How to Avoid Brokerage Fees on Parcels Coming into Canada

A brokerage fee is not duty, and it is not tax. Duty and tax are government charges, while the carrier's clearance charge is what the carrier bills for handling the customs entry, and the two must be compared separately. This guide is the fee and self-clearing guide: it goes deep on courier fee schedules, the carrier-by-carrier comparison, and the full self-accounting process. The companion guide, How to Import Personal Goods from the USA to Canada, is the thresholds-and-routes guide, covering brokerage in one section plus one FAQ alongside the traveller exemptions and the gift rule. This guide was checked November 4, 2026, against the pages in Sources. It ranks no carrier, recommends no carrier, states no carrier as cheapest, and states no figure that is not listed in the grounding for this guide. Where a figure was not verified on a primary page, this guide states a check instead of a figure.

1. Three separate charges on one parcel

Keep three charges apart from the start, because they are billed by different parties and on different bases. The CBSA calculates any duties owing based on the value of the goods in Canadian funds, and the duty rates vary according to the type of goods you are importing and the country from which they came or were made in, according to Canada Border Services Agency, Importing by mail or courier - Paying duty and/or taxes on imported goods. Unless specifically exempted, you must pay the 5% GST on items you import into Canada by mail, on the same page, and if you live in a participating province you will have to pay the HST instead of the GST, on the same page. The CBSA collects PST and HST according to province of residence on most taxable imports over CAN$20, according to Canada Post, Customs duty, taxes, and exemptions. That is why a parcel can be duty-free and still taxable, as in the $40 to $150 courier band in section 2.

The third charge is the carrier's fee, and it is not a government charge. Courier clearance fees are separate and distinct from duties and taxes, they are a private business-to-consumer transaction outside CBSA control, and CBSA encourages confirming services and fees directly with the courier or broker, according to Canada Border Services Agency, Importing casual goods by courier. A low tax assessment does not mean a low carrier fee, and a carrier fee quoted as a single delivery total does not tell you how much of it is duty, how much is tax, and how much is the carrier's own charge. Ask for the three parts separately, in writing, before the parcel clears.

Self-accounting changes only the third charge, and only in the way CBSA words it. Consumers are not required to use a third party such as a customs broker and may choose to self-account and pay duties and taxes at a CBSA office offering these services, according to Canada Border Services Agency, Importing casual goods by courier. Self-accounting may save on certain administrative fees, on the same page. Use that wording, and no stronger wording: whether it saves money on your parcel depends on the fee avoided, weighed against your time, travel, and any storage effect, as set out in section 7.

2. Check the threshold band before you check any fee

A carrier fee is separate from the band question, so check the band first, because the band decides whether duty or tax is owed at all. Casual goods are goods imported other than for sale or for commercial, industrial, occupational, or institutional use, according to Canada Border Services Agency, Importing casual goods by courier. Value-for-duty thresholds of CAD $20, $40 or $150 apply, with conditions, on the same page. Thresholds are per shipment, conditions apply, and you should confirm the band for your exact goods on the CBSA page before you rely on the table below.

The mail and US-or-Mexico courier bands in the table above follow the CBSA page cited in this section, according to Canada Border Services Agency, Importing casual goods by courier. The courier-from-other-countries row above CAD $20 is a check, not a band stated in this guide. Duty itself still depends on the type of goods and the country from which they came or were made in, according to Canada Border Services Agency, Importing by mail or courier - Paying duty and/or taxes on imported goods, so a band that says duty-free and a band that says duties apply are not the whole duty answer for every kind of goods. Confirm the value in Canadian dollars, and confirm the band on the CBSA page for your exact goods.

One further band is stated separately, because it turns on how the parcel was sent, not only on its value. Gifts CAD $60 or less may be imported via the CLVS Program if sent by a friend or relative with a card or notice indicating it is a gift, under tariff item 9816.00.00, according to Canada Border Services Agency, Importing casual goods by courier. Do not treat a purchase as a gift because of a label on the parcel: the grounding states the gift band only for a parcel sent by a friend or relative with a card or notice indicating it is a gift.

3. Mail, courier ground or standard, and courier express: what is included and what is extra

The route decides who handles the customs entry, and the service level can decide whether that handling is included or charged separately. Do not read a service name, on its own, as proof that brokerage is included. Ask, for your exact carrier and service, whether clearance is included, what the clearance charge is, and what happens if you elect to self-account, and get the answers in writing before the parcel clears.

By mail, the parcel enters through CBSA screening centres, CBSA officers inspect and assess it, and duty or tax can be paid online through tracking or an app, or collected at delivery or pickup on behalf of CBSA, according to Canada Post, Customs duty, taxes, and exemptions. Canada Post applies a handling fee of CAN$9.95 per dutiable or taxable mail item, on the same page. State the fee in exactly that per-dutiable-or-taxable wording: this guide claims nothing further about an item that is duty- and tax-free beyond the page's wording.

By courier, the carrier may advance the government charges and then bill you, or you may elect to pay the government charges yourself. DHL advances duties and taxes to CBSA on the consignee's behalf, and using DHL as broker avoids personally travelling to a CBSA office to self-clear, according to DHL Express Canada, Customs Services. The importer may elect to self-clear or appoint another broker, and in that case select charges will not apply, on the same page. That election is stated without a service-level restriction in the grounding, so confirm it for your exact service in writing rather than assuming it from the service name.

The one verified included-versus-extra distinction by service level is the UPS distinction. UPS provides routine customs clearance through designated UPS Supply Chain Solutions brokerage offices at no additional charge, except for UPS Standard to and from Canada shipments, for which a brokerage service charge applies, according to UPS, International terms of service. The grounding verifies no dollar figure for that UPS Standard charge, so section 4 states it as a check, not a figure. For FedEx, the verified figure is only the disbursement fee for FedEx disbursing duties and taxes on the payer's behalf, and it is not the whole clearance cost, according to FedEx, Customs clearance surcharge, charges effective July 20, 2026. The separate clearance-entry fee is a check in section 4, not a figure in this guide.

4. What each carrier charges, on verified figures only

The table below carries only figures verified on the primary pages in Sources, plus two checks where no dollar figure was verified. Do not fill a check with a figure from a secondary summary, a forum post, or another carrier's schedule. DHL figures are the verified 2026 charges, updated December 1, 2025 and effective January 1, 2026, and service fees are subject to change, according to DHL Express Canada, Customs Services. FedEx charges are effective July 20, 2026, according to FedEx, Customs clearance surcharge, charges effective July 20, 2026.

Read the table as charges that can stack, not as a single total. A DHL shipment can carry the clearance charge plus a multiline charge, a permits and licences facilitation charge, or a post clearance modification charge, each on the terms in the table, according to DHL Express Canada, Customs Services. A FedEx shipment carries the disbursement fee plus the separate clearance-entry fee, whose figure is a check, according to FedEx, Customs clearance surcharge, charges effective July 20, 2026. Recheck every figure on the carrier's current page before you order, because DHL service fees are subject to change, on the DHL page cited above.

5. A $100 parcel, worked through four ways

This section is an illustration using arithmetic only, not a quote for any carrier or parcel. It keeps duty at $0 in all four lines so the carrier charges can be compared, because duty rates vary according to the type of goods and the country from which they came or were made in, according to Canada Border Services Agency, Importing by mail or courier - Paying duty and/or taxes on imported goods. This illustration states no surtax position for the parcel. The parcel is $100 CAD from the US by courier, which sits in the $40 to $150 band: no duty in this illustration, and GST at 5% equals $5.00 of tax, on the same page and on the band table in section 2. HST or PST in your province may change the tax line, because the CBSA collects PST and HST according to province of residence on most taxable imports over CAN$20, according to Canada Post, Customs duty, taxes, and exemptions. Multiline, storage, and permit add-ons are excluded from all four lines below.

• DHL without a brokerage account: the greater of $18.00 or 2.75% of $5.00 is $18.00, so $23.00 in tax plus clearance charge, before any other add-ons, using the DHL figures in DHL Express Canada, Customs Services.
• FedEx disbursement alone: the greater of $12.00 or 3.10% of $5.00 is $12.00, so $17.00 in tax plus disbursement, plus the separate clearance-entry fee, whose figure is unchecked, using the FedEx figures in FedEx, Customs clearance surcharge, charges effective July 20, 2026. Do not compare the $17.00 with the DHL $23.00 as totals, because the FedEx line is incomplete until the clearance-entry fee is confirmed.
• The same $100 by mail: $5.00 of tax plus the $9.95 Canada Post handling fee equals $14.95, using the Canada Post figure in Canada Post, Customs duty, taxes, and exemptions. This mail line uses the same $5.00 tax assumption as the courier lines, so the carrier charges can be compared, and the duty assumption in the first paragraph of this section applies to this line as well.
• Self-accounted at a CBSA office: $5.00 of tax and no carrier clearance charge, plus your own time and travel, using the self-accounting wording in Canada Border Services Agency, Importing casual goods by courier. Self-accounting may save on certain administrative fees, on the same page, and the time and travel cost is yours to weigh under section 7.

Apply the same arithmetic to your own parcel: confirm the band, confirm the tax treatment for your province, insert the carrier charge you were quoted in writing, and add any multiline, storage, or permit add-on that applies to your shipment, using the DHL terms in section 4 where DHL is the carrier.

6. Self-accounting at a CBSA office, step by step

Self-accounting is the process of paying duties and taxes directly to the CBSA yourself, instead of having the courier account for the shipment. It is described here only for casual goods, as defined in section 2: goods imported other than for sale or for commercial, industrial, occupational, or institutional use, according to Canada Border Services Agency, Importing casual goods by courier. Consumers are not required to use a third party such as a customs broker and may choose to self-account and pay duties and taxes at a CBSA office offering these services, on the same page.

Before arrival. If arrangements are made with the courier in advance of arrival, the courier will not include the goods in the CLVS Program and will issue a separate manifest, according to Canada Border Services Agency, Importing casual goods by courier. Make the arrangement before the parcel arrives, and keep a record of what the courier agreed to, including the separate manifest. Do not assume an arrangement made after arrival has the same effect.

On arrival. A casual importer wishing to self-account must refuse delivery, advise the courier they will personally pay duties and taxes directly at a CBSA office, and provide the courier proof of payment and approved documentation once completed, according to Canada Border Services Agency, Importing casual goods by courier. Refuse delivery clearly, state that you will pay directly at a CBSA office, and do not pay the courier's bill as well: the process in this section replaces the courier accounting for the shipment, it does not sit on top of it.

At the CBSA office. Visit a local CBSA office that offers accounting services to the public, and provide the shipment identification or tracking number, the commercial invoice or receipt, and personal identification, according to Canada Border Services Agency, Importing casual goods by courier. Confirm before you travel that the office you plan to visit offers accounting services to the public, because the grounding states the service for offices offering it, not for every CBSA office. If a third party accounts on the importer's behalf, CBSA requires a letter of authorization and a photocopy of the importer's identification, on the same page. An official receipt showing duties and taxes paid directly to CBSA is provided, on the same page. The accounting document is the Casual Goods Accounting Document, Form BSF715 or BSF715-1, according to Canada Border Services Agency, Memorandum D17-1-3, and the CBSA office issues it and the importer keeps a copy as proof of payment to obtain release of the goods, on the same page.

Back to the courier. A copy of the receipt showing duties and taxes paid directly to CBSA must be presented to the courier, at which time delivery may be arranged, according to Canada Border Services Agency, Importing casual goods by courier. Keep your own copy of the receipt with the invoice or receipt and the tracking number, and present the copy the courier requires before you expect delivery to be arranged.

For a refund or adjustment question after accounting, the route named on the CBSA page is Form B2G to the Casual Refund Centre, under Memorandum D6-2-6, according to Canada Border Services Agency, Importing casual goods by courier. This guide states no finding about what that route will refund, so check the route directly for your own shipment.

7. When self-accounting is not worth it, or does not apply

Self-accounting may save on certain administrative fees, according to Canada Border Services Agency, Importing casual goods by courier, and that conditional wording is the whole saving claim in this guide. Weigh the fee you would avoid against your time, your travel to an office that offers accounting services to the public, and any storage effect while the parcel waits, on the same page and on the DHL storage terms in section 4 where DHL is the carrier. On a parcel where the carrier charge is small and the office is far away, the time and travel can cost more than the fee saved. On a parcel where the carrier charge is large and the office is nearby, the saving can be worth the trip. Work it out for your own parcel, using your own quoted carrier charge, before you refuse delivery.

Self-accounting does not apply in the same way once the timing has passed. The steps in section 6 are arranged before arrival, or carried out by refusing delivery on arrival, according to Canada Border Services Agency, Importing casual goods by courier. If the parcel has already been cleared and delivered, the refuse-delivery step is no longer available, and paying the courier's bill first and then trying to self-account afterwards is not the process described on that page. For a question about a parcel already cleared, check the Form B2G route in section 6 directly, and state no expectation about recovering a carrier fee through it.

The steps in section 6 also describe casual goods only. Goods imported for sale or for commercial, industrial, occupational, or institutional use fall outside the casual-goods definition in section 2, according to Canada Border Services Agency, Importing casual goods by courier. This guide states no commercial threshold and no commercial process: for a commercial or complex shipment, use the commercial route and the broker guide in Related guides, and do not apply the casual self-accounting steps as if they were the commercial process. If no CBSA office offering accounting services to the public is reasonably near you, that too is a reason the saving may not be worth pursuing on that parcel, even though the right to choose self-accounting is stated on the CBSA page cited above.

8. Before you order: a checklist

Run every item before the parcel moves, because the fee and self-accounting decisions are timing decisions. A check run after the parcel clears is a different, weaker position.

• Ask the seller which carrier and which service will carry the parcel, and write down the carrier and service names. The service level can change whether clearance is included or charged separately, as shown by the UPS Standard exception in section 3, according to UPS, International terms of service.
• Ask the courier its clearance fee in writing, separately from duty and tax, before the parcel clears. Courier clearance fees are separate and distinct from duties and taxes, and CBSA encourages confirming services and fees directly with the courier or broker, according to Canada Border Services Agency, Importing casual goods by courier. Confirm the FedEx clearance-entry fee and the UPS Standard fee as checks under section 4, not as figures from a secondary source.
• Choose mail or courier deliberately, with the handling and clearance charges in front of you. Canada Post applies a handling fee of CAN$9.95 per dutiable or taxable mail item, according to Canada Post, Customs duty, taxes, and exemptions, while courier charges are the carrier-by-carrier figures and checks in section 4.
• Confirm the threshold band for your exact goods on the CBSA page, and confirm the value in Canadian dollars for the whole shipment. Value-for-duty thresholds of CAD $20, $40 or $150 apply, with conditions, according to Canada Border Services Agency, Importing casual goods by courier.
• Keep the commercial invoice or receipt, and keep the shipment identification or tracking number with it. Both are documents you provide at the CBSA office when self-accounting, according to Canada Border Services Agency, Importing casual goods by courier.
• If you plan to self-account, arrange it with the courier before arrival, so the courier will not include the goods in the CLVS Program and will issue a separate manifest, according to Canada Border Services Agency, Importing casual goods by courier. Confirm that the CBSA office you plan to visit offers accounting services to the public, on the same page, and have personal identification ready, on the same page.
• If you did not arrange it before arrival, refuse delivery on arrival, advise the courier you will personally pay duties and taxes directly at a CBSA office, and provide proof of payment and approved documentation once completed, according to Canada Border Services Agency, Importing casual goods by courier. Never arrange self-accounting after paying the courier's bill: the process replaces the courier accounting for the shipment, and the timing steps are before arrival or on arrival.
• If a third party will account for you, have the letter of authorization and a photocopy of your identification ready, because CBSA requires both where a third party accounts on the importer's behalf, according to Canada Border Services Agency, Importing casual goods by courier.

Figures this guide does not state

This guide states no FedEx clearance-entry or entry-preparation dollar figure, and no UPS dollar fee for any service, including the UPS Standard brokerage service charge. Both are checks in section 4: the FedEx fee is value-banded in FedEx's rate guide and must be confirmed before ordering, and the UPS Standard fee must be confirmed in the current UPS Canada Rate and Service Guide before ordering. It states no storage charge for UPS or FedEx, no duty rate and no tariff-classification outcome for any goods, no surtax or counter-tariff status, and no total landed cost beyond the labelled $100 illustration in section 5, which keeps duty at $0 and excludes multiline, storage, and permit add-ons. It states no courier phone number or email address, no claim that any carrier is cheapest, and no claim that self-accounting always saves money: the saving wording is CBSA's "may save on certain administrative fees," according to Canada Border Services Agency, Importing casual goods by courier. DHL figures are the verified 2026 charges, updated December 1, 2025 and effective January 1, 2026, and service fees are subject to change, according to DHL Express Canada, Customs Services, and FedEx charges are effective July 20, 2026, according to FedEx, Customs clearance surcharge, charges effective July 20, 2026. Recheck the pages in Sources, and your own written courier quote, before you order.

Related guides

• How to Import Personal Goods from the USA to Canada — the thresholds-and-routes guide: the $20, $40, and $150 bands by route, the traveller exemptions, and the gift rule, with brokerage in one section plus one FAQ.
• How to Start Importing Items from Europe to Canada (CETA, Personal + Small Business) — importing items from Europe to Canada for personal use and for a small business, under CETA.
• How to Ship From Canada to the US and Internationally for Less — the outbound direction: shipping from Canada to the US and internationally, and keeping the cost down.
• How to Become a Licensed Customs Broker in Canada — becoming a licensed customs broker in Canada, and the commercial route for shipments that fall outside the casual-goods process in this guide.

Sources

• Canada Border Services Agency, Importing casual goods by courier — casual-goods definition, $20, $40, and $150 value-for-duty thresholds with conditions, the choice to self-account, clearance fees as separate and distinct from duties and taxes, the pre-arrival and on-arrival self-accounting steps, the documents and third-party authorization required, the official receipt, the $60 gift band under tariff item 9816.00.00, and the Form B2G refund and adjustment route
• Canada Border Services Agency, Importing by mail or courier - Paying duty and/or taxes on imported goods — 5% GST on items imported by mail unless specifically exempted, HST instead of GST in participating provinces, duty rates varying according to the type of goods and the country from which they came or were made in, and duties calculated on the value of the goods in Canadian funds
• Canada Border Services Agency, Memorandum D17-1-3 — cited only to name the Casual Goods Accounting Document, Form BSF715 or BSF715-1, and to state that the CBSA office issues it and the importer keeps a copy as proof of payment to obtain release of the goods
• Canada Post, Customs duty, taxes, and exemptions — PST and HST collected according to province of residence on most taxable imports over CAN$20, the CAN$9.95 handling fee per dutiable or taxable mail item, CBSA screening centres, and online or at-delivery payment of duty and tax
• DHL Express Canada, Customs Services — DHL advancing duties and taxes, the self-clear and other-broker election, the 2026 clearance charges with and without a DHL Brokerage Account, multiline, bonded storage, permits and licences facilitation, and post clearance modification charges, and service fees subject to change
• FedEx, Customs clearance surcharge, charges effective July 20, 2026 — the Canada disbursement and advancement fee of 3.10% of the duty and tax amount or CAD $12.00 per shipment, whichever is greater, stated only as the disbursement fee
• UPS, International terms of service — routine customs clearance through designated UPS Supply Chain Solutions brokerage offices at no additional charge, except for UPS Standard to and from Canada shipments, for which a brokerage service charge applies