# New fiscal-year MPF limits

https://storecalc.com/en/updates/mpf-fy2027.html

- Topic: Duties
- Published: 2026-07-31
- Effective: 2026-10-01
- Checked: 2026-10-23

Formal-entry MPF has a $34.58 minimum and $670.86 maximum; automated informal entries not prepared by CBP cost $2.77. Allocate the shipment fee across units rather than charging the minimum on every item.

## Our read

For small imports the minimum is what matters: formal entries valued between $2,500 and about $9,980 all pay $34.58. Spread over 500 units that is $0.07 each; over 100 units it is $0.35. Consolidating goods under one importer into a single entry saves exactly this.

## Key dates

- 2026-07-31: Published
- 2026-10-01: Takes effect
- 2026-10-23: We checked the official text

## Who is affected

- Sellers importing apparel into the US through formal entry and paying the Merchandise Processing Fee (MPF) face revised minimum and maximum amounts from October 1, 2026.
- The listed $2.77 informal-entry fee applies to automated entries not prepared by CBP personnel; manual filings use different amounts.
- A domestic US delivery does not itself generate MPF under this change. Previously imported inventory has a separate import-cost history.

## Run the numbers

MPF allocation for 500 units declared at $10 each (illustrative, using the tariff calculator)

| Item | Calculation | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Shipment value | $10 × 500 | $5,000.00 |
| Percentage calculation | $5,000.00 × 0.3464% | $17.32 |
| Apply the minimum | Percentage amount is below $34.58 | $34.58 |
| MPF per unit | $34.58 ÷ 500 | $0.06916, about $0.07 |

Assumes Chinese knit cotton T-shirts, air freight, formal entry and no fee exemption, using MPF amounts effective October 1, 2026. This table isolates MPF. The linked calculator also shows duty; $0.07 is not the full import cost per unit.

[Recalculate in the US import duty calculator for apparel](https://storecalc.com/en/tariff/?item=t-shirt&fiber=cotton&o=china&v=10&q=500&mode=air)

## What to do

- Confirm the filing method on the entry or carrier invoice before updating your cost sheet: formal, automated informal or manual.
- Calculate MPF once per entry, then allocate by units or customs value instead of charging the minimum to every item.
- Ask the broker to separate government MPF from its service charge, then compare the actual cost of consolidating eligible goods into one entry.

## What the official text says

Quoted from the official text.

> The adjusted amounts of customs COBRA user fees and their corresponding limitations set forth in this notice for Fiscal Year 2027 are required as of October 1, 2026.

— [Customs User Fees To Be Adjusted for Inflation in Fiscal Year 2027](https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2026-07-31/html/2026-15530.htm)

> Only the limitation is increasing; the ad valorem rate of 0.3464 percent remains the same.

— [Customs User Fees To Be Adjusted for Inflation in Fiscal Year 2027](https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2026-07-31/html/2026-15530.htm)

## Sources

- [Customs User Fees To Be Adjusted for Inflation in Fiscal Year 2027](https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2026-07-31/html/2026-15530.htm)

We checked the official text on 2026-10-23. Rules can change again; the latest official publication prevails.

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