Calculate your import duty in few steps for free

Wedding rings

Brides, grooms and maids are warming up and their queries for wedding and prom dresses outnumber the queries for iPad on the route from the USA to the UK.  We are rough guys but we love it!

This is no wonder if we consider that the number of marriages registered in England and Wales must be around 230,000 per year.  At least it was in 2008 according to the Office for National Statistics.

Still, weddings cast their spell on all of us, besides what’s more romantic than a clear day to celebrate such an unforgettable moment?

Indeed it is possible to plan a wedding without going broke and without compromising on the quality of the dress. With a little work and investigating her options, the bride-to-be can find that perfect dress at a reasonable price.  One good idea for many DutyCalculator users is to look overseas where the assortment is broader, price ranges wider and some dresses might not even be available to the UK.  So let’s the balls begin!

The bride-to-be will be unique in her ivory J.Crew Silk taffeta Wedding dress.

J.Crew Wedding dress


Bridesmaids will impress the audience in their Kay Unger New York Evening gowns.

Kay Unger New York Evening gown


When buying Wedding and Prom dresses online we suggest to ask for and double-check the exact measures before submitting the order to make sure that the dress will fit properly and to avoid expensive alterations.   Moreover, we suggest to plan your purchase in advance and make sure that the dress will arrive with plenty of time to spare before the event.

IMPORT DUTY AND VAT.  Back to roughness, remember that import duty and VAT are due if you plan to buy your Wedding and Prom dresses in the USA.  Wedding and Prom dresses have different HS codes according to the material they are made of.   However, no matter whether you buy a dress of silk, cotton or other material, an import duty of 12% is calculated on all Wedding and Prom dresses.  Bride’s veils do have an import duty of 12% as well.  Handkerchiefs for silver tears of happiness have an import duty of 10%.

EXAMPLE OF IMPORT DUTY  AND VAT CALCULATION.  We daily reply to many questions regarding how to compute import duty and VAT.  Therefore we have a whole section on the DutyCalculator about import duty and VAT calculations.  Moreover, we post an example on wedding dresses here.  Let us know whether this helps.

The price of the J.Crew wedding dress that we featured is USD 695.  Let’s say the shipping cost to UK is USD 100 (for a precise shipping estimate).  We first compute the customs value that is USD 695 + USD 100 = USD 795.  We then convert USD into GBP by using the official exchange rate of 1.4913 USD to 1 GBP (April 2010).  That makes USD 795 divided by 1.4913 = GBP 533.  We then compute the import duty by GPB 533 x 12% = GBP 64.

We then compute VAT (for the UK the rate is 17.5% in 2010).  (GBP 533 + GBP 64) x 17.5% = 104.5 GBP

Total landed cost equals 701.5 GBP (533 GBP + 64 GBP + 104.5 GBP)

Happy dreaming!

The DutyCalculator Team
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