Shipping to the US from Australia in 2026: 10-Digit HS Codes, Duties and Who Pays

If you sell online from Australia and ship to the US, the rules changed twice this year. The short version:

• Your customs declaration needs a 10-digit HS code for every US-bound item.
• You, the sender, pay the US duty, before the parcel leaves.
• The duty is now worked out per item, from the HS code and country of origin, not as one flat percentage.
• The USD 800 duty-free allowance (de minimis) is still suspended.

Here's what each of those means for a small store, and what to change.

1. HS codes now need 10 digits

Since 24 July 2026, US Customs and Border Protection only accepts 10-digit HS codes. Australia Post's wording is blunt: don't use 6 or 8-digit codes on US-bound parcels, and items without a 10-digit code may be returned.

The first 6 digits of an HS code are international and match what you'd use for any country. The last 4 are the US's own subdivision, from the US Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS). So the code that worked for your UK orders won't be enough for your US ones.

What to do:

1. Look up each product type in the US HTS search. Start from the 6-digit code you already use and pick the 10-digit line under it that best describes the item.
2. Store the code per product, or per category if your range is simple. One store-wide code only works if everything you sell falls under the same heading.
3. Make sure it actually reaches your manifest. A code sitting in a product field is useless if your export or label tool doesn't carry it onto the customs content line.

2. The sender pays the duty, up front

Duties and taxes have to be paid before the goods enter the US. For Australia Post, that means registering a free Zonos Verified Account, and the duty is collected from you when you lodge.

On top of the duty itself you pay:

• a Zonos handling fee of 10% of the duty, and
• a flat Zonos admin processing fee per parcel.

Your customer doesn't get a bill at the door any more. That's better for them, but it means the cost lands on you unless your checkout recovers it.

3. Duty is now calculated per item, not flat

From 24 February to 23 July 2026, US-bound parcels carried a flat 10% global surcharge. That ended on 24 July 2026. Duty is now ad valorem: a percentage of each item's declared value, set by its HS code and its country of origin.

Two consequences:

• Two items in the same parcel can attract different rates. A silver ring and a cotton pouch aren't taxed the same.
• Country of origin matters as much as the HS code. If you resell goods made elsewhere, the origin is where they were made, not Australia. Getting it wrong changes the rate.

4. De minimis is still gone

The US used to let parcels under USD 800 in duty-free. That allowance has been suspended for every country since 29 August 2025, and Australia Post says it "remains suspended indefinitely". Plan as if every US order pays duty, however small.

How to recover the cost at checkout

You're paying duty plus Zonos fees on every US order. You can absorb it, raise US prices across the board, or charge it as a line at checkout. The third option is the clearest for the customer and doesn't punish your domestic buyers.

On WooCommerce, Tradewind International Fees and Coupons (free) adds a fee by country or continent, as a percentage or a flat amount, only above or below the order values you choose and only for the shipping methods you pick. Add a "US import duty" fee for the United States, with a "what is this?" link that explains it, so nobody is surprised.

Pick a percentage close to your typical rate plus the 10% handling fee. You won't match every order to the cent, but you'll stop losing money on each one.

How to get the codes onto your Australia Post manifest

If you lodge through MyPost Business with a CSV upload, the HS code, country of origin and a specific goods description all have to be on every international content line.

Tradewind CSV Exporter for Australia Post (free) builds that CSV straight from your WooCommerce orders with one store-wide HS code. CSV Exporter Pro adds HS codes and descriptions per product, variation or category, including 10-digit US codes, so a mixed range exports the right code for each line. For the whole workflow, see how to get WooCommerce orders into Australia Post.

While you're fixing customs data: the EU too

The EU's ICS2 system rejects vague goods descriptions such as "goods", "merchandise", "gifts", "items" or "misc". Use a description a customs officer could picture: "sterling silver earrings", not "jewellery items". Fix your descriptions once and you're covered for both.

Checklist

• Zonos Verified Account registered
• 10-digit US HS code on every product (or category)
• Country of origin correct for every product
• Specific goods descriptions, no generic words
• US duty recovered at checkout, or priced in on purpose
• Manifest tool carries all of the above onto each content line

Source: Australia Post, US import tariff changes, checked 26 September 2026. Rules change often, so check that page before relying on any figure here.