When submitting a request for a Continuous Customs Bond, you will be asked to fill in a questionnaire about your expected shipments.
One of the questions you are asked to answer is what are the estimated duties & taxes for your shipments in the next 12 months.
When calculating the estimated duties, make sure to:
1. Multiply the total value of the goods for all estimated future shipments in the next 12 months by the percentage of duties per HTS code. In case you're importing from China, or Chinese-originated goods, make sure to check if the HTS is subjected to an additional China Tariff. If so, multiply the total value of the goods by the percentage of duties per China Tariff and add this to the standard estimated duties you initially got.
2. In addition to the duties, commodities are subjected to the following import fees:
a. MPF -Merchandise Processing Fee - 0.3464%
The maximum amount of the fee shall not exceed $575.35 and shall not be less than $29.66. For example, if 0.3464 percent of the amount of your merchandise is greater than the maximum amount of $575.35, the importer is only required to pay the maximum amount of $575.35.
You can find the CBP reference for MPF here.
b. HMF - Harbor Maintenance fee - 0.125%
In order to fully estimate the expected duties, you need to Multiply the total value of the goods by the percentage of those fees.
Note that all duties and fees are to be calculated from the value of the goods only, without non-dutiable payments such as Freight or Insurance.
Here's an example of the calculation:
Goods HTS code - 4421.99.9780, and are subject to 3.3% duties, no China Tariff.
The total value of goods for the next 12 months - $250,000.
The calculation is as follows:
Duties:
$250,000 X 3.3% = $8,250
Fees:
MPF - $250,000 X 0.3464% = $866. Since the maximum payment is $575.35, this is the amount required for our calculation.
HMF - $250,000 X 0.125% =$312
Total - $887.33
Total estimated duties and fees for the bond purchase - $9,137.33