant pays the duty, so nothing is due at the door; without IOSS the customer pays VAT, and usually a carrier fee, on delivery.

Multiply the total by your monthly orders to see what the border costs you, and compare that with importing stock in bulk into an EU fulfilment centre.

The result updates as you type, so you never need the Calculate button to see it. Copy link puts every input into the page address: whoever opens the link sees the same calculation, which makes it easy to share a cost breakdown with a supplier, a fulfilment centre or your accountant.