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Duties & Taxes

Enable real-time international duties and taxes calculations for your eCommerce shipping checkout

Table of Contents

Overview

Duties & Taxes is an Add-On Feature in ShipperHQ that provides real-time duties and tax calculation for international shipments. You can choose to:

  • Collect duties, taxes, and fees at checkout (Delivery Duty Paid or DDP)
  • Display those charges so customers know what they'll owe upon delivery (Delivery Duty Unpaid or DDU)

This feature helps you cover key components of landed cost for cross-border shipping without being tied to a specific carrier. Powered by DHL eCommerce Americas' Duty & Tax Calculator, it dynamically reflects changes in international tax and tariff regulations across 190+ countries. You don't need a DHL eCommerce account, and calculations work for any carrier supported by ShipperHQ.

💡 Need help? Book a Meeting to discuss this capability or enable it in your checkout today!

Add-On Feature Details

  • Duties & Taxes is billed as an add-on to your base ShipperHQ subscription
  • It does not count against your Advanced Feature limit
  • Contact ShipperHQ Support for pricing or enablement

Requirements

To use this feature, you'll need:

  • A paid ShipperHQ account on the Advanced or Enterprise plans
  • ShipperHQ installed on a Shopify, BigCommerce, or Adobe Commerce/Magento 2 site
  • At least one Carrier in your ShipperHQ account offering international shipping
  • Billing enabled (not available during ShipperHQ trial)

Configure Duties & Taxes in ShipperHQ

Enabling the Feature

  1. In your ShipperHQ Dashboard under Advanced Features, find Duties & Taxes
  2. Click Get Access to set up billing
  3. Toggle the feature to Active when ready
  4. Configure your settings and enable duties & tax calculation on your chosen carriers

Advanced Feature Settings

You can configure the following:

Duties & Taxes Display:
Designate how you'd like to show duties & taxes:

  • DDP – Display and include duties & taxes in the shipping rate
  • DDU (Display only) – Display but exclude duties & taxes from the shipping rate

Default Country of Origin:
Set this to where most of your products are manufactured to determine applicable duties.

Default HS Code:
Set this to your most common product HS Code to improve the accuracy of duties for products without individual HS Codes.

Pricing Strategy:
Decide how to handle multiple duty & tax rates for a given product:

  • Maximum – Use the highest rate
  • Minimum – Use the lowest rate
  • Average – Use the average rate

Type of shipment:
Specify the shipment’s end-use for correct duty calculations.

Click Apply to save settings, then move on to carrier setup.

Carrier Setup

Enable international shipping methods on your Carriers. Double-check any Zones to ensure you present rates to your desired international markets.

To enable Duties & Taxes on a specific carrier:

  1. Go to Carriers in your ShipperHQ dashboard
  2. Edit the desired international carrier
  3. Under the Fees tab:
    • Check Enable Duties & Taxes
    • Choose the Payment Method:
    • DDP – Duties & taxes included in shipping
    • DDU – Duties & taxes displayed but excluded from shipping
  4. Click Save

Note: Ensure you’re not returning more than 10 international shipping methods per request. This limit only applies to visible methods.

Product Configuration

When ShipperHQ requests duties, taxes, and fees from DHL eCommerce, we include the SKUs of products defined on your eCommerce platform. For greater accuracy, include HS Codes on your products. More about HS Codes

Harmonized System Codes (HS Codes)

Harmonized System (HS or HST) codes classify goods for import and export. Used worldwide, they help assess duties and gather statistics. For details, visit the US International Trade Administration, DHL, or your country's import authority to look up HS Codes.

Update products with these codes to improve the accuracy of Duties & Taxes calculations.

Configuration by Platform
Adobe Commerce/Magento 2

When the ShipperHQ extension is installed, it adds a new HS Code product attribute. If unavailable, ensure you're running the latest ShipperHQ extension and the attribute is in the attribute set you're using. More info...

Shopify

Set HS Codes on products or variants using "Edit Shipping Properties" within Shopify or a Metafields editor. More info...

BigCommerce

Set HS Codes using the Shipping Group field by prefixing with ^HS:. For example, ^HS:03.07.40. More info...

Additional Information

DDU vs. DDP

Delivered Duties Paid (DDP) means the seller pays all duties and taxes, while Delivered Duty Unpaid (DDU) leaves the buyer responsible upon delivery. ShipperHQ's integration with DHL eCommerce supports both.

Supported Countries

The Duties & Taxes add-on supports the 200+ countries and territories from DHL eCommerce, excluding restricted regions like Belarus, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Russia, Somalia, Ukraine, Yemen, or Syria.

Supported Carriers

The add-on is compatible with shipping providers offering international services, except those whose rates already include duties & taxes within ShipperHQ.

Disclaimer

While ShipperHQ’s Duties & Taxes feature strives for accuracy, final charges may vary based on factors outside our control, such as product classification or customs inspections. ShipperHQ is not responsible for discrepancies or additional costs. Consult a customs broker or trade compliance professional for specific guidance.