Hello guys & gals,
Is there a limit to how many bottles one person can have in their check-in luggage from London to NY for personal consumption? Do you need to declare the wine(s) on the customs form? Is it possible to check a case of wine in a cardboard shipping box with Styrofoam inserts? Will it break?
Thanks
Generally the answer is yes. You will have to pay duty on anything over several liters. You can google the exact limits and info. Shipping in a regular cardboard box is fine.
That’s not correct. If the officer is convinced it’s for private consumption, they’ll let you bring back several cases without any duty or tax. I found a regulation on that and posted it here a couple of times before when this question came up, but I don’t have time to dig it up now. I’ve brought back a case on many occasions over 20+ years, and once brought back two cases. Once a junior officer was ready to write up paperwork, but when he called over his supervisor, that guy made a funny face and waved me through.
I’m not sure what you mean by “a regular cardboard box,” Michael. I would NOT check a box without a styrofoam liner. I’ve always used styro in cardboard. Of course, you can buy wine suitcases, too.
You might check the CBP website for the official answer:
You are entitled to 1 litre of wine duty free per person traveling together. Above that you may have to pay duty. That said, wide experience is that CBP will not assess duty on bottles over the limit so long as it’s for personal use. (My recent personal experience was 6 bottles with no questions at all once I declared). That said, from a quick read of the links in that link above, the duty rate is 7c/gallon, so no wonder they don’t bother charging it. A case would be about 14c (net of the first litre “free”).
There’s a separate question about what the airline will accept, and that may vary by airline. The baggage/weight limits will apply, but a case of wine usually is under 50lbs and 20kg. It needs to be appropriately packed, but styrofoam in a box should be sufficient. The styrofoam may break, in the service of protecting your wine (I’ve had it break on truck shipments from CA, but other than the mess of clingy-bits of styrofoam, no issues).
Have brought back wine (once a full case) on a few international trips and have never been assessed duty (or even been questioned about it). Used a cardboard mailer with styro insert.
I meant cardboard with styro but a cardboard shipper can work too.
You may or may not have to pay duty bringing more than 1L but the regulation is 1L is the limit.
Here’s the US Customs statement on the topic. Although amounts over 1 liter technically are subject to duty and excise tax, in practice customs doesn’t bother to collect those because the rates are pretty low and it’s not worth the paperwork.
Can I bring (carry in my baggage) back alcohol for my personal use or as a gift?
Generally, one liter of alcohol per person may be entered into the U.S. duty-free by travelers who are 21 or older, although travelers coming from the U.S. Virgin Islands or other Caribbean countries are entitled to more. Additional quantities may be entered, although they will be subject to duty and Federal excise taxes, which will be assessed and collected at the Port of Entry.
…
State laws and regulations > vary widely from state to state, and > may be more restrictive than federal regulations. > States often have restrictions on the amount of alcohol that can be brought in that applies only to the residence of that State. Generally, people transiting through a state are not subject to those restrictions, but sometimes regulations change…
There is no federal limit on the amount of alcohol a traveler may import into the U.S. for personal use, however, large quantities might raise the suspicion that the importation is for commercial purposes> , and a CBP officer could require the importer to obtain an Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) import license (which is required for all commercial importations) before releasing it. A general rule of thumb is that 1 case of alcohol is a personal use quantity - although travelers are still subject to state restrictions which may allow less.
In other words, one case or less is presumed to be for personal consumption, but there’s no firm cap on the amount that can come under the personal use exemption.
The part about state laws is important to note. Some years back, there was a post about someone who cleared customs in Texas on return from Europe and found that the customs officers enforced Texas restrictions.
Just so as not to confuse others – you mean a genuine cardboard shipping box with thick walls and inserts and space between the bottles and the exterior surfaces, not the standard box from the winery. The latter are meant for shipping on pallets, not for surviving airline baggage handlers and luggage chutes!
But, in practice, they never charge you. I’ve been bringing back wine from Europe almost every year since the 1990s, often a case or more, and I have never been charged.
I think you guys are saying the same thing—they could charge you, but it is unlikely. I’ve brought two cases back and forth a few times and never had to pay. On the LHR end, a couple of time they made an effort to charge, but once the “person who knows how to do this” was on break, once the till was broken.
I’d just be careful of saying that they absolutely will not, and then the OP ends up getting a newbie who follows the rules.
All that said, I don’t remember the tariff, but I think it was a few bucks a bottle, so, for me at least, not a big deal in the scenario where I could have been charged.
You are entitled to 1 litre of wine duty free per person traveling together. Above that you may have to pay duty. That said, wide experience is that CBP will not assess duty on bottles over the limit so long as it’s for personal use. (My recent personal experience was 6 bottles with no questions at all once I declared). That said, from a quick read of the links in that link above, the duty rate is 7c/gallon, so no wonder they don’t bother charging it. A case would be about 14c (net of the first litre “free”).
There’s a separate question about what the airline will accept, and that may vary by airline.
This is not entirely true.
You are entitled to one liter of alcohol, not one liter of wine.
Assume your bottle is 13.5% alcohol. That leaves you with .865 liter that you can still bring in. It is more complicated if one bottle is 12.5 and one is 14 and another 13.8.
Because many people in US customs are proud graduates of the US education system, most of them can’t figure out where your liter ends and what the tax would be.
That ends up benefiting you, the traveler.
FWIW, I’ve brought in many cases of wine with no problem.
Separately Andrew is dead on about what the airline will accept. Each terminal in the US tends to be dominated by one airline and they will establish their own rules. A second set of rules will be in place for each airline using that terminal. A third set of rules will be in place for the people working that particular shift at that particular airport.
How does this translate into action?
As follows.
The airline might let you ship in a cardboard box. They may require styro containers within the box.
The airline or airport may have some other hoops you need to go through to get a cardboard box shipped, e.g. they may want you to check it at one particular place, etc.
The people working that shift at that airport might say that they won’t accept cardboard boxes. Whether this is company policy or not doesn’t matter in the least. You will miss your plane.
I travel several times a year with cardboard boxes of wine and most of the time, like 99% of the time, if the wine is packed in styro and labeled “fragile”, it’s OK. But on occasion, I’ve had serious arguments with the check-in staff regarding cardboard boxes. So the best idea is to arrive early.
Wow, super interesting. And although I have never had a problem with cardboard/styro packaging at check-in, it’s good (or rather, very helpful) to know that it can happen. I travel with wine a few times/year and probably need to make sure I consider a backup plan if I am to every encounter check-in staff like you’ve experienced.
I also didn’t know about the distinction between “alcohol” in the ETOH sense as the measurement for the tariff. As previously stated, I’ve never had to actually end up paying anything, but I’d have assumed it was based on the volume of wine vs. the volume of alcohol.
Thanks everyone for the input. Before i posted this I got conflicting info from online and even the airport/airline. I was running out of time so I posted here. Now I know what I need to do. Hopefully bottles dont break in transit. I cant imagine airport crews being gentle.
Always declare. It’s when you don’t that you run into problems.
Worst case when you don’t, customs can confiscate the wine. Worst case if you do, you pay duty which will be a few dollars. But because the duty is so low, most of the time they won’t collect.
+1
Is there a provision using that interpretation? The CBP website says “1 liter of alcoholic beverage”, which is different from one liter of “alcohol” (interpreted this way) for the reasons you state.
And the harmonized tariff schedule, Chapter 22 (Harmonized Tariff Schedule PDFs) seems to charge by the liter of wine, not based on alcohol content, as it distinguishes between wines of different alcohol content.
Can you travel with bottles that are partially consumed. Already open but recorked, coravined etc?
You’re just asking for a friend, right?
Haha I have a fortified wine exam in a few weeks and want to take bottles to taste/study which already are open to retaste with a study group. Flights domestic.
I’ve never done it, but I don’t see any reason why not, particularly as I assume this is just domestic travel, not foreign import. Not much different than packing a partially used shampoo bottle in your check in.
As for the general question of bringing wine in from overseas: as has already been said, the biggest issue is getting the airline to take your boxes. If you have status, that generally helps. I’ve done it many, many times (in the good 'ole days, I would carry on a case or more). Most airlines are cool, it just depends on the ticket agent - they can hassle you if they choose to, or they can be cool and just take your wine. That’s a business thing, nothing to do with customs. Once at your destination, as others have said, declare the value of the wine (personally, I never write “wine” on the customs form, just the $$ value, then I declare the wine to the guys taking the forms, or the immigration agent if he asks when checking my passport). Once or twice in many years I’ve had a less experienced customs agent send me over to the station where they inspect and collect duty. Each time the more experienced agents there just rolled their eyes and waved me through. One time an inexperienced guy went through the process of starting to write it up, but after consulting with his superiors sent me on. Most of the time they just say they wish they could come to the party.
Agree - it’s like checking a “full” bottle. Unless partial consumption increases the risk of breakage or leakage I don’t see why there would be a difference. Besides, if you follow best practice, it will be well sealed in a box.
Obviously you won’t be able to carry on.