US surtax 2026. Does it apply to your goods?

It applies when three things are true at once. The goods originate in the United States under the marking rules. Their tariff item is one of the 335 listed in Schedules 1 to 3 of the United States Surtax Order (2026). And no exception covers them. Then, for goods imported from 8 September 2026, the surtax is 15%, 25% or 50% of the value for duty, on top of any customs duty.

Where the goods were made decides it

The Order defines a US good through the marking rules:

"For the purpose of subsection (1), goods originate in the United States if they are eligible to be marked as goods of the United States in accordance with the Determination of Country of Origin for the Purpose of Marking Goods (CUSMA Countries) Regulations."

The route the goods took does not change that. CBSA, in Customs Notice 26-23:

"The surtax will apply to goods imported for commercial and casual purposes, even when exported from a country other than the U.S. into Canada."

So a US seller or a US warehouse does not make goods American, and a warehouse in Europe does not take a US-made product out of the surtax. For personal purchases, CBSA goes by the marking:

"Personal importations of goods, also known as casual goods (meaning goods that are imported into Canada other than commercial goods) are considered to originate in the U.S. when the goods are marked as a good of the U.S."

For a business, origin rests on the proof of origin behind the entry, and it can be settled before the goods ship: CBSA gives binding advance rulings on origin and on marking for goods from a CUSMA country (Customs Notice 26-23, paragraph 36).

335 tariff items, on three lists

The Order lists goods by tariff item. The schedule an item sits in sets the rate and the surtax code on the CAD. Below, the goods on each list, named from the tariff's own headings. A heading named here is not the whole heading: only the tariff items printed in the Order are covered, so check the full eight-digit item against its schedule.

Schedule 4 adds 14 tariff items from Chapters 98 and 99, which the Order otherwise leaves out; more on those below. CBSA's notice also links the Department of Finance's own list of the products.

What it adds to a line

The surtax is a percentage of the value for duty, and the GST is then charged on a value that includes it. This is CBSA's own example in Customs Notice 26-23, for a good on Schedule 2 with no customs duty:

And the rule behind the fourth line:

"GST payable is calculated on the value for tax, which is inclusive of surtax even when customs duties are remitted."

So a surtax charged on goods that did not owe it overstates the GST on that line as well.

Parcels, small orders and travellers pay it too

Goods classified in Chapters 98 and 99 are outside the surtax unless Schedule 4 lists their item, and Schedule 4 lists the personal ones: goods imported by mail or courier for personal or household use (98.25) and goods that travellers bring back for personal or household use (98.26), among others. A low value does not take a parcel out either:

"Surtax is applicable on shipments that fall under de minimis thresholds."

For residents coming home, CBSA says surtaxes apply "on all other goods not subject to personal exemptions and on those goods the value of which exceeds the value of the personal exemption." And the free estimator on CBSA's website does not count the surtax at all. Its page, updated on 8 September 2026, says:

"Surtaxes are not factored into the estimator tool."

What is outside it

The Order and CBSA's notice take these out (Order, section 2; Customs Notice 26-23, paragraphs 19 to 22):

• US goods already in transit to Canada on 8 September 2026, where the importer holds proof such as a bill of lading, report of entry documents or cargo control documents;
• goods under a tariff item of Chapter 98 or 99 that Schedule 4 does not list;
• goods imported under a permit for the Import for Re-Export Program;
• US-made goods returning after they were already duty paid in Canada, goods repaired or altered across the border, baggage and conveyances that non-residents bring in temporarily (9803.00.00), and eligible ships' stores;
• personal goods of Campobello Island residents returning after less than 24 hours.

Where the steel derivative surtax also applies, only this one is charged. The codes and the CAD fields are in our update on the 2026 surtax.

On a list, and still relieved

The United States Surtax Remission Order (2025) now reaches this Order too. Its section 3 covers goods used in Canadian production:

"Subject to section 5, remission is granted of surtaxes paid or payable under the United States Surtax Order (2025-1), the United States Surtax Order (2026) or the United States Surtax Order (Steel and Aluminum 2025) in respect of goods imported for use, in Canada, in the manufacture or processing of any good, in the production of any agricultural product or in the packaging of a food product or beverage."

Other sections relieve goods for health care, public health and public safety, imported before 1 July 2027, and goods named in the Remission Order's own schedules. One of those is on the 50% list: whey protein concentrate of 80% protein, tariff item 0404.10.10, is item 1 of the Remission Order's Schedule 2. Every claim has a clock, set in section 5(c): "within two years after the date of importation." Relief nobody claimed at import was simply paid, and the way back is an adjustment; our page on the 2025 surtax sets out how. Goods outside the Remission Order can still go to the Department of Finance's remission framework (Customs Notice 26-23, paragraph 39).

If it was charged and should not have been

For commercial goods, CBSA's route is a correction to the CAD before the payment due date, or an adjustment after it (Customs Notice 26-23, paragraph 32). Casual goods go on Form B2G and cannot be adjusted through CARM (paragraph 33). The surtax itself is not open to appeal; a re-determination of origin, tariff classification or value for duty is (paragraph 37).