Duty I paid on my oversea SubC purchase

[Robbie68]

Bought a Sub date in London, May this year paid just under $7k. When I got back into the U.S. I declared the watch and went to customs to pay. I gave them the receipt that was in GBP and they calculated the dollar amount however...... they assumed the receipt was in Euros so the dollar amount came out a lot lower at around $5400. I told them that was too low they had made a mistake and we then realized they used Euros. On recalculating it came up with the correct amount of just under $7k. The customs guy turns to me and says "oh well, let's pretend it's Euros and also let's round it down to $5k !!!!!!!! Tax paid $112.

[Tri-Tip]

Very reasonable, and I agree with the poster that said that it might have been low because you were honest and upfront in declaring it.

I had a friend who came back from Russia with 12 bottles of Vodka in her carry-on. This was post-9/11 but before the ban on liquids in carry-on.

When she got to customs, the agent asked if she had anything to declare? She said "Just 12 bottles of Vodka in my carry-on". He laughed at her, said "yeah, sure, have a nice day", and she walked out duty free. Said that if they had charged her, it would have been about $20 per bottle.

[jonnyz1245]

Last year I brought a SD 4K back from Sweden. I declared it at LAX and had receipt in my hand to show to the guy. He looked at the declarations page, asked me if I had the watch on me, and then waived me through and said "welcome home, hope you had a great trip!" $0 duty paid.

[ronin_ph]

Originally Posted by solarpower44

Japan for a few days, China for a week, Korea for a few weeks and finally back.

How'd you like Korea?

Sent from my SM-G9250 using Tapatalk

[smc23]

Originally Posted by nicked

Lucky you. I just checked with canadian customs calculator, and the same watch would cost a canadian $1720 CAD in taxes at the customs... that's $1315 USD at today's rate. Ouch.

Yup that's why I never purchase abroad and look to my local ADs. Just not worth risking it and never being able to travel outside Canada with an undeclared watch. Chances are slim you would ever get asked where you bought the watch though but still, peace of mind is everything.

[cruise_bone]

I bought my watch in Vienna, Austria this past May and tried to pay Duty upon arrival in the US. US Customs was having nothing to do with it.
I submitted the paper form, which was then magically translated into some online form that never recognized my clear indication of the details on my new watch. I even mentioned it to an Agent and they were like "move on".
I tried.
So no duty paid by me. I expected to pay between $150-$200.

[jon_jon]

Not a bad price on a SubC, even after paying Customs. I hear Japanese ADs do not discount Rolex watches. I take it the watch was purchased from a Japanese Rolex re-seller. Enjoy your new watch!

[1995akcoop]

Originally Posted by solarpower44

I promised a while back i will tell you how much duty i will pay for SubC i purchased in Japan. Well, i got back to the states last week, entered US through Washington DC Dulles, declared the SubC purchase with the purchase price of $6500. Had to go to the customs and a customs guy pulled his calculator out and came up with the $160 duty. Paid it with my credit card.
So my purchase price overall for subC is $6660. Interesting number i must say...

Im really confused here, maybe because i dont travel much. My do you have to pay a duty. How come you cant pay for a watch overseas, wear it, fly home and be done with it? How would they know you didnt buy it prior.

[jonnyz1245]

Originally Posted by 1995akcoop

Im really confused here, maybe because i dont travel much. My do you have to pay a duty. How come you cant pay for a watch overseas, wear it, fly home and be done with it? How would they know you didnt buy it prior.

You have to pay a duty because its the law. You must declare the watch. If you get caught not declaring the watch, the fine will be much more than the duty and you will be in the customs computers forever for trying to defraud gvmt. Not something you want I am sure?

As have been said here, duties are a couple hundred bucks- several hundred. and sometimes they waive you through and you pay nothing.

As far as your scenerio, I suppose you could do that as i am sure some have. For one, your watch would look brand new, you would have a box and papers in your luggage etc. You might not get caught, then again you might. Depends on your risk reward ratio I suppose. For me, I got a huge discount of msrp so even paying the couple hundred if I had I still came out way ahead.

[1995akcoop]

Originally Posted by jonnyz1245

You have to pay a duty because its the law. You must declare the watch. If you get caught not declaring the watch, the fine will be much more than the duty and you will be in the customs computers forever for trying to defraud gvmt. Not something you want I am sure?

As have been said here, duties are a couple hundred bucks- several hundred. and sometimes they waive you through and you pay nothing.

As far as your scenerio, I suppose you could do that as i am sure some have. For one, your watch would look brand new, you would have a box and papers in your luggage etc. You might not get caught, then again you might. Depends on your risk reward ratio I suppose. For me, I got a huge discount of msrp so even paying the couple hundred if I had I still came out way ahead.

Thx for the info. So are duties just limited to watches? What about clothing bought while vacationing? What is the purpose though. Is it because taxes aren't paid when buying overseas?

[123Blueface]

I went through customs earlier this year, went through something similar but in my case, after the calculations which came out to very similar to yours, smiled at me and told me to have a nice day. I too smiled.

[jonnyz1245]

Originally Posted by 1995akcoop

Thx for the info. So are duties just limited to watches? What about clothing bought while vacationing? What is the purpose though. Is it because taxes aren't paid when buying overseas?

You are allowed an allowance when entering back into the US. I forget how much it is. I think its 800. To answer your question, everything above the allowance you are supposed to declare and pay a duty on. Whether or not they go through your luggage etc and check is up to them. But if you don't declare it and they find a bunch of new stuff in your bag, shirts, watches, china, whatever, they can and will make your life not so pleasant and you will be tagged for all future travel as someone who try's to get away with stuff.

not worth the risk IMO.

[Racerdj]

Thanks for your information!

[SMD]

So will you be paying the state sales tax on it as well? That also needs to be paid for everything to be above board.

[Michael M.]

That is very reasonable, makes it worth declaring when coming into the United States.

[cataby]

Originally Posted by SMD

So will you be paying the state sales tax on it as well? That also needs to be paid for everything to be above board.

Exactly. Thanks for bringing that up.

Everyone is patting themselves on the back for doing this. But let me ask you this. You do know that you are supposed to pay state taxes (if your state has them) on every single purchase you make on the internet.

Exactly how many of you do that.

[hbi]

Originally Posted by 1995akcoop

Thx for the info. So are duties just limited to watches? What about clothing bought while vacationing? What is the purpose though. Is it because taxes aren't paid when buying overseas?

Yes, people pay import duties because that's the law. And, national governments enact such laws to encourage people to buy domestically, and dissuade them from bringing in (importing) from foreign countries. The rationale is that the former (domestic production and sales) contributes to the nation's economy (job creation, domestic industry growth, tax revenue, etc.), while the latter doesn't contribute and may even hurt (a $ spent in a foreign country is a $ you don't have to spend domestically).

The national governments also determine how much they will allow their citizens (and visitors) bring in before those importers start "hurting the economy" and they start charging duties ($800 for US-citizens returning home).

This is a simple (simplistic?) explanation of why countries have import duties; probably won't withstand scrutiny in an economics class, but should help us watch-lovers here.

All this said, declaring any and all goods one acquired while abroad (bought or received as gifts), whether for personal use or for gifting and especialy for resale, have to be declared. It's upto the customs officer to figure out how much duty is payable (and they have a fair amount of discretion in interpretation and enforcement, apparently).

[solarpower44]

Originally Posted by ronin_ph

How'd you like Korea?

Sent from my SM-G9250 using Tapatalk

Korea was great, mostly in Seoul. Lots of food and drinking.
Ver modern and clean city..
But traffice is real bad..

[solarpower44]

Originally Posted by SMD

So will you be paying the state sales tax on it as well? That also needs to be paid for everything to be above board.

It wasn't purchasd in the states. So no need to pay a state tax..
I hope you are just playing silly..

[solarpower44]

Originally Posted by cataby

Exactly. Thanks for bringing that up.

Everyone is patting themselves on the back for doing this. But let me ask you this. You do know that you are supposed to pay state taxes (if your state has them) on every single purchase you make on the internet.

Exactly how many of you do that.

No you don't... What makes you think you have to pay state tax on something you purchased oversea..
Do youi pay maryland tax when you purchase items on CA, for example ??!!
Go back to taking nap!

[Desibaba]

I thought if you bought a watch from a AD at an airport its considered "Duty Free"? No?

[SMD]

Originally Posted by solarpower44

No you don't... What makes you think you have to pay state tax on something you purchased oversea..
Do youi pay maryland tax when you purchase items on CA, for example ??!!
Go back to taking nap!

To quote the Comptroller of Maryland:

"Every time you purchase taxable tangible goods from businesses outside of Maryland, whether in person, over the phone, or on the Internet, the purchase is subject to Maryland's 6 percent use tax or 9 percent alcoholic beverage tax if you use the merchandise in Maryland."

http://taxes.marylandtaxes.com/Indiv...s_and_Use_Tax/

[Desibaba]

Originally Posted by SMD

To quote the Comptroller of Maryland:

"Every time you purchase taxable tangible goods from businesses outside of Maryland, whether in person, over the phone, or on the Internet, the purchase is subject to Maryland's 6 percent use tax or 9 percent alcoholic beverage tax if you use the merchandise in Maryland."

http://taxes.marylandtaxes.com/Indiv...s_and_Use_Tax/

Im sure there are lines of Marylanders just waiting to pay taxes on their purchases online and at other places they visited

[Jason71]

Originally Posted by jonnyz1245

You are allowed an allowance when entering back into the US. I forget how much it is. I think its 800. To answer your question, everything above the allowance you are supposed to declare and pay a duty on. Whether or not they go through your luggage etc and check is up to them. But if you don't declare it and they find a bunch of new stuff in your bag, shirts, watches, china, whatever, they can and will make your life not so pleasant and you will be tagged for all future travel as someone who try's to get away with stuff.

not worth the risk IMO.

You are allowed $800 / pp (including children regardless of age) of purchased goods before taxation via duty upon entering th U.S. after traveling abroad. A family of 4 can hand carry $3,200 of lawful goods before incurring a duty.

[Old Expat Beast]

Jonathan Winters has it all figured out: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1aNd...g&spfreload=10

[hbi]

Originally Posted by Desibaba

I thought if you bought a watch from a AD at an airport its considered "Duty Free"? No?

No, it only means that you don't pay "local" taxes such as sales tax or VAT. Tax free is a better term for that. Whatever you buy from wherever while you're abroad, it's subject to import duty when you return to the US.

Here's the CBP's link on the topic: http://www.cbp.gov/travel/internatio...toms-duty-info

[srvrf]

Originally Posted by SMD

To quote the Comptroller of Maryland:



"Every time you purchase taxable tangible goods from businesses outside of Maryland, whether in person, over the phone, or on the Internet, the purchase is subject to Maryland's 6 percent use tax or 9 percent alcoholic beverage tax if you use the merchandise in Maryland."



http://taxes.marylandtaxes.com/Indiv...s_and_Use_Tax/

I realize the basic intent is aimed at internet sales, but this wording seems highly unenforceable and even a little arbitrary. So if someone buys a watch in California and pays California taxes, they're also expected to pay Maryland taxes on it when they come home? That would mean that any Maryland resident who buys anything on vacation in the U.S. is subject to an additional Maryland 6% tax on everything they bought out of state and brought back home? And what if you use it a bit out of Maryland before you bring it home?


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[SMD]

Originally Posted by srvrf

I realize the basic intent is aimed at internet sales, but this wording seems highly unenforceable and even a little arbitrary. So if someone buys a watch in California and pays California taxes, they're also expected to pay Maryland taxes on it when they come home? That would mean that any Maryland resident who buys anything on vacation in the U.S. is subject to an additional Maryland 6% tax on everything they bought out of state and brought back home? And what if you use it a bit out of Maryland before you bring it home?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

No, you get a credit for "foreign taxes". But if you buy in Japan tax free then you owe the full state tax.

[1995akcoop]

Originally Posted by hbi

Yes, people pay import duties because that's the law. And, national governments enact such laws to encourage people to buy domestically, and dissuade them from bringing in (importing) from foreign countries. The rationale is that the former (domestic production and sales) contributes to the nation's economy (job creation, domestic industry growth, tax revenue, etc.), while the latter doesn't contribute and may even hurt (a $ spent in a foreign country is a $ you don't have to spend domestically).

The national governments also determine how much they will allow their citizens (and visitors) bring in before those importers start "hurting the economy" and they start charging duties ($800 for US-citizens returning home).

This is a simple (simplistic?) explanation of why countries have import duties; probably won't withstand scrutiny in an economics class, but should help us watch-lovers here.

All this said, declaring any and all goods one acquired while abroad (bought or received as gifts), whether for personal use or for gifting and especialy for resale, have to be declared. It's upto the customs officer to figure out how much duty is payable (and they have a fair amount of discretion in interpretation and enforcement, apparently).

Wow, thanks for the in-depth explanation. I didn't realize how serious this process was as I have never been overseas. Funny thing is these duties are somewhat designed to make people hesitate when buying out the country as in to keep US dollars at home.... But nowadays everything bought in good ol' USA is made overseas to begin with , but thats another discussion. thx again. I love this forum!!!

[fabini]

the average duty tax when bringing it to the US is around 4%. however,if the customs agent is going easy on you or just don't know exactly how to estimate the tax you would pay less. http://www.dutycalculator.com/popula...xes-for-watch/