If an AliExpress order has cost you more than the price you paid at checkout recently, you're not imagining it. The rules that used to keep small international orders duty-free have changed on both sides of the Atlantic, and the change is permanent enough that it's worth understanding rather than getting surprised by it order after order.
In this guide
What actually changed
The US previously let any import under $800 in value cross the border duty-free — the "de minimis" exemption. That's gone. It ended for China and Hong Kong shipments specifically on May 2, 2025, then for every other country's shipments too on August 29, 2025. Every package can now be assessed duty regardless of what it's worth, including a $5 phone case.
This isn't a temporary sale-season adjustment. As of this writing there's no real indication it's being reversed — if anything, the legal grounds for reinstating it have narrowed rather than widened since it ended.
What you'll actually pay in the US
How much duty you owe, and when you find out about it, depends heavily on how your order ships — and that split matters more than the exact percentage:
- AliExpress Choice orders — Choice is now the default fulfillment method for most listings, routing orders through Cainiao's bonded warehouses, including regional US hubs, for delivery in roughly 5 days. Items stocked and shipped this way typically have duty settled at checkout, so the price you're charged is closer to the final cost.
- Direct-from-China shipments — orders that ship straight from a seller's warehouse in China skip that step. Duty gets assessed by the carrier at the border and billed to you separately, often after the package has already arrived. This is the scenario that produces the "surprise" bill people complain about.
On the actual rate: it's moved around a lot and isn't worth memorizing as a fixed number. Early on it spiked well past 100% for some categories; after a US-China tariff agreement in May 2026 it settled to roughly 54% on postal-shipped parcels from China, with commercial carriers like FedEx, UPS, and DHL often applying closer to 30% on the same low-value shipments instead. Treat any percentage you read — including this one — as a ballpark that can shift again, and budget accordingly rather than assuming the listing price is the final price.
If you're ordering from the EU or UK
The EU is going through the same shift on a slight delay. Its €150 duty-free threshold for parcels from non-EU sellers ends July 1, 2026, after which a flat €3 customs duty applies per item. A separate EU-wide handling fee — expected to be around €2, though the exact amount and date are still being finalized — is proposed for around November 2026 on top of that. AliExpress has reportedly started testing collecting the EU duty charge at checkout rather than leaving buyers to find out at delivery, which — if it holds — would put EU orders closer to the Choice experience described above than the direct-ship one.
The UK's rules are separate from the EU's and haven't changed as dramatically here — see our shipping times guide for the regional delivery breakdown alongside this.
How to avoid a surprise bill
A few things actually help:
- Check whether a listing ships via Choice before buying anything you're price-sensitive about — it's usually labeled on the product page, and it's the difference between paying duty now versus getting billed later.
- Budget an extra 30–55% on China-direct orders rather than treating the checkout total as final, especially on anything above a few dollars.
- Don't assume a high duty bill is a mistake before checking current rates — but if something looks genuinely wrong (charged twice, wildly mismatched to the item's value), that's a case for AliExpress's buyer protection, covered in our buying guide.
- Expect delivery-time and duty notices to arrive separately — a duty bill showing up after tracking says "delivered" is normal for direct-ship orders, not a sign anything went wrong.
Frequently asked questions
Do I have to pay customs duty on every AliExpress order now?
In the US, yes — the $800 de minimis exemption ended for China and Hong Kong shipments on May 2, 2025, and for every other country on August 29, 2025. Every order can now be assessed duty regardless of value. In the EU, the €150 exemption ends July 1, 2026, after which a flat duty applies to low-value parcels too.
Why did my AliExpress order get more expensive?
Two separate things changed: the listing price itself may have moved as sellers adjust to tariff costs, and you may now separately owe import duty that didn't apply before. If your order shipped directly from China outside the Choice program, that duty is often billed by the carrier after delivery rather than shown at checkout — which is why the final cost can catch people off guard.
What is AliExpress Choice and does it include duties?
Choice is AliExpress's managed shipping program, now the default for most listings, which consolidates orders through Cainiao's bonded warehouses — including US regional hubs — for faster delivery. Items fulfilled through Choice typically have duty settled at checkout, unlike a direct-from-China shipment where a carrier bills you separately later.
Will de minimis come back?
There's no real indication of that as of this writing. The legal and political basis for reinstating it has narrowed rather than widened since it ended, so it's safer to plan around duties being a permanent part of the cost than to expect a reversal.
Worth reading next: our shipping times guide covers how long delivery actually takes by region, and our buying guide covers buyer protection if a charge ever looks genuinely wrong rather than just annoying.
