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.

If you’re a Canadian planning to shop in the U.S. on Black Friday, we thought we would give you the heads up that Black Friday falls on November 25th this year.

Because of the great deals offered on Black Friday, Canadians travelling to the U.S. to shop should be prepared to wait in long lineups when crossing the border ( it is, after all, the busiest shopping day of the year!). If you have the flexibility, you may want to consider heading down to the U.S. one or two days ahead of time and staying in a hotel to avoid traffic, border lineups and possibly missing out on the best deals. If you are thinking of going this route, you may want to book your hotel soon, as hotels in Buffalo, Bellingham, Grand Forks, Burlington, Plattsburgh and other U.S. border towns fill up fast.

Whether you’re staying overnight or just shopping for the day, when planning your Black Friday shopping trip to the U.S., it’s important to know when the outlet mall, shopping center or retailer you want to visit will open their doors so you don’t miss out. Some stores open early on Thursday, while others don’t open until midnight or even early Friday morning.

Although it’s a little early to start looking for Black Friday sales and deals, you may start seeing Black Friday ads pop up here and there around the end of October, although most deals aren’t published until much closer to American Thanksgiving. Local newspapers published in your U.S. shopping destination and websites that specialize in Black Friday deals are your best bet for finding deals. Of course, we will also do our best to keep you up to date with the latest Black Friday deals and sales. You can also learn more about Black Friday here.

Although U.S. malls and retailers offer deals and sales throughout the year, there are certain times of year Canadians can count on to find great deals and sales when shopping in the U.S.

If you’re planning on cross border shopping in the United States, you may want to plan your trips around times when you can maximize your savings by taking advantage these offers. When Canadians combine lower prices on goods in the U.S with coupons and sales, they can often save 50% or more on what they would have paid for identical goods in Canada.

The most popular sales take place during the holiday shopping season from late October until Christmas, particularly over the American Thanksgiving holiday on Black Friday (the Friday after American Thanksgiving) and Cyber Monday (the Monday after American Thanksgiving).

You can also count on sales taking place on other U.S. holidays such as:

• Martin Luther King Day (Third Monday in January)
   
• Presidents’ Day (Third Monday in February)
   
• Memorial Day (Last Monday in May)
   
• Independence Day (July 4th)
   
• Labor Day (First Monday in September)
   
• Columbus Day (Second Monday in October)
   
• Veteran’s Day (November 11th)