The landed cost is what goods really cost once they are in the United States: their price, plus everything paid to bring them in. It is the figure to set a selling price on, to compare suppliers and to see what a new tariff does to a margin. Duties are often its largest unknown, and its most volatile part.
What a landed cost adds up
- The price of the goods, as paid to the seller.
- International freight and insurance, from the seller to the US port or airport.
- US duties: the base duty of the tariff and the additional duties of Chapter 99 that apply to the goods' origin and date of entry.
- Entry fees: the merchandise processing fee (MPF) and, for goods that arrive by sea, the harbor maintenance fee (HMF). See how they are calculated.
- The customs broker's fees, for preparing and filing the entry.
- Other costs your forwarder or broker may bill: a customs bond, terminal handling, storage, delivery to your warehouse.
Duties are charged on the customs value, not on the landed cost
US duties and the MPF are calculated on the customs value of the goods. In most cases it is the transaction value: the price actually paid or payable to the seller, plus a few additions the law lists when the buyer pays them apart, such as packing, selling commissions, assists (tools, molds or materials the buyer supplies) and some royalties (19 U.S.C. 1401a). It leaves out the international freight and insurance, and the US duties themselves.
So freight and insurance raise the landed cost but not the duty. A trade term on the invoice can move them in or out of the price:
- EXW, FCA or FOB: you pay the international freight and insurance apart; the price is close to the customs value.
- CFR or CIF: the price includes the freight, or the freight and the insurance; take them out to find the customs value.
- DDP: the seller delivers duty paid and usually acts as the importer; its price already includes the duties and fees, and your landed cost is that price plus your own costs after delivery.
Example: 1,000 cotton T-shirts from China
The example of TariffTrust's home page: 1,000 men's cotton T-shirts made in China, bought at $5.00 each, shipped by sea. The duties and fees are calculated on 2026 HTS Revision 22; the freight, the insurance and the broker's fee are examples, to replace with your own quotes.
| Cost | Amount |
|---|---|
| Goods, 1,000 × $5.00: the customs value | $5,000.00 |
| Duties | $1,825.00 |
| Entry fees: MPF and HMF | $40.83 |
| International freight (example) | $600.00 |
| Insurance (example) | $25.00 |
| Customs broker's fee (example) | $150.00 |
| Landed cost | $7,640.83 |
That is $7.64 for each T-shirt bought at $5.00. The duties are calculated on the $5,000 of the goods only: the freight and the insurance add to the landed cost, not to the duty.
Per unit, and over time
Divide the landed cost by the number of units to get the cost of one, the figure a price list or a margin needs. Recalculate it when a rate changes: an additional duty that starts, rises or ends can move it overnight, while the price and the freight stay the same. Compare origins on landed cost too, since a cheaper supplier can be dearer once its duties are added.
What TariffTrust calculates
- Every US duty and the entry fees for the code, the origin, the value and the date of entry, each with its official source.
- The landed cost, when you give the freight and the insurance under "More options": the value of the goods, the duties, the fees, the freight and the insurance. Your broker's fees and the other costs are yours to add.
- With a quantity, what one unit owes in duties and fees.
- In a workspace, tracked products are recalculated when a rate moves, with an email, and the exposure is totaled across them.
Updated October 30, 2026. General information as of that date, not legal or customs advice: the official texts prevail, and a licensed customs broker can confirm what applies to your goods.