Formal and informal Merchandise Processing Fees

Why the calculator asks for an entry treatment

The US Merchandise Processing Fee (MPF) depends on how the merchandise is entered. A shipment's value is important, but value alone does not establish whether an entry is formal or informal. Product restrictions, antidumping or countervailing duty orders, quotas, other-agency requirements, and a CBP direction can change the available procedure.

SkuWatch therefore asks you to choose an MPF entry treatment. If you leave it unknown, the calculator shows the duties it can calculate, a known subtotal, and separate MPF scenarios. It does not silently select the most expensive or least expensive fee and call the result final.

FY2026 formal-entry MPF

For federal fiscal year 2026, from October 1, 2025 through September 30, 2026, the formal-entry MPF rate is 0.3464% of the merchandise value used for the fee. The result is subject to a $33.58 minimum and a $651.50 maximum.

An electronic formal entry uses that calculation. A manually filed formal entry also has a $4.03 surcharge. For example, 0.3464% of $20 is $0.06928, so an expressly formal electronic entry uses the $33.58 minimum. That arithmetic does not prove that the $20 shipment must be formal.

CBP publishes the current amounts in its Merchandise Processing Fee guidance. The underlying fee rule is in 19 CFR 24.23, and CBP's FY2026 adjustment appears in the Federal Register notice.

FY2026 informal-entry fees

The FY2026 informal-entry amounts depend on the filing method and who prepares the entry:

• $2.69 for an automated entry not prepared by CBP
• $8.06 for a manual entry not prepared by CBP
• $12.09 for an entry prepared by CBP

International mail and express-consignment or carrier processing can follow separate fee and entry rules. Broker, carrier, and service charges are not the MPF amounts above and are not added by SkuWatch's MPF selector.

The ordinary $2,500 boundary and its exceptions

19 U.S.C. § 1498 authorizes simplified procedures for qualifying merchandise at or below a regulatory limit. Under 19 CFR 143.21, qualifying shipments valued at $2,500 or less may be entered informally.

That is an eligibility boundary, not a promise that every shipment below $2,500 will be informal. The regulation lists exclusions, including certain merchandise classified in Chapter 99 subchapters III and IV when valued over $250. CBP may require a formal entry for any merchandise when necessary for admissibility enforcement, revenue protection, or efficient customs business under 19 CFR 143.22. CBP also identifies quota merchandise and goods subject to antidumping or countervailing duties among situations that may not use an informal entry in its informal-entry guidance.

The current suspension of duty-free de minimis treatment does not state that every low-value shipment must use a formal entry. The governing order requires the appropriate entry type and applicable duties, taxes, and fees. See Executive Order 14389. The available entry type still depends on the merchandise and filing facts.

HMF is a separate question

The Harbor Maintenance Fee (HMF) is not selected by choosing a formal or informal MPF treatment. SkuWatch models import HMF only when the user separately asks for the scenario and the transport mode is ocean. The scenario assumes commercial cargo transported on a commercial vessel and loaded or unloaded at a covered US port. Exemptions and other port or cargo facts can change the result.

See CBP's Harbor Maintenance Fee guidance and 19 CFR 24.24.

What to confirm before relying on a total

Confirm the actual entry procedure with the importer of record, carrier, customs broker, or CBP documentation. In particular, establish:

1. Whether the entry is formal or informal.
2. Whether it is filed electronically or manually.
3. For an informal entry, whether CBP prepares it.
4. Whether an MPF exemption or a mail, express, quota, AD/CVD, or other special rule applies.
5. For HMF, whether the vessel, cargo, port, and exemption facts satisfy the HMF rules.

The tariff calculator applies the selected FY2026 fee contract and keeps MPF and HMF separate. It is an estimate, not a customs entry determination or legal opinion.

Reference information only, not customs, legal, or classification advice. Tariff rules change frequently; confirm against the official source before you act.