For DTC, marketplace and subscription brands
Import compliance software for ecommerce brands: HTS classification, duty and landed cost
The $800 de minimis exemption is gone, so every inbound parcel now needs an entry and a 10-digit HTS code. Describe a product the way you describe it on your product page and get the code, the duty and the landed cost, with the reasoning written out. Start with one SKU right here.
Free while we build · No card required · A classification recommendation for your review, not a CBP ruling
Customs declaration · AI classifier
FORM TW-01
The short answer
Import compliance software for an ecommerce brand does three jobs: it assigns each SKU a 10-digit HTS code you can defend, it prices the duty and fees before you commit to a purchase order, and it keeps a record of why each code was chosen. That last part matters more than it used to. CBP indefinitely suspended the $800 de minimis exemption for all modes other than the international postal network effective June 24, 2026, and for the postal network effective July 24, 2026, so shipments that used to clear on a manifest now need formal or informal entry with a full classification. The legal duty of reasonable care sits with you as importer of record under 19 USC 1484, not with your carrier, your 3PL or your software vendor.
Last updated September 2026.
Three rule changes hit small importers in 2026
None of these are forecasts. They are published rules with effective dates, and together they turn classification from an annual cleanup task into something that touches every purchase order.
June 24, 2026
De minimis suspended
CBP suspended the $800 exemption indefinitely for every mode except the international postal network. Postal followed on July 24. Congress separately repealed the statutory exemption effective July 1, 2027.
July 24, 2026
New Section 301 layer
The temporary 10 percent Section 122 surcharge lapsed at its 150-day statutory limit and a Section 301 forced-labor action covering roughly 60 economies took effect the same morning.
October 1, 2026
MPF floor rises
The merchandise processing fee rate stays at 0.3464 percent, but the per-entry minimum goes from $33.58 to $34.58 and the maximum from $651.50 to $670.86 under CBP Dec. 26-14.
The practical effect is a step change in entry volume for anyone selling physical goods sourced abroad. A brand bringing in 400 small parcels a year used to file almost nothing. That same brand now needs 400 classifications, and it needs them to agree with each other, because inconsistent codes for identical goods across entries is a well-known audit trigger.
What an entry costs now, line by line
This is the part most brand owners have never had to price, because de minimis absorbed it. Fees below are the published federal figures. Broker charges are the ranges US brokers publish on their own price lists, so treat them as a market band rather than a quote.
| Cost line | Amount | Applies to |
|---|---|---|
| Duty | Free to 32%+, set by your HTS code | Every entry. The code is the whole variable. |
| MPF, formal entry | 0.3464%, min $34.58, max $670.86 from Oct 1, 2026 | Formal entries. The floor means small entries pay $34.58 no matter what. |
| MPF, informal entry | $2.77 automated, $8.30 manual, $12.45 manual prepared by CBP | Informal entries, generally under $2,500 in value. |
| Harbor maintenance fee | 0.125% of cargo value, no cap | Ocean freight only. Air and truck pay nothing. |
| Customs broker, per entry | About $100 to $250 full service | Usually includes three to five HTS lines. |
| Extra HTS lines and reviews | About $5 to $15 per extra line, $50 to $200 per formal classification review | Catalogs with many distinct products. |
Run that against a real catalog and the arithmetic gets uncomfortable fast. A brand with 300 distinct SKUs paying $10 a line for classification on top of entry fees is spending $3,000 before a single unit sells, and paying it again every time the catalog changes. That is the gap this category of software exists to close: classify once, keep the reasoning, reuse the code on every subsequent entry, and only pay professional attention to the lines that are genuinely close calls. If you want the full arithmetic on the fee side, the merchandise processing fee breakdown walks through the caps and the waivers.
What the software actually has to do for a brand your size
Plain-English input
You know your product as "waxed canvas tote with leather straps", not as a chapter note. Describe it that way and let the classifier do the translation.
A full 10-digit HTS code
Six digits is the international part and it is not enough to file. US rate splits live in the last four, and those splits often carry the biggest duty difference.
A written rationale per SKU
Every recommendation cites the General Rules of Interpretation and the chapter notes behind it, so you or your broker can check the logic instead of trusting a score.
Duty and landed cost together
A code with no dollar figure attached does not help you price a product. Duty, MPF, HMF and freight belong in the same view as the classification.
Catalog consistency
Two near-identical SKUs classified differently across entries is the pattern that draws attention. Catch it in your own file first.
Close calls flagged, not hidden
Where a call is genuinely contested or the money is large, the honest answer is a binding ruling. The tool says so instead of projecting false confidence.
How a catalog gets classified
1
Describe the product
Material, construction, how it is used, and how it is packaged for sale. Those four facts settle most classifications.
2
Read the reasoning
You get a code plus the rules and notes it rests on. If the logic is wrong, it is visible and you can correct the input.
3
Price the entry
Duty rate, MPF, HMF and freight roll into a landed cost you can put into a margin calculation before you order.
4
Keep the record
Store the code and the reasoning with the SKU. Entry records have to be retrievable for five years, and the HTS number itself is on CBP's records list.
Apparel and accessory brands
Apparel is the worst case, which is why it comes first. A cotton knit t-shirt sits at 16.5 percent while the same shirt in man-made fiber is 32 percent. The chief weight rule that decides which one applies is a plurality test, not a majority test, and a garment set can be forced together by a section note even when the pieces would classify separately on their own. If you sell clothing, the HS code for clothing reference walks through Chapters 61 and 62 with real rates by garment type.
Shopify and marketplace sellers
Shopify stores an HS code at the variant level, and that is genuinely useful for outbound international orders. It is not a US entry classification. The stored value is typically six digits, the entry needs ten, and a single product with several variants can legitimately need several different codes. Anyone who assumed the platform field was doing compliance work has a gap to close.
Subscription boxes and kits
Kits and boxes are the classification problem people underestimate. A set put up for retail sale classifies by essential character under GRI 3(b), which means one code for the whole box rather than a code per component, and picking that essential character wrong changes the rate for everything inside. This is a case where writing down the reasoning at the time is worth more than the code itself.
Brands that already work with a broker
Software does not replace your broker, and it should not pretend to. Classification is customs business, and your broker carries real supervisory obligations. What changes is who does the first pass. Handing a broker 300 pre-classified lines with the reasoning attached is a different conversation from handing them a spreadsheet of product names. If you sit on the other side of that relationship, the customs broker software page covers the same workflow from the broker's seat.
How the options compare
An honest map of the choices, including where we are the wrong answer. Tariffwise is in early access, so the fair comparison is on capability and cost model rather than on years of track record.
| Option | Cost model | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Enterprise trade platform | Annual contract, typically five figures | Large importers with a compliance team and ERP integration needs. |
| Cross-border checkout suite | Per transaction or platform fee | Brands whose main problem is quoting duty to overseas buyers at checkout, not inbound entries. |
| Customs broker, per line | About $5 to $15 per extra line, $50 to $200 per formal review | Low SKU counts and genuinely contested classifications where you want a licensed opinion. |
| Doing it yourself in the HTS | Free, costs time | A handful of stable products you already understand well. |
| Tariffwise | Free during early access | Brands with catalogs too big to classify by hand and too small to fund an enterprise contract. |
If you want the longer version with named vendors side by side, the best HS code classification software roundup compares them on classification method, duty coverage, API access and pricing model.
The part vendors skip
Only a ruling issued under 19 CFR Part 177 binds CBP. Under 19 CFR 177.1(b) even an oral opinion from CBP's own staff is not binding on the agency, so no software can be either. What Tariffwise produces is a classification recommendation with the reasoning written out, built to be reviewed. It is not CBP-approved, it does not guarantee correctness, and it does not discharge your reasonable care duty as importer of record. Where a call is close and the dollars are real, request a binding ruling. It costs nothing and takes about 30 days.
Ecommerce import questions, answered
Do I need an HTS code for every product I import?
Yes. Since the de minimis suspension took effect, every commercial shipment entering the US needs formal or informal entry with a 10-digit HTS code, no matter how small the value. The importer of record is legally responsible for that code under 19 USC 1484, even when a carrier or a 3PL keys it in for you.
How much does import compliance software cost for a growing ecommerce brand?
The market splits three ways. Enterprise trade platforms sell annual contracts, usually five figures. Customs brokers bill roughly $100 to $250 per entry with three to five HTS lines included and about $5 to $15 for each extra line, and $50 to $200 for a formal classification review of a new commodity. Tariffwise is in early access and free while we build it.
Who is liable if my ecommerce brand uses the wrong HTS code?
You are. 19 USC 1484 puts the reasonable care duty on the importer of record, in person or by an agent. Using a carrier, a freight forwarder or software does not move that duty. Penalties under 19 USC 1592 apply even when the wrong code would have produced the same duty.
Can Shopify assign HS codes for my products automatically?
Shopify can store an HS code per product variant and Managed Markets will populate a code for some catalogs, but a stored six-digit HS code is not the same thing as the 10-digit HTS number a US entry requires. The last four digits are where US rate splits live, and those splits are exactly where duty exposure hides.
What does the end of de minimis actually cost per shipment?
Take a $60 parcel. It now needs an entry, the duty for its code, and the merchandise processing fee. On an informal automated entry the MPF is a flat $2.77. On a formal entry the MPF is 0.3464 percent of value with a floor of $34.58 from October 1, 2026, so a small formal entry pays the floor regardless of value. Add the broker or self-filing cost on top.
Is AI classification accurate enough to file an entry on?
Treat it as a first pass with a written rationale, not as an authority. Only a binding ruling under 19 CFR Part 177 binds CBP. Software that shows you the General Rules of Interpretation and the chapter notes it relied on can be reviewed and corrected. Software that returns a bare code with a confidence score cannot.
Classify a SKU from your own catalog and see the duty before your next purchase order.
Related: landed cost calculator, HTS code lookup, HS code for clothing.