Updated 2026-10-13
案内 US import duty on Japanese trading cards
The general playing-card tariff rate, what a 2026 ruling did not decide, and why the calculator’s extra-duty box starts at zero.
People ask whether a Japanese card “gets duty.” The useful answer has two layers, and only one of them is a clean number.
The general rate
Playing cards sit in HTS 9504.40.00.00. The general rate is Free. A public tariff mirror synced 12 October 2026 still showed Free, and the calculator stores 0% with that date’s check. CBP ruling N359352, from March 2026, classified Pokémon trading cards from Japan in 9504.40.0000. The ruling says, in the text around it, that it does not decide extra duties under Chapter 99.
So the calculator’s US duty line is 0%, and it is not marked Estimate. The extra-duty percent next to it is marked Estimate, because that is the slot for a Chapter 99 rate or a brokerage charge you were actually quoted. Leave it at 0 if you do not have one. Do not type a number you saw in a forum.
There is no US federal VAT. State use tax is not in the total.
De minimis
For years, a parcel at or under $800 could enter without duty under the administrative exemption. On 24 June 2026 the Federal Register published an indefinite suspension of that exemption for merchandise arriving by international mail, and described a new informal entry process. The rule is the source linked from the US row on the fee page. A card under $800 is not automatically a non-event at customs anymore. The duty rate can still be zero. The paperwork and any carrier brokerage fee are a different bill. We do not have a sourced brokerage number, so we do not invent one.
Other countries, briefly
The United Kingdom’s standard VAT is 20%. Canada’s federal GST is 5%, and provincial tax is not included until you edit the percent. Australia’s GST is 10%, and ZenMarket says they collect it at or under AUD 1,000. The EU line is 20% and marked Estimate because there is no single EU rate. Duty for those countries is left at 0% and marked Estimate. Type the rate from the tariff site linked on the fee row.
None of this is a filing. If a broker’s invoice disagrees with the calculator, the invoice wins, and the extra-duty field is how you make the link you share match it.
Questions
Is the US duty rate on playing cards zero?
The general HTS rate for 9504.40.00.00, playing cards, is Free. That is the rate in the calculator. It does not include extra Chapter 99 duties or a broker’s fee.
Does the 800 dollar de minimis exemption still waive duty on mail?
A Federal Register rule published 24 June 2026 suspends the de minimis exemption for merchandise imported by international mail. Do not assume a small card skips customs paperwork because it is under 800 dollars.