U.S. customs regulations require every traveler entering the country to declare all goods acquired abroad to Customs and Border Protection (CBP), stay within personal duty-free limits, and avoid items that are prohibited outright or restricted without the right paperwork. The standard personal exemption for most returning residents is $800. Anything you leave off your declaration can be seized, and the penalty can equal the full value of the item.
What You Have to Declare
Everything you acquired abroad gets declared. That includes gifts, items bought in duty-free airport shops, food, and things people gave you along the way. The declaration is made on CBP Form 6059B, filled out in advance on paper or answered electronically through Mobile Passport Control.1U.S. Customs and Border Protection. CBP Form 6059B Customs Declaration – English (Fillable)
Declaring is not the same as paying. Most travelers declare everything and still owe nothing, because they fall within the personal exemption. The trouble starts when something is left off the form and an officer finds it during inspection.
The $800 Personal Exemption
Most returning U.S. residents can bring back up to $800 in goods duty-free, provided the items are with you (not shipped separately), you were outside the United States for at least 48 hours, and you have not used the exemption in the previous 30 days.2U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Duty-Free Exemption Family members traveling together can combine their individual $800 allowances, so a family of four can bring back up to $3,200 duty-free.
The Reduced $200 Exemption
If you were abroad for less than 48 hours, or you already used the $800 exemption within the past 30 days, the allowance drops to $200. This version has a sharper edge: go a dollar over, and the entire value becomes dutiable, not just the excess. Family members cannot pool the $200 exemption the way they can the $800 one.3U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Types of Exemptions
Goods Mailed Home
Items you ship to yourself don’t count toward your accompanied-baggage exemption. Mailed shipments enter duty-free only if the shipment is worth $200 or less.3U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Types of Exemptions
What You Pay Above the Exemption
For the first $1,000 in value above the $800 exemption, CBP applies a flat 3% duty rate, provided the items are for personal use or gifts.4eCFR. 19 CFR Part 148 – Personal Declarations and Exemptions Beyond that, duty is calculated at item-specific rates under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule. Keep receipts. Without them, the officer estimates value, and the estimate is rarely generous.
Alcohol and Tobacco
Travelers 21 and older can include one liter of alcohol in the duty-free exemption. You can bring more, but everything over one liter is subject to federal duty and excise tax, and your destination state may impose tighter volume limits or require a permit.5U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Bringing Alcohol (Including Homemade Wine) Into the United States for Personal Use
For tobacco, the duty-free limit under the $800 exemption is 200 cigarettes and 100 cigars from most countries.6U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Carrying Tobacco Products (Cigarettes, Cigars, Bidis) to the United States Under the reduced $200 exemption, the numbers drop to 50 cigarettes and 10 cigars.3U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Types of Exemptions
Prohibited and Restricted Items
Some things can’t come in at any price. Others can, but only with the right federal paperwork. Showing up without that paperwork puts a restricted item in the same practical position as a banned one: seized on the spot.7U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Prohibited and Restricted Items
Prohibited items CBP lists include dangerous toys, vehicles that fail federal crash-safety standards, bushmeat, and certain controlled substances like Rohypnol. Products made from dog or cat fur are banned under a separate federal law regardless of labeling.8Federal Register. Dog and Cat Protection Act Counterfeit merchandise falls here too. Fake designer bags, knockoff electronics, and pirated media are all subject to seizure, and individual consumers can face fines even when they bought the item unknowingly for personal use.9U.S. Customs and Border Protection. The Truth Behind Counterfeits
Restricted categories that most often catch travelers:
- Firearms and ammunition, which appear on the U.S. Munitions Import List and generally require an ATF permit.10eCFR. 27 CFR Part 447 – Importation of Arms, Ammunition and Implements of War
- Agricultural products. The USDA restricts meats, fruits, vegetables, plants, and soil to keep foreign pests and diseases out. This is one of the most common areas where travelers get caught. A piece of fruit forgotten from a flight connection or a homemade sandwich from overseas counts.11United States Department of Agriculture. International Traveler: Meats, Poultry, and Seafood
- Wildlife products from endangered species: ivory, coral, tortoise shell, reptile skins. These fall under CITES, and depending on the species you may need both a U.S. import permit from the Fish and Wildlife Service and an export permit from the country of origin.12U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Importing Endangered Species of Wildlife, Plants, Ivory, Exotic Skins and Animals13U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. CITES Permits and Certificates
- Cultural property. Archaeological objects over 250 years old and certain ethnological materials from countries with bilateral agreements with the United States face import restrictions. The State Department maintains the current list by country.14United States Department of State. Current Agreements and Import Restrictions
Prescription Medications
Carry only medication prescribed to you, in the original pharmacy container with the label intact, along with a valid prescription or doctor’s note in English. CBP recommends no more than a 90-day supply.15U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Traveling With Medication to the United States The FDA applies the same 90-day guideline for foreign nationals visiting the United States.16Food and Drug Administration. Personal Importation
Controlled substances are handled more strictly. A U.S. resident entering at an international land border with a controlled substance obtained abroad, and without a prescription from a U.S.-licensed, DEA-registered practitioner, cannot bring more than 50 dosage units combined across all controlled substances in their possession. The cap does not apply to medications lawfully obtained in the United States under a DEA-registrant’s prescription.17eCFR. 21 CFR 1301.26 – Exemptions From Import or Export Requirements for Personal Medical Use
Currency Over $10,000
There is no federal limit on how much money you can carry into or out of the country. But any aggregate amount over $10,000 must be reported on FinCEN Form 105, filed with CBP. The threshold applies to the combined total held by everyone traveling together as a family or group, and it covers U.S. and foreign currency, traveler’s checks, money orders, and other negotiable instruments.18Financial Crimes Enforcement Network. FinCEN Form 105 – Report of International Transportation of Currency or Monetary Instruments
Failing to file has heavy consequences. Under federal law, the entire unreported amount, not just the excess over $10,000, is subject to both civil and criminal forfeiture.19GovInfo. 31 USC 5317 – Search and Forfeiture of Monetary Instruments Filing the form does not trigger taxes and creates no presumption of wrongdoing. Not filing it triggers everything.
Bringing a Dog
Dogs must meet CDC importation requirements, which turn on the dog’s rabies vaccination history and whether it has been in a country classified as high-risk for dog rabies in the past six months. At minimum, you need a completed CDC Dog Import Form and proof of a current, valid rabies vaccination. Dogs without valid vaccination that have been in a high-risk country will be turned away.20Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Bringing a Dog Into the U.S.
The paperwork changed recently. USDA-endorsed export health certificates issued after July 31, 2025, are no longer accepted for re-entry. Travelers now need the newer Certification of U.S.-Issued Rabies Vaccination form alongside the CDC Dog Import Form receipt.21Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Entry Requirements for U.S.-Vaccinated Dogs From High-Risk Countries
What Inspection Actually Looks Like
At the port of entry you hand the officer your passport and declaration. The officer verifies your identity, asks about your trip and what you’re bringing back, and either sends you on or refers you to secondary inspection. In secondary, CBP can open and examine every bag and physically inspect all your goods. Most travelers clear primary inspection in a few minutes.
Electronic Devices
CBP has authority to search phones, laptops, cameras, and other electronic devices at the border without a warrant. This applies to U.S. citizens and foreign nationals alike. In practice, fewer than 0.01% of arriving international travelers have their devices searched in any given year.22U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Border Search of Electronic Devices at Ports of Entry Basic searches are a manual look through the device; advanced searches connect the device to external equipment to copy or analyze contents, and they require supervisory approval plus a national security concern or reasonable suspicion of a legal violation.
Paying Duty
If you owe duty, you pay before leaving the inspection area. CBP accepts cash, personal checks, and some forms of debit or credit payment.
Penalties for Failing to Declare
Any item you don’t declare, and don’t mention before the officer begins searching your bags, is subject to forfeiture. On top of losing the item, you face a penalty equal to its full domestic value. For undeclared controlled substances, the penalty jumps to $500 or ten times the item’s value, whichever is greater.23Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 19 USC 1497 – Penalties for Failure to Declare
CBP often mitigates first-offense penalties. Under agency guidelines, a first-time violation typically results in a reduced penalty of three times the duty that would have been owed (with a $50 minimum), or the item’s domestic value, whichever is lower.24eCFR. 19 CFR Part 171 – Fines, Penalties, and Forfeitures The goods are still seized during the process.
Agricultural violations are among the most common CBP encounters, and their fines escalate with repeat offenses. A forgotten apple in a carry-on is enough to trigger one.
Getting Seized Property Back
If CBP seizes property, you’ll get a written notice explaining the legal basis. You can file a petition for remission or mitigation within 30 days, asking CBP to return the goods or reduce the penalty, or contest the seizure in federal court by filing a written claim under oath within 35 days of the date the notice was mailed. Missing both deadlines usually results in administrative forfeiture: CBP publishes a notice and, after three weeks, the property becomes government property permanently. The clock starts when the notice is mailed, not when it arrives.25U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Fines, Penalties, Forfeitures and Liquidated Damages
Global Entry and Other Trusted Traveler Programs
A customs or agricultural violation can also cost you your Global Entry, NEXUS, or SENTRI membership. CBP has publicly reported revoking memberships for travelers who failed to declare goods, assessing both financial penalties and program removal in the same incident.26U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Global Entry Members Violate CBP’s Trust After Officers Catch Them If your membership is revoked, you’ll receive a written notice with the reason, and you can request reconsideration through the Trusted Traveler Programs website, submitting court disposition documents for any arrests or convictions and other supporting evidence in English.27U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Trusted Traveler Program Denials The bar for reversal is high.