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    How do I pay duty and taxes online?

    Why am I asked to pay duty and taxes?

    The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) examines packages and mail items to determine admissibility and identify goods subject to duties and taxes. Duties and taxes apply to all international goods imported by mail or purchased online that exceed the CAN$20 exemption. CBSA will assess duties and taxes on international packages (containing goods) arriving in Canada. The CBSA calculates any duties owing based on the value of the goods in Canadian funds. The duty rates will vary according to the type of goods and the country from which they came from or were made in. You can pay1 your duty and taxes online in advance instead of at the time of delivery.

    Please note: Due to the nature of international shipments, the window of eligibility to pay for any duty and taxes in advance is limited. To avoid missing the opportunity to pay online, we encourage you to register for automatic tracking. Automatic tracking auto-tracks packages and notifies you of duty and taxes owing through email or push notifications.

    How can I be notified of my duties and taxes owing?

    There are 4 ways that you can be notified of duty and taxes owing on a package sent to you:

    Sign up for automatic tracking

    To sign up for automatic tracking, visit the automatic tracking page on our website or download the mobile app. When you sign up, you’ll automatically get email notifications for all your auto-tracked packages. You can also enable push notifications that will notify you when an auto-tracked item has duty and taxes owing.

    Sign up for email notifications

    To sign up for email notifications, you'll need to:

    1. Enter your tracking number for each package in the Track tool, after signing in to your Dashboard, or when using the mobile app
    2. Select Sign up for email notifications
    3. Complete the form
    4. Press Submit

    After you sign up, you can also enable push notifications on your phone.

    To be notified when you have duty and taxes owing, we recommend you sign up for email notifications (Track tool) or enable push notifications (mobile app).

    Sign up for text notifications

    To sign up for text notifications, you'll need to:

    1. Find your tracking number on:
      • Your shipping receipt or confirmation email from the sender
      • A prepaid envelope or flat rate box label
      • Your Track list if added through automatic tracking
    2. Go to Track or use the Canada Post mobile app
    3. Enter your tracking number
    4. Select "Get text notifications" near the delivery status. Follow the screen prompts.
    5. Complete and submit the request form. You’ll receive a confirmation text message within a few minutes!

    Please note:

    • At this time, only one mobile phone number can be registered to receive text message notifications per tracking number.
    • Changes to the mobile phone number cannot be made once the request is submitted. 
    • Log in to your account to change the pre-populated telephone number for future requests.
    • The language of text notifications is based on the application used. For requests made on our website, the language is based on the language set in your Canada Post account. Log in to your account to change it for future requests. For requests made in our mobile app, the language is based on the language set in your device settings. Change it in your device settings for future requests.
    How do I know if text notifications are from Canada Post?

    Text notification updates from Canada Post for duty and/or taxes owing will reference your Inbound International tracking ID and are sent from short code “272727” (not a telephone #) and do not offer customers the ability to reschedule delivery.

    Track your package

    As soon as you get your tracking number from the merchant:

    1. Go to the Track tool or download the mobile app
    2. Enter the tracking number for each package
    3. Pay any duty and taxes owing (that can be paid online) when you’re presented with this option

    Please note: You can skip steps 1 and 2 if you sign up for automatic tracking. Doing so will automatically add tracking numbers to your Track list.

    How do I pay online?

    Pay as a guest or by using your Canada Post account

    If the package is eligible:

    1. Select Pay
    2. Follow the instructions to complete a secure online payment using a credit card on our website or through our mobile app with Apple Pay/Google Pay
    3. Provide an email address to get your receipt
    4. Accept the terms and conditions to complete your payment

    Please note: If you have a free Canada Post account, you can sign in and pay on our website. This allows for faster checkout because you can save your credit card information for any future transactions.

    Proof of payment

    Once the transaction is complete, you'll get an email confirmation with a number and barcode. This is your proof of payment in case the Canada Post delivery agent or postal clerk asks for it.

    What packages are eligible?

    You can pay duty and taxes online for any package that:

    • Is sent to a Canadian address from another country
    • Has been assessed duty and taxes by the CBSA
    • Has a tracking number (international packages that have barcodes beginning with R or U aren’t eligible as they’re not trackable online)
    • Is in transit with Canada Post, but isn't out for delivery yet

    How do I get more details about my duty and taxes owing?

    We can't provide a breakdown of the duty and taxes owing before you pay online. You can see a detailed breakdown of the duty and taxes on the CBSA's Postal Import Form (E14) which is attached to the package when it's delivered.

    Requesting an adjustment to the amount you owe

    If you want to ask for an adjustment to the amount you owe, you have 2 options:

    1. Pay the duty and taxes (either online in advance of delivery or in person at the time of delivery) and request an adjustment after delivery by contacting the CBSA directly. Instructions are provided on the CBSA's Postal Import Form (E14).
    2. Decline to pay the amount owing and tell the delivery agent at the time of delivery that you'd like to appeal. In this instance, we’ll return the package to the CBSA to be reassessed.

    How do I cancel my duty and taxes payment?

    Once the transaction is complete, you can't cancel the payment. You can ask for an adjustment of the duty and taxes assessed on the package directly with CBSA after it’s delivered.

    How do I get a refund?

    If you paid duty and taxes twice for the same package, you'll automatically get a refund for the duplicate payment on your credit card and a corresponding email confirmation. If you paid online but never received your package, you can request a refund of your duty and taxes.

    To request a refund:

    1. Go to the Delivery status page
    2. Follow the Request refund link under the Delivery details section

    Please note: You must wait 21 days from when the online payment was made before asking for a refund. If the refund link doesn't appear after 21 days, please contact customer service.

    I paid my duty and taxes online. Why was my package sent to the post office?

    If you paid your duty and taxes online, and you're not home at the time of delivery, 1 of 2 things can happen:

    If the package doesn’t need signature or Proof of Age upon delivery:

    • The agent will make a best effort to deliver it to your usual delivery location

    If the package needs signature or Proof of Age upon delivery:

    • You must visit a post office to collect your item

     

    Find out how to set a delivery preference for your package

    1 There’s no additional fee for paying the duty and taxes online, but there is a CAN$9.95 handling fee included in the amount owing. We collect duties and taxes on imported items (including all online purchases) on behalf of the Government of Canada.

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