De minimis
De minimis is the value threshold below which imported goods are exempt from duty (and sometimes import VAT) to avoid charging tiny amounts.
Last reviewed 16 July 2026.
De minimis is a customs threshold: a value below which it is not worth collecting duty or tax on a consignment. The idea is administrative efficiency — the cost of assessing and collecting the charge would exceed the revenue.
In the UK, low-value consignments have a customs duty relief threshold (goods not exceeding £135 in value are generally free of customs duty), but import VAT treatment is different — VAT is not simply waived. For goods sold to UK consumers at or below £135, VAT is typically charged at the point of sale by the seller or marketplace rather than at the border, so 'no duty' does not mean 'no VAT'.
De minimis rules are a moving target internationally and are under active review in several markets, so the thresholds and their VAT interaction should be checked against current guidance rather than assumed.
How it affects your landed cost
De minimis matters most for small parcels and sample orders: below the threshold you may escape duty, which changes the landed cost of low-value consignments. But because VAT is often still due (just collected differently), it is easy to misjudge the real cost of small shipments. Our calculator helps you see whether duty applies at your consignment value so you do not over- or under-estimate the per-unit cost.
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