HS code by category
HS code for clothing: Chapter 61 and 62 HTS codes for apparel and clothing accessories
Apparel carries some of the highest duty rates in the US tariff schedule, from about 8 percent to 32 percent, and the code turns on knit versus woven, fiber chief weight and who the garment is cut for. A 51/49 blend can nearly double what you pay. Describe your garment on the right and the AI returns the HS/HTS code with its reasoning.
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The short answer
Clothing classifies in two mirror chapters of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule. Chapter 61 covers apparel that is knitted or crocheted, and Chapter 62 covers apparel that is not, principally woven. The two are mutually exclusive by law, so fabric construction is the first gate you pass through, and it changes the rate: a cotton knit t-shirt is 6109.10.00 at 16.5 percent while a men's cotton woven shirt is 6205.20.20 at 19.7 percent. Chapter 63 picks up made-up textile articles that are not garments, such as bed linen, towels and curtains. Within a heading, the fiber that predominates by weight decides the subheading, and that is where the money moves: the same t-shirt in man-made fiber is 6109.90.10 at 32 percent. Apparel duty is high because textiles were carved out of decades of tariff liberalization, so a classification error here costs far more than in most chapters.
Last updated July 2026. Rates are US Column 1 General (MFN) rates read from the USITC Harmonized Tariff Schedule, 2026 Revision 11.
Anatomy of a code: a cotton t-shirt
6109.10
- 61
- Chapter: articles of apparel and clothing accessories, knitted or crocheted.
- 6109
- Heading: t-shirts, singlets, tank tops and similar garments, knitted or crocheted.
- 6109.10
- Subheading: of cotton. This six-digit level is the same in every country that uses the Harmonized System.
- .00
- US digits: the Harmonized Tariff Schedule sets duty at the eight-digit line 6109.10.00, at 16.5 percent. Two more digits report statistics only: .12 is men's, .14 is boys'.
The number in parentheses next to an apparel description, such as (338), is a textile category number used for monitoring. It is not part of the duty calculation, but it does appear on entry paperwork.
Where common garments classify
A starting map, not a ruling. These are US Column 1 General (MFN) base rates verified against the 2026 tariff schedule, generally the "other" line within each subheading. Fiber content, trim, water resistance and down content all move the rate within a single heading. Confirm your garment with the classifier above before you file.
6109.10.00
T-shirts and tank tops, knit cotton
16.5%. In man-made fiber (6109.90.10) the rate jumps to 32%.
6110.20.20
Sweaters and pullovers, knit cotton
16.5%. Garments of 36% or more flax drop to about 5%.
6205.20.20
Men's shirts, woven cotton
19.7%. One of the highest common apparel rates.
6206.30.30
Women's blouses, woven cotton
15.4%. The women's and men's headings are separate by law.
6203.42.45
Men's trousers, woven cotton
16.6%. Down-filled variants can qualify for a Free line.
6204.62.80
Women's trousers, woven cotton
16.6%, matching the men's rate but under a different heading.
6204.42.30
Dresses, woven cotton
8.4%, notably lower than most woven apparel.
6107 / 6115
Underwear and socks
Men's knit cotton briefs 7.4%; cotton socks about 10 to 13.5%.
6302
Bed linen and made-up articles
Chapter 63. Cotton bed linen 6.7% plain, but 20.9% with trim.
Outerwear sits in 6201 and 6202: men's cotton anoraks run 9.4 percent, but a water resistant version drops to 6.2 percent. Wool overcoats carry a compound rate, such as 41 cents per kilogram plus 16.3 percent.
Knit or woven decides the chapter
Chapter 61 applies only to made-up knitted or crocheted articles. Chapter 62 applies to made-up articles of any textile fabric other than wadding, excluding knitted or crocheted goods. That makes the two chapters mutually exclusive, and it is the first binary decision in the entire analysis. Get it wrong and every digit after it is wrong too. The chapters deliberately mirror each other: 6109 knit t-shirts against 6205 woven shirts, 6103 and 6104 knit suits against 6203 and 6204 woven suits. There is one carve-out worth memorizing. Heading 6212, which covers brassieres, girdles, corsets, braces, suspenders and garters, stays in Chapter 62 regardless of whether it is knitted. If your product is a made-up textile article but not a garment, such as bed linen, towels, curtains or blankets, you are in Chapter 63 instead.
The chief weight rule, stated precisely
Fiber content decides the subheading, and the governing rule is Section XI Note 2(A), extended to garments by Subheading Note 2(A). It is not a majority test. A garment is classified as if it consisted wholly of the one textile material that predominates by weight over each other single textile material. That is a plurality. A garment that is 40 percent cotton, 35 percent polyester and 25 percent rayon is a cotton garment for tariff purposes even though cotton is a minority of the whole. When no single material predominates, the tie goes to the heading that occurs last in numerical order. One important aggregation rule: man-made filament and man-made staple, Chapters 54 and 55, are treated as a single chapter when weighed against another chapter, so polyester filament and polyester staple add together against cotton. This is why a 51/49 cotton to polyester t-shirt is 16.5 percent and the same shirt at 49/51 is 32 percent. Mill certificates and lab-verified fiber breakdowns are not optional paperwork on apparel, they are the evidence behind your rate.
Gender, age and the details that move the rate
Apparel headings are paired by gender, so 6205 is men's and boys' woven shirts while 6206 is women's and girls' blouses. When the cut does not clearly indicate one or the other, the legal tiebreaker is the closure: left over right at the front is treated as men's or boys', right over left as women's or girls'. A garment that cannot be identified either way is classified as women's or girls'. Age branches off before that. Babies' garments go to heading 6111 when knitted or 6209 when woven, and the rule is a size rule rather than an age rule: it covers articles for young children of a body height not exceeding 86 centimeters, roughly a US 24-month size. It is also an absorbing rule, so a baby-sized knit t-shirt is not 6109 at all, it is 6111.20.20 at 14.9 percent. Beyond that, small construction details carry real money. A drawstring or ribbed waistband at the bottom of a garment takes it out of heading 6109 entirely. Water resistance, down content of 15 percent or more, napping and decorative trim each shift the line. On cotton bed linen the presence of embroidery, lace or piping moves the rate from 6.7 percent to 20.9 percent. For the classification walkthrough in article form, see how to classify garments step by step.
Sets, suits and ensembles
Retail sets do not work the way they do elsewhere in the tariff. Section XI Note 14 says textile garments of different headings are classified in their own headings even when put up in sets for retail sale, which overrides the usual essential-character reasoning for mixed goods. So a shirt and trousers sold together are generally two classifications, not one. The exceptions are defined terms. A "suit" is a set of two or three pieces with the same fabric construction, color and composition on the outer surface, with a jacket shell of four or more panels plus a lower-body garment. An "ensemble" is several pieces of identical fabric put up for retail sale, one upper-body garment with one or two lower-body garments, and it explicitly excludes track suits and ski suits. Anything that is neither falls back to Note 14 and gets broken apart.
Labeling and compliance at the border
Three separate agencies enforce three separate requirements on imported apparel, and all of them bite at entry. The Federal Trade Commission, under the Textile Fiber Products Identification Act and 16 CFR Part 303, requires generic fiber names with percentages by weight in descending order, the manufacturer or importer identity as either a company name or a registered identification number, and the country where the product was processed or manufactured. CBP, under 19 USC 1304, requires conspicuous, legible and permanent country-of-origin marking in English that the ultimate purchaser can find and read without strain. Note that for textiles, origin is determined by the tariff-shift rules in 19 CFR 102.21 rather than by where final assembly happened, so a garment cut in one country and sewn in another may take the origin of neither obvious candidate. The Consumer Product Safety Commission enforces flammability under the Flammable Fabrics Act and 16 CFR Part 1610, which bars Class 3 textiles from commerce and requires importers of adult wearing apparel to issue a General Certificate of Conformity. Children's sleepwear is governed by the separate and stricter Parts 1615 and 1616.
Trade actions on apparel in 2026
Chinese-origin apparel carries an additional Section 301 duty. Apparel lines are footnoted to the Chapter 99 provision covering List 4A, which adds 7.5 percent on top of the base rate, so a Chinese cotton knit t-shirt runs 16.5 plus 7.5, and a man-made fiber t-shirt runs 32 plus 7.5. Note that the Section 301 China actions are under their second statutory four-year review, initiated in May 2026, with the original actions reaching their anniversary dates in July and August 2026, so confirm the provision still applies to the week you file rather than assuming continuity. The metals actions under Section 232 work differently: they reach only goods affirmatively enumerated in a proclamation annex, and no current action lists Chapter 61, 62 or 63 goods, so apparel is outside that regime. Because the broader US tariff policy layer has been changing month to month through 2026, treat any additional duty beyond the base rate and Section 301 as something to verify against current CBP guidance rather than a fixed number. Build the layers you confirm in the import duty calculator, and read how the Section 301 lists and rates work if you source from China.
Clothing HS code questions, answered
What is the HS code for t-shirts?
Cotton knit t-shirts, singlets and tank tops classify in 6109.10.00, dutiable at 16.5 percent Column 1 General. If man-made fiber is the chief weight, the code shifts to 6109.90.10 at 32 percent. Heading 6109 excludes garments with a drawstring or ribbed waistband at the bottom, which move to a different heading.
What is the duty rate on clothing imported into the US?
There is no single rate. US apparel duties typically run 8 to 32 percent, among the highest in the tariff schedule. Verified examples: cotton knit t-shirts 16.5 percent, men's cotton woven shirts 19.7 percent, cotton woven trousers 16.6 percent, cotton woven dresses 8.4 percent. The rate depends on knit versus woven, gender, fiber and garment type.
What is the difference between HS Chapter 61 and 62?
Chapter 61 covers apparel that is knitted or crocheted. Chapter 62 covers apparel that is not knitted or crocheted, principally woven. The chapters mirror each other and are mutually exclusive under their respective Note 1. Brassieres, girdles and corsets of heading 6212 stay in Chapter 62 regardless of how they are constructed.
How do you determine the fiber content for HS classification?
By the chief weight rule in Section XI Note 2(A). The garment is classified as if made wholly of the fiber that predominates by weight over each other single fiber. This is a plurality, not a 50 percent majority, so 40 percent cotton beats 35 percent polyester. Ties go to the heading last in numerical order.
Do I need a label on imported clothing?
Yes, three separate ones. FTC rules require generic fiber names with percentages, the manufacturer name or registered identification number, and the country of processing. CBP requires conspicuous permanent country-of-origin marking in English. CPSC requires a General Certificate of Conformity for flammability under 16 CFR 1610 for adult wearing apparel.
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Related: HS code lookup by product, HS code for footwear.