Merchandise Processing Fee (MPF): FY 2026 Rates, Caps, and Exemptions

The merchandise processing fee is what U.S. Customs and Border Protection charges to process nearly every commercial shipment entering the country. For fiscal year 2026, formal entries are billed at 0.3464 percent of the goods’ value, with a minimum of $33.58 and a maximum of $651.50 per entry.¹ What you actually owe depends on how your shipment is classified, what it’s worth, and whether a trade agreement covers it.

Formal Versus Informal Entries

The fee structure splits at $2,500 in commercial value. Shipments at or below that threshold usually qualify as informal entries, which involve lighter paperwork and typically no customs bond.² CBP can still require a formal entry for lower-value goods when admissibility, revenue protection, or operational needs call for it.

Anything above $2,500 requires a formal entry, as do goods subject to heavy regulation such as quota-controlled items or products needing special licenses. Formal entries require an Entry Summary (CBP Form 7501), a commercial invoice, a packing list, and often a customs bond.³ Formal and informal entries use entirely different fee calculations, so the classification matters before you look at any rate.

The $800 De Minimis Exemption Is Suspended

Before 2026, shipments worth $800 or less could enter duty-free and fee-free under Section 321, the de minimis exemption. That exemption has been suspended. As of February 24, 2026, all shipments other than those sent through the international postal network are subject to applicable duties, taxes, and fees regardless of value.⁴ Small parcels that used to slip in fee-free now incur the standard informal entry fees.

FY 2026 Rates and Fee Caps

Formal Entry Fees

The formal-entry rate is 0.3464 percent of the entered value of the goods, excluding duty, freight, and insurance. That percentage applies to every formal entry, but the $33.58 floor and $651.50 ceiling cap both ends of the range.¹ Filing on paper instead of electronically adds a $4.03 surcharge.

A worked example makes the math concrete. An entry with a declared value of $100,000 calculates to $346.40 (0.3464 percent of $100,000). A $5,000 shipment calculates to $17.32, but the $33.58 minimum kicks in, so you pay $33.58. A $500,000 shipment calculates to $1,732, but the $651.50 ceiling limits your liability. Large shipments effectively pay a much lower percentage than the headline rate.

Informal Entry Fees

Informal entries use flat fees rather than a percentage. The amount depends on how the entry is processed:

$2.69 for automated entries not prepared by CBP personnel
$8.06 for manual entries not prepared by CBP personnel
$12.09 for entries prepared by CBP personnel, whether automated or manual

These figures are adjusted annually for inflation using a Consumer Price Index formula.⁵ CBP publishes the updated numbers in the Federal Register at least 60 days before the new fiscal year begins.

Goods Exempt From the Fee

Free Trade Agreements

Several free trade agreements eliminate the merchandise processing fee for qualifying goods. The most important for U.S. importers is the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), which exempts originating goods entered on or after July 1, 2020.⁵ The Dominican Republic-Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR) offers similar treatment for goods meeting its rules of origin.

Claiming the exemption is not automatic. Under USMCA, you need a certification of origin containing information about the certifier, exporter, producer, importer, the goods, and the origin criteria met. There is no required form; the certification can appear on an invoice or any other commercial document.⁶ If you forget to claim the exemption at entry, you can file a post-importation claim within one year of the import date and get the fee refunded.⁷

Returned U.S. Goods

American-made products returned to the country under Chapter 98 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule are generally exempt. The two exceptions are goods entering under subheadings 9802.00.60 and 9802.00.80, which involve articles assembled abroad from U.S. components; those still owe the fee.⁸

GSP Is Not Currently Available

The Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) once provided fee relief for goods from developing countries. That program expired on December 31, 2020, and as of mid-2026 Congress has not renewed it.⁹ Goods that previously qualified for GSP treatment currently owe the full fee.

The Harbor Maintenance Fee Is Separate

Ocean cargo triggers a second charge that often gets confused with the merchandise processing fee. The Harbor Maintenance Fee is 0.125 percent of the cargo’s value and applies to commercial cargo loaded or unloaded from vessels at U.S. ports.¹⁰ It is added on top of the merchandise processing fee at the time of formal entry processing. Air freight and overland truck shipments do not trigger it.

Paying the Fee

Payments run through the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE), CBP’s electronic portal for trade data. Most importers use a licensed customs broker who files the entry, calculates the fee, and transmits payment. The entry summary and payment are due within 10 working days after CBP releases the goods from the port.¹¹ Missing that window opens the door to interest charges and penalties.

Periodic Monthly Statements

Importers with regular shipments can enroll in the Periodic Monthly Statement (PMS) program, which consolidates all duties and fees from a given month into one payment due by the 15th working day of the following month.¹² The payment is interest-free, so importers effectively hold their money longer than they would under the standard 10-day rule. Enrollment requires an ACE portal account, and brokers can participate on behalf of their clients.

Refunds and Post-Entry Adjustments

If you overpaid or realize afterward that an exemption applied, several routes lead to a refund.

The fastest option before liquidation is a Post-Summary Correction (PSC), filed electronically through ACE. A PSC replaces your original entry summary and must be paid in full before CBP will process it. The window closes 300 days after entry or 15 days before the scheduled liquidation date, whichever comes first.¹³ Entries under antidumping or countervailing duty suspension get an exception to the 300-day rule but still must be filed before liquidation.

After liquidation, the options narrow. You can file a formal protest under 19 U.S.C. § 1514 within 180 days of the liquidation date.¹⁴ For FTA-related claims where preferential treatment was not requested at entry, you have up to one year from the date of importation to file for reliquidation under 19 U.S.C. § 1520(d), even without a protest.⁷

Duty Drawback

When imported goods are later exported or destroyed, you may recover a portion of the fee through a duty drawback claim. Recovery is capped at 99 percent of the fee paid on the specific merchandise that forms the basis of the claim.¹⁵ A single entry may cover goods with different values, so the fee has to be apportioned across line items by relative value before the drawback amount can be calculated. Errors in that calculation are a common reason claims get rejected or delayed.

Penalties, Interest, and Recordkeeping

CBP treats the fee exactly like a customs duty for enforcement purposes. Every penalty tool available for unpaid duties applies here too.⁵ Consequences scale with intent:

Negligence: a civil penalty of up to two times the fees shortchanged, or 20 percent of the goods’ dutiable value if the violation did not affect the fee assessment.
Gross negligence: up to four times the lost fees, or 40 percent of dutiable value.
Fraud: up to the full domestic value of the merchandise.

These tiers come from 19 U.S.C. § 1592 and apply whether or not the government was actually deprived of revenue.¹⁶ An honest mistake on an entry summary can still trigger the negligence tier if CBP decides a reasonable importer should have caught the error.

Interest accrues on underpayments. For the first quarter of 2026, CBP charges 7 percent annually on overdue amounts, calculated as the federal short-term rate plus three points.¹⁷ The rate adjusts quarterly, so a prolonged underpayment can compound at different rates over its life.

Every entry document, from the Entry Summary and commercial invoices to proof of payment and any origin certifications, must be kept for five years from the date of entry.¹⁸ CBP can audit entries years later, and without records to support the value declared or the exemption claimed, you lose the argument by default. If you use a broker, confirm they retain the same records; a broker’s failure to preserve entry documents can lead to its own penalties and potential license consequences.¹⁹

1
U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Customs User Fee – Merchandise Processing Fees
2
eCFR. 19 CFR Part 143 Subpart C – Informal Entry
3
U.S. Customs and Border Protection. CBP Form 7501 – Entry Summary
4
The White House. Continuing the Suspension of Duty-Free De Minimis Treatment for All Countries
5
eCFR. 19 CFR 24.23 – Fees for Processing Merchandise
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U.S. Customs and Border Protection. USMCA Frequently Asked Questions
7
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 19 USC 1520 – Refunds and Errors
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Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 19 USC 58c – Collections of Fees
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U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Generalized System of Preferences
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eCFR. 19 CFR 24.24 – Harbor Maintenance Fee
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eCFR. 19 CFR Part 142 Subpart B – Entry Summary Documentation
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U.S. Customs and Border Protection. ACE Periodic Monthly Statement
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U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Post Summary Corrections
14
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 19 USC 1514 – Protest Against Decisions of Customs Service
15
eCFR. 19 CFR 191.51 – Completion of Drawback Claims
16
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 19 USC 1592 – Penalties for Fraud, Gross Negligence, and Negligence
17
Federal Register. Quarterly IRS Interest Rates Used in Calculating Interest on Overdue Accounts and Refunds of Customs Duties
18
eCFR. 19 CFR 163.4 – Record Retention Period
19
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 19 USC 1641 – Customs Brokers