Shipping to Canada FAQ
What happens when you buy from Bo Dee-Oh! and ship to Canada?
- You pay UPS Standard shipping rates
- You pay Duties & Taxes (depending on your province)
- You pay Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) fees
- Brokerage Entry Preparation fees
- You pay a $6 CAD bond fee
How does shipping to Canada work?
When I buy your UPS label, I also indicate that I am to be billed for the additional fees - taxes, brokerage, etc. at the border.
Within the next 2 weeks, I receive an Invoice from UPS for your fees. I do some copy/paste and annotation on the invoice to explain the various charges and then email you with the details. I will then edit your order and add the fees which results in a new invoice for that order to be emailed to you. You click the PAY box and pay the fees and we’re done.
How much can I spend online without paying Duties, Taxes and Brokerage fees?
USMAC, which replaced NAFTA, raised the amount that Canadians are able to purchase online without paying Duties, Taxes and Brokerage fees from $20CAD to $40CAD.
Why is UPS Standard shipping the best shipping option?
Research has indicated that the shipping rates via UPS are lower than both the USPS - First class Express International and USPS Priority Mail International.
Even though you won’t have a brokerage fee when your package crosses the border with USPS, you are still paying it as it’s already embedded in the shipping rate. Also, you may or may not be charged an additional “hand off” fee - $9.95CAD per dutiable or taxable mail item is applied - from the USPS to Canada Post.
What are brokerage fees?
Since most people do not have their own UPS account, UPS acts as the broker on your behalf. There is a lot of chatter on the internet about these fees being a scam, but as I see it, it looks a lot like UPS following the policy set by the CBSA.
Here is a link to the UPS chart for fees charged for Entry Preparation for each shipment. As you can see 0-$40CAD is free, but then the fees climb steeply after that.
Legally I cannot share my negotiated rates for the Brokerage fees from UPS as that is what it states in my contract.
- I can say that if your purchase is over $40CAD, at the very least I can save you about $11.75CAD. I recently saved someone $50CAD on a large order. Savings depend upon the $ amount of your order
What are bond fees?
Customers are responsible for payment of duties and taxes. When funds are not provided in advance by the customer, and UPS must post a bond to allow UPS shipments to be released in advance of payment to the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), a fee of 2.7 percent (minimum $6.00 on UPS Standard).
On your statement, UPS will bundle these two costs into one brokerage fee.
How much tax will I pay?
If the amount of your purchase is over $40CAD you are subject to the following tax rates mandated by your province and national governments.
|
Province |
Type |
PST |
GST |
HST |
Total Tax Rate |
|
Alberta |
GST |
5% |
5% |
||
|
British Columbia |
GST + PST |
7% |
5% |
12% |
|
|
Manitoba |
GST + PST |
7% |
5% |
12% |
|
|
New Brunswick |
HST |
15% |
15% |
||
|
Newfoundland and Labrador |
HST |
15% |
15% |
||
|
Northwest Territories |
GST |
5% |
5% |
||
|
Nova Scotia |
HST |
15% |
15% |
||
|
Nunavut |
GST |
5% |
5% |
||
|
Ontario |
HST |
13% |
13% |
||
|
Prince Edward Island |
HST |
15% |
15% |
||
|
Quebec |
GST + *QST |
*9.975% |
5% |
14.975% |
|
|
Saskatchewan |
GST + PST |
6% |
5% |
11% |
|
|
Yukon |
GST |
5% |
5% |
Can I do anything to help the process move more quickly?
There are many articles on the Internet that instruct you how to save the brokerage firm fees. Simply Google things like “self clearing canada customs”
Also, I’ve seen UPS reference setting up UPS My Choice which will contact you in advance and let you pay your taxes online ahead of the package arriving at the border which will also help your package move through the border customs more quickly.