John Locke
April 21st, 2004, 04:20 AM
Does anyone know what exactly transpires when a returning U.S. expat arrives at the Customs desk with a case full of video equipment?
I've heard conflicting things...some say that if the equipment is over a year old, you pay no taxes on it, while othes say that if the equipment is considered "professional" (meaning anything other than a palm-size camcorder), you'll have to pay taxes regardless of age. But if so, based on what value?
To complicate things, I've got some equipment that was purchased from the U.S. and sent overseas, which I'm told I'll still have to pay tax on.
Sheesh. Confusing.
P.S. I called Customs over here, but they really didn't offer much insight about the details. Really surprising. They just kept saying over and over "Some items may require that taxes be paid, and that will be determined at the port of entry." They also recommended I ship some items individually home by FedEx or mail, and that as long as I sent no more than one box with a value of less than $2,000 per day, that I wouldn't pay any taxes at all (strange advice coming from Customs, don't you think?). I called FedEx and they said they'd never heard this and then said they don't ship "Personal items" (What?!). UPS refused to ship anything because I'm not a business. And the Post office here says there is no such $2,000 a day exemption for the U.S. Holy moly...does anyone know the real story?
I've heard conflicting things...some say that if the equipment is over a year old, you pay no taxes on it, while othes say that if the equipment is considered "professional" (meaning anything other than a palm-size camcorder), you'll have to pay taxes regardless of age. But if so, based on what value?
To complicate things, I've got some equipment that was purchased from the U.S. and sent overseas, which I'm told I'll still have to pay tax on.
Sheesh. Confusing.
P.S. I called Customs over here, but they really didn't offer much insight about the details. Really surprising. They just kept saying over and over "Some items may require that taxes be paid, and that will be determined at the port of entry." They also recommended I ship some items individually home by FedEx or mail, and that as long as I sent no more than one box with a value of less than $2,000 per day, that I wouldn't pay any taxes at all (strange advice coming from Customs, don't you think?). I called FedEx and they said they'd never heard this and then said they don't ship "Personal items" (What?!). UPS refused to ship anything because I'm not a business. And the Post office here says there is no such $2,000 a day exemption for the U.S. Holy moly...does anyone know the real story?