MPF and HMF: the US customs fees charged on top of duty

Two fees are charged on formal US customs entries in addition to duty: the merchandise processing fee and the harbor maintenance fee.

Merchandise processing fee (MPF)

The MPF is 0.3464% of the entered value. It has a minimum and a maximum per entry, which CBP adjusts each fiscal year from October 1. For fiscal year 2027 the minimum is $34.58 and the maximum is $670.86.

The limits apply to the entry as a whole, not to each product on it. A small entry therefore pays more per dollar of goods than a large one:

• An entry of $2,000: 0.3464% would be $6.93, so the minimum applies and the MPF is $34.58.
• An entry of $50,000: the MPF is $173.20.
• An entry of $300,000: the maximum applies and the MPF is $670.86.

Harbor maintenance fee (HMF)

The HMF is 0.125% of the value of goods that arrive by sea at a US port. There is no maximum. Goods that arrive by air or by land do not pay it. On the $50,000 entry above, the HMF is $62.50.

Who is exempt

Goods that qualify for a preferential rate under some free-trade agreements are exempt from the MPF when the preference is claimed. Examples are goods from Canada and Mexico that qualify under USMCA, and goods from Australia, Chile, Colombia, Korea, Singapore and the CAFTA-DR countries. The HMF is generally not waived by those agreements, so it still applies to sea shipments.

Where you see them

On the entry summary they appear as fee lines, the MPF as 499 and the HMF as 501, with their totals. If the amounts on yours do not match what you expected, ask your broker whether a minimum, a maximum or an exemption applied.

Canada

This guide is about US fees. Canadian imports have their own charges, such as GST or HST at the border, which Marginify leaves out of landed cost because a registered business generally recovers it.

What Marginify does

New US products default to the MPF and the HMF, so the landed cost is not understated. For a shipment, Marginify works out the MPF on the whole entry with that year’s minimum and maximum, then spreads it across the products in it. Try it in the free calculator.