For US, UK, and Canada-based account holders, certain ShipStation Carriers will offer Pre-Paid Duties and Taxes Guaranteed on supported services. With this guarantee, you and your customer will not be hit with hidden fees at delivery, and your customs fees are paid at the same time you create the label.
Availability for Pre-Paid Duties and Taxes Guaranteed depends on your account's base country location and applies to any international shipment destined for a country outside your base location:
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For 🇺🇸 US and 🇨🇦 CA-based accounts: Currently available with qualifying UPS from ShipStation, FedEx from ShipStation, and DHL Express from ShipStation shipments.
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For 🇬🇧 UK-based accounts: Currently available with qualifying UPS from ShipStation shipments only.
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Destination Scope: DDP (Delivered Duty Paid) and DDU (Delivered Duty Unpaid) settings apply universally to any international shipment traveling outside the shipper's account base location.
Opt-In Requirements by Carrier Type
How Guaranteed Pre-Paid Duties and Taxes is enabled depends on the type of carrier account you are using:
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ShipStation Carrier Services: Guaranteed Pre-Paid Duties and Taxes is enabled by default whenever an order is set to DDP (Delivered Duty Paid), either at the individual order level or in your default international settings.
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Standalone Carrier Accounts: Guaranteed Pre-Paid Duties and Taxes is an opt-in feature and is not automatically enabled by default. To start using it, merchants must first go to their international shipping settings to turn the feature on and agree to the terms of service. Once enabled, it applies to any DDP (Delivered Duty Paid) order shipped with a supported carrier, whether configured per order or in your default international settings.
Include Harmonization Codes
To use Pre-Paid Duties and Taxes Guaranteed, ensure you include Harmonization codes (HS Code or commodities code) in your shipments. You can add the Harmonization Code to the Customs description of your Product Details so it automatically populates for an order. You can also add it manually to the customs declaration section of the Shipment Details before creating your label.
When applicable, Duties and Taxes (Guaranteed) appears as a line item in the Cost Review pop-up. This amount is deducted directly from your merchant account balance and represents the final cost for duties and taxes.
Configure your default shipping preferences to automatically handle duties and taxes for international orders using DDP (Delivered Duty Paid) or DDU (Delivered Duty Unpaid).
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Scroll to the Duties & Taxes section, and select your default preference (DDP vs. DDU).
If you have not enabled it yet, see the Set Up & Activate DDP in Your Account section of our Delivery Duty Paid workflow guide.
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Click Save Changes.
When using DDP, charges are billed across two separate channels:
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Shipping Costs: Billed directly to your carrier account (or standard carrier invoice).
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Duties & Taxes: Debited directly from your ShipStation Carriers balance at the time of label creation.
Note on Estimates vs. Final Billing
Amounts displayed as estimates during label creation and in the Cost Review window are indicative quotes. The final, reconciled duty and tax amounts will appear on your end-of-month carrier statement or account invoice.
If you generate a DDP label that is ultimately not shipped:
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Standard Voiding Process: For any unused DDP labels, you should void them directly in ShipStation using the standard label-voiding workflow to handle postage and duty/tax balance adjustments.
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Refunds & Adjustments: Once the void is processed, both the postage amount and the held duties/taxes will be credited back according to standard carrier and wallet refund timelines.
This section provides answers to frequently asked questions (FAQs) about the calculation, payment, and benefits of using Guaranteed Prepaid Duties and Taxes in Shipstation.
Pre-Paid Duties and Taxes Guaranteed gives you transparency and security at order creation. With this guarantee you and your customer will not be hit with hidden fees at delivery, your customs fees will be paid at the same time you create the label. ShipStation's Guarantee will help ensure that your shipments pass as efficiently as possible through customs and to their intended destination, without extra charges or delays.
There are no specific restrictions on duty- and tax-inclusive shipments, however, goods that are restricted from import in the country of destination are not supported for non-duty and tax inclusive or inclusive shipping.
We encourage these shipments to be sent promptly, as country-specific duties and taxes may change over time. Shipments sent significantly later than the original label purchase and duty/tax calculation may be subject to additional charges if the applicable duties and taxes differ at the time of shipment.
For more information, please see our terms and conditions.
Duty and Tax amounts can vary depending on several factors. Different items may have a different duty rate due to the materials (e.g., cotton, polyester, fur) or methods (e.g., knitting, crocheting, weaving) used to create them, or due to the country of manufacture.
Additionally, duty and tax charges only apply to orders exceeding the destination country's specific value thresholds. Any applicable fees above those limits are covered by this service.
If you don't see a Duties and Taxes (Guaranteed) line item in the Cost Review window (which still appears even when the duty and tax amount is $0.00), check the following:
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DDP is not enabled: Verify that the shipment is set to Delivered Duty Paid (DDP) in your default international settings or on the individual order.
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Ineligible carrier or service: Confirm that your selected carrier and service support Guaranteed Pre-Paid Duties and Taxes for your account's base country. For shipments that do not qualify for Pre-Paid Duties and Taxes Guaranteed you may be able to use a Delivered Duty Paid (DDP) method.
Review the Bill International Duties to Payor of Shipping Charges workflow guide for more details.
The Duty-and-Tax calculation includes import duties and carrier fees. It also covers Value Added Tax (VAT) or similar required import taxes like GST, PST, or HST that exist in different countries.
VAT and similar taxes are typically set as a percentage at the country-level and have low variability among different types of goods.
Duties are calculated on an item-specific basis, and can vary significantly for individual items depending on the item type, materials and methods used for production, country of manufacture, and item values.
When using a guaranteed Duty-and-Tax inclusive method, import fees such as disbursement fees and handling fees are also fully included. There will not be additional or subsequent fees, assuming the information provided for the items is correct.
To ensure the calculated duties are correct you will need to enter accurate customs declarations for each item in the shipment. See Customs Declarations for more information on adding harmonization codes, country of origin, and item value.
If the HS code provided is incorrect, it is possible that the duties and taxes calculated will not match the duties and taxes that are charged on import to the country of destination for the shipment. In this instance, there is the possibility that a subsequent charge for the corrected duty and tax amount will be charged to you.
No, it will not result in customs delays, Pre-Paid Duties and Taxes Guaranteed will allow shipments to pass more efficiently through customs and be delivered to their destination without the receiver being contacted.
Please note that incorrect item information, such as HS codes, item descriptions, or item values, may result in questions from customs authorities and shipment delays until resolved.