Korea Import Cost Calculator: Estimate Your Landed Cost

Key takeaways

• Landed cost = product price + international freight + insurance + import duty + import VAT/GST + broker, port, inspection and delivery fees.
• The US and Canada charge duty on the value of the goods without international freight (an FOB basis); the EU and UK include freight and insurance up to the border (a CIF basis).
• Since 24 July 2026, most Korean goods entering the US pay a total duty of at least 12.5% (Section 301), even when the KORUS rate is 0%. Some goods are exempt; check your HS code.
• In the EU and UK, most Korean goods enter duty-free with a valid origin declaration, but import VAT applies: 17–27% across EU countries, 20% in the UK.
• Freight moves fastest: on 28 September 2026 the KCCI put Busan → US West Coast at about $8,000 and Busan → North Europe at $3,751 per 40-foot container. Always use a dated quote.

What is landed cost?

Landed cost is the full cost of a product once it has arrived at your door, cleared through customs and ready to sell. It is the number to use for pricing and margin, because the supplier's unit price is only the starting point.

Enter your own figures below. The calculator adds duty, any extra tariffs and import VAT or GST on the correct value, and shows the cost per unit.

What goes into the landed cost?

Each line below matches a field in the calculator.

The HS code (Harmonized System code) is the 6-digit international product classification that every country extends to 8–10 digits in its own tariff. Getting it right matters more than any other input, because it decides the duty rate.

What does the supplier's price include? (Incoterms)

It depends on the Incoterm in the quote. Incoterms are the ICC's three-letter trade terms that say who pays for and arranges each leg of the journey, and where the risk passes from seller to buyer. The current version is Incoterms 2020; work on a 2030 revision has only just started.

Korean VAT: export prices are zero-rated

Korea charges 10% VAT on domestic sales, but exports of goods are zero-rated. Supplies to a Korean exporter under a local letter of credit or a purchase confirmation (구매확인서) are zero-rated too, which is how an exporting agent can buy from a domestic-only supplier without VAT. If a quote says "VAT included" (부가세 포함), ask for the export price before you compare suppliers.

How much does freight from Korea cost in 2026?

There is no fixed price: ocean rates change weekly, and 2026 has been volatile. Use dated benchmarks to sanity-check quotes, not as prices. The KCCI, published every Monday by the Korea Ocean Business Corporation, tracks spot rates from Busan; Drewry's World Container Index tracks the main routes out of Shanghai.

US$ per 40-foot container (FEU), spot market. Index methods differ, so compare like with like and always quote the date.

Two forces pull in opposite directions. Drewry reported that Asia–Europe rates had fallen for 12 weeks in a row on weak demand, helped by a partial return of ships to the Suez Canal, although most Busan–Europe sailings still go around the Cape of Good Hope. Rates to North America, by contrast, were close to their 2026 highs.

Check which surcharges a quote includes. Since the Strait of Hormuz crisis began in February 2026, carriers have added fuel, conflict and war-risk charges; CMA CGM, for example, introduced an emergency fuel surcharge of $150 per TEU from 1 August 2026, and ONE one of $75 per TEU from 15 August.

FCL or LCL?

FCL (full container load) is priced per container: a 20-foot box holds about 33 m³ and a 40-foot about 67 m³. LCL (less than container load) shares a container with other shippers' cargo and is priced mainly per cubic metre (CBM). Freightos notes that LCL can cost up to twice as much per CBM as FCL and takes a little longer because of consolidation. Below roughly 10 CBM, LCL is usually the economical choice; from about 10–15 CBM, ask for both quotes, because there is no fixed break-even point.

Air freight and express

Air freight is charged on chargeable weight: the higher of the actual weight and the volumetric weight (volume in CBM × 167 kg is the common formula). Express couriers and Korea Post EMS deliver door to door, but their brokerage and duty-handling fees come on top of the duty itself. Transit times are compared in our shipping guide.

Do you need cargo insurance?

Customs does not require it, but you carry the risk of loss or damage from the point named in your Incoterm. Under FOB and FCA, that is when the goods are loaded or handed to your carrier in Korea, so arrange cover before they leave. Under CIF the seller must insure, but only at the minimum level of the Institute Cargo Clauses (C); CIP requires the broader Clauses (A). If you buy CIF, check what the policy actually covers. Your forwarder or an insurer can quote a premium per shipment.

How is import duty calculated on Korean goods?

Duty = customs value × duty rate. Two things decide the result: which value your country taxes, and which rate applies to goods of Korean origin.

Origin proof is what turns a normal rate into the FTA rate, and the gap can be large: in the EU, apparel normally pays 12% and LCD TVs 14%, against 0% with an origin declaration. On cosmetics, smartphones and laptops the EU rate is 0% anyway. Our FTA guide explains how to get the paperwork right.

The US: a 12.5% floor on most Korean goods

Since 24 July 2026, a Section 301 tariff raises the total duty on Korean goods to 12.5% wherever the normal rate is lower, including goods that are duty-free under KORUS. Goods with a rate of 12.5% or more pay nothing extra.

• Cosmetics and skincare (normally duty-free): 12.5%.
• Cotton knit T-shirts (normal rate 16.5%): 12.5% with a valid KORUS claim, 16.5% without one.
• Smartphones and laptops: 0%, because they are on the exemption list.
• Section 232 goods pay their own rate instead, for example 50% of the full value on steel and aluminium articles and 15% on cars and car parts.

In the calculator, set the duty basis to FOB, enter the normal or KORUS rate as the duty rate, and enter the top-up as the additional tariff: 12.5 minus the duty rate, or 0 if the rate is already 12.5% or higher. The tariff is being challenged in court (oral argument was heard on 30 September 2026), so confirm the rate for your HTS code with a licensed customs broker. Our 2026 tariff guide tracks the changes.

How much import VAT or GST will you pay?

Most countries charge VAT or GST on imports on top of duty; the US does not. Standard rates as of October 2026:

• EU: from 17% (Luxembourg) to 27% (Hungary), depending on the country of import.
• UK: 20%.
• Australia: 10% GST.
• United States: no import VAT.

The base is usually the customs value plus duty, which is how the calculator works. In the UK it also includes costs such as transport and insurance up to the goods' first destination in the country, so the real figure can be slightly higher. VAT-registered businesses can normally recover import VAT; in the UK, postponed VAT accounting lets you declare it on your VAT return instead of paying at the border. It still ties up cash until it is recovered, and it is a real cost if you are not registered.

What other fees should you budget for?

Fees come from several parties, so they are easy to underestimate. Ask your broker and forwarder to put them in writing, then add them to the fees field:

• Customs broker: preparing and filing the import declaration.
• Destination port and warehouse charges: terminal handling, unpacking of LCL cargo, and storage if goods wait.
• Local delivery from the port or airport to your warehouse.
• Pre-shipment inspection in Korea, if you book one.
• Bank charges for international transfers or a letter of credit.
• US merchandise processing fee (MPF): 0.3464% of the value on formal entries, with a minimum and maximum adjusted every fiscal year. It is not charged on goods that qualify as originating under KORUS, which is one reason to claim KORUS even where it no longer lowers the duty.
• US harbor maintenance fee: 0.125% of the cargo value on ocean shipments.

Selling direct to consumers? Parcels pay duty too

US: the $800 de minimis exemption has been suspended for all countries since 29 August 2025, and indefinitely under CBP rules since June 2026. Every parcel now needs a customs entry and pays duty: a $60 parcel of Korean skincare pays about $7.50 at 12.5%, plus the carrier's fees.

EU: since 1 July 2026, parcels worth up to €150 sold by distance sale pay a temporary customs duty of €3 per item until 1 July 2028. An "item" is each tariff classification in the parcel, not each unit: five T-shirts count as one item (€3), a T-shirt and a watch as two (€6). Goods that qualify for the FTA escape it only with a full customs declaration and without collecting VAT through IOSS, the EU's import one-stop shop. A separate €2 per item handling fee has also been adopted; the Commission says it applies from 1 November 2026.

Worked example: cosmetics shipped to the US and the EU

Assumptions: 5,000 units of skincare (HS 3304.99) at an assumed FOB Busan price of $4.00, so $20,000 of goods; LCL sea freight of $1,500, insurance of $50, and $700 for broker, destination port charges and delivery. Freight and fees are kept the same for both markets so that only the tax rules differ. For the EU we assume a country with a 21% VAT rate, such as the Netherlands. All figures are in US dollars.

In the US, landed cost is about 24% above the product price, and the 12.5% duty is the largest addition. Without a KORUS claim, the MPF would add about $69 more. In the EU there is no duty on cosmetics, but VAT adds $4,525.50 up front; a VAT-registered importer recovers it, which leaves $22,250, or $4.45 per unit.

Switch the product to cotton knit T-shirts and origin proof becomes decisive. In the US the normal rate is 16.5%: with a valid KORUS claim the total is 12.5% ($2,500), without one 16.5% ($3,300). In the EU the normal rate is 12%, or $2,586 on this customs value plus VAT on that amount, against 0% with an origin declaration. Because this shipment is worth more than €6,000, the declaration must come from an approved exporter, so check your supplier's status before you order.

How Korea Import Hub helps you control landed cost

We are an Incheon-based sourcing agent founded by former Korean exporters. We get export prices from Korean suppliers, including ones that only sell domestically, negotiate in Korean, and can buy on your behalf when a supplier does not export. We prepare export documents and origin paperwork, coordinate freight, and inspect goods before shipment with a photo report, so the numbers in your estimate hold up. Send us your product and destination: we reply within 24 hours on business days, with a written quote before any paid work.

Frequently asked questions

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