About this site
About & methodology
Swiss Import Calculator is an independent, free tool that answers one question: what will an order from abroad actually cost once it reaches Switzerland? Official information exists, but it is scattered across customs pages, carrier price lists, and VAT law. We put the published numbers into one calculator and a set of plain-English guides.
This site is not affiliated with the Federal Office for Customs and Border Security (FOCBS/BAZG), Swiss Post, or any shop or carrier. We don't sell anything and the calculator sends nothing you type to a server — it runs entirely in your browser.
How the estimate is calculated
The calculator applies the following published rules, in this order:
- Taxable value = product price + shipping, converted to CHF (you can adjust the exchange rate; customs uses official daily rates).
- Import VAT = 8.1% standard rate, or 2.6% reduced rate for books, food, and medicines. VAT of CHF 5 or less is not collected — the source of the practical CHF 62 / CHF 193 thresholds.
- Gift exemption: consignments from a private person to a private person up to CHF 100 goods value, excluding alcohol and tobacco.
- Customs duty = CHF 0 for industrial products since 1 January 2024. Weight-based duties on foodstuffs and agricultural goods are not included in the estimate.
- Swiss Post clearance fee = CHF 13 (EU and overseas territories) or CHF 16 (other countries) + 3% of the goods value, capped at CHF 70, plus 8.1% VAT on the fee. Charged only when VAT or duty is actually collected.
- Checkout-VAT orders: when a shop or platform charged Swiss VAT at sale (mandatory for large platforms since 1 January 2025), the calculator assumes the import is cleared by the seller and nothing is due at delivery.
- Couriers (DHL, UPS, FedEx): each advances your VAT and charges a disbursement fee — a percentage of the advanced amount with a per-carrier minimum. The calculator estimates it from the carrier's published rate (DHL 2% / min CHF 27, UPS 3% / min CHF 25.15, FedEx 2.5% / min CHF 22; verified July 2026). Since duty is zero, the minimum applies to almost all consumer orders — treat the courier figure as an estimate.
Sources & verification
Every rate and threshold on this site comes from an official, public source. Last full verification: 4 July 2026.
- ch.ch — Ordering goods from abroad: VAT rates, CHF 5 collection minimum, gift exemption.
- Swiss Post — Import customs clearance: clearance fee schedule.
- FOCBS/BAZG — Online purchases and mail consignments: import procedure, abolition of industrial tariffs.
- FTA/ESTV — Platform taxation: the 2025 deemed-seller rule for online platforms.
What the estimate doesn't cover
- Weight-based customs duties on foodstuffs, plants, and agricultural products.
- Special taxes and permits: alcohol, tobacco, medicines in quantity, weapons, protected species.
- Carrier extras: value clarification, storage, address corrections, return handling.
- Exchange-rate differences — customs converts at official daily rates, the calculator uses your editable estimate.
The final assessment is always made by customs and the carrier. Treat every figure here as a well-founded estimate, not a binding quote.
Affiliate links
This calculator is free to use. To help cover its costs, a few outbound links — for example to Wise — are affiliate links: if you sign up through one, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. We only point to services we consider genuinely useful, and a commission never changes the rates or estimates the calculator shows.
Contact
Spotted an outdated rate, a bug, or a case the calculator gets wrong? Mail [email protected] — corrections are usually live within days. If a rate changes officially, the “rates verified” date across the site tells you how current we are.