Taxes and customs duty on purchases from non-EU online shops

Shopping in foreign online stores. How much do you have to pay for customs clearance?

Update 2026: Since 1 July 2026 the EU no longer has a 150 € duty-free threshold for parcels from non-EU countries. A duty of 3 € is now charged for each category of goods in a parcel: four pairs of socks – 3 €; socks, a soft toy and a charger – 9 €. Import VAT of 19 % (7 % for books) is charged as before from the first euro: the exemption up to 22 € was abolished back on 1 July 2021. According to customs, a separate handling fee will be added from November 2026 at the latest. Source: German customs.

UPD (08/03/21): update regarding changes effective from 01/07/2021

Living in Germany, we often buy from AliExpress and other non-European online stores.
How much and when do we need to pay? What awaits us in 2021?

Main points:
Customs is interested in the total cost of the goods together with shipping.

🔹Goods valued up to €22 are exempt from import duty.

🔹Items costing between €22 and €150 are NOT subject to import duties, but VAT is charged. For most goods, VAT is 19%; there are a number of exceptions, for example, for books – 7%.
If the VAT amount is less than €5, it does not need to be paid, as the costs of collecting this amount are higher than the amount itself.

➡This means that when purchasing an item subject to the standard VAT rate of 19%, we can place an order for €26.31 and avoid paying any additional charges.

✔Books can be ordered free of charge up to a value of €71, as VAT is 7%.

❗Important: pay attention to exchange rate fluctuations and currency conversion and do not order for the exact amount of €26.31.

✔From 1 July 2021, the €22 duty-free threshold is abolished. Therefore, VAT will have to be paid on any purchase up to €150. The non-taxable threshold is reduced from €5 to €1.
Purchases over €150 are subject to import customs duties.

Information on Zoll website.

From 1 July 2021, orders worth UP TO €5.25 will not be subject to tax The 19% tax on an amount of €5.25 will be 99 cents and will not be charged

Any questions? Write to us and we will reply in detail.