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CSA TRAVEL INFORMATION GUIDE
You may import household effects duty-free if:
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You used them in a household where you were a resident or were available for your use for at
least one year.
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They are not intended for anyone else or for sale.
The year of use does not need to be continuous, nor does it need to be the year immediately before
the date of importation. Personal and household effects entitled to duty-free entry need not
accompany you to the United States; you may have them shipped to your U.S. address at a later time
if you choose. Your shipment of personal and/or household goods must be cleared through Customs
at its first port of arrival, unless you have made arrangements with a foreign freight forwarder to
have your effects sent in Customs custody in-bond from the port of arrival to a more convenient port
of entry for clearance. (Ask your moving company if they offer this service.)
Household effects from the country where these effects were used, and meeting the above criteria,
may be entered into the United States duty-free within 10 years after your initial arrival in the United
States as a legal resident.
Personal effects may be shipped or mailed to you at a later date. The package should be marked
“Used Personal Effects” and must have been in your possession prior to your entry into the United
States. Anything included in the package that is new may be dutiable.
Clothing, jewellery, photography equipment, portable radios, and vehicles are considered personal
effects and cannot be brought in duty-free as household effects. The amount of duty collected on
them will, however, be reduced according to the age of the item.
Before taking or shipping household items to the U.S., just as it is advisable to speak with a Canada
Border Services Agency office, it is also advisable to speak with the local U.S. Customs and Border
Protection (CBP) office where you are planning to cross into the United States as to what documenta-
tion will be required as well as possible duty and taxes that will be payable.
Automobiles, House-trailers and Boats
Please note that a Canadian-registered automobile, house-trailer or boat cannot be casually taken
into the United States on an ongoing year-round basis even if you intend – at some undetermined
time in the future to return it to Canada.
An automobile entering the United States must be removed from the U.S., or registered locally,
within one year of its arrival. To register a foreign-registered vehicle locally, specific U.S. importation
paperwork must be presented, which can only be issued at the time that the vehicle initially crossed
into the United States.
See the separate section entitled Can I import an automobile to Canada?, Can I export an automobile to
the United States?