Recently, the U.S. has been urging the Canadian government to increase same-day duty free allowances for Canadians returning from shopping in the United States.

An increase in same-day duty free allowances would be a welcome development for Canadian cross border shoppers who prefer single day shopping trips. If the new policy is implemented, it will allow Canadians who go shopping in the U.S. for the day to bring more goods duty free to Canada.

Currently, Canadians who shop in the U.S. for less than 24 hours are not entitled to any personal exemption, while Canadians who stay in the U.S. for more than 24 hours are only entitled to a meager $50 personal exemption. It’s not until Canadians stay in the U.S. for more than 48 hours that duty free allowances become significant, increasing to $400 (the duty free limit increases again to $750 for stays of more than 7 days).

In contrast, Americans are allowed to bring $200 worth of goods back to the United States duty free from same-day shopping trips to Canada. The U.S. government is even proposing increasing that amount to $1,000. In return, the U.S. is requesting that Canada create a same day duty free allowance of $200.

However, the Canadian government has resisted increasing same-day duty free limits due to lobbying from Canadian retailers, who fear higher personal exemptions will lead to an increase in cross border shopping in the United States. Their fears are not unfounded, as Canadians are becoming increasingly aware of the fact that they can purchase goods in the United States for 20% to 30% less that they would pay for identical goods in Canada.

Despite resistance from the Canadian government, we are optimistic that the campaign to increase duty free limits will gain momentum now that it has become an issue of public debate. We will be sure to keep you updated of any Canadian customs limit increases that take place in the future. In the mean time, you can learn more about Canadian duty free limits here.