Gifts from USA...Now we have to pay VAT+ handling fees.

Roger_Tatt

I just received another letter from Parcel Force stating that we owe them about £30 (£22 for VAT and £8 for handling) just to receive Christmas presents from my mother in the USA....I have lived in the UK with my husband and two kids for the pass 9 years...Over the pass two years we have had to pay over £200 just to received Birthday and Chirstmas presents from my mother in California...Up until two years ago we didn't have any of these problems...Can anyone please give me some advice so we don't occur any more taxes or VAT for receiving gifts from Grandma in California. She always checks the gift box when mailing out parcels. Any help and advice would greatly be appreciated...Thank-you in advance.

Jennifer....Roger's wife

PeteMc

Make sure the value of the contents in the parcel is below £36 (or $ equivalent) and no VAT or handling fee will be charged.
Your mother may have to send more than one parcel but it may be cheaper than the charges.
If the item is over £36 in value then you will have to suffer the charges.

custardy

Roger_Tatt wrote: »

I just received another letter from Parcel Force stating that we owe them about £30 (£22 for VAT and £8 for handling) just to receive Christmas presents from my mother in the USA....I have lived in the UK with my husband and two kids for the pass 9 years...Over the pass two years we have had to pay over £200 just to received Birthday and Chirstmas presents from my mother in California...Up until two years ago we didn't have any of these problems...Can anyone please give me some advice so we don't occur any more taxes or VAT for receiving gifts from Grandma in California. She always checks the gift box when mailing out parcels. Any help and advice would greatly be appreciated...Thank-you in advance.

Jennifer....Roger's wife

what value did she state on the package?
writing gift does not exempt any package from being liable for HMRC charge

Roger_Tatt

I don't the value of the parcel just yet, as it will be delivered on Monday...But, the another one send out before Christmas was bigger and I believe much more expensive and we had no problems...I am still scratching my head....

PeteMc

Roger_Tatt wrote: »

I don't the value of the parcel just yet, as it will be delivered on Monday...But, the another one send out before Christmas was bigger and I believe much more expensive and we had no problems...I am still scratching my head....

It is very much luck of the draw considering the number of parcels that enter the UK from outside the EU. I rarely order anything over £18 ( as a commercial purchase) to mainly avoid the £8 RM fee rather than the VAT. However on the odd time I've gone over it's not been charged.

Some say that once you've been charged, your parcels are known to HMRC and you'll be charged evermore though I don't think it's quite as precise as this!

Perhaps an alternative would be for your mother to buy gifts from EU suppliers and have them gift wrapped? Not all the majors will accept US payments but the likes of Amazon UK do.

custardy

well you are being charged VAT by HMRC on the gooods
so they have decided that VAT is applicable on the items inside
you can appeal it but its down to HMRC really
many try and sneak stuff through marking as gift

Roger_Tatt

Thank-you PeteMc and Custardy for all your advice.
PeteMc, I think you are right in both areas of it is just hit or miss as to which parcels get through and I think that we just maybe on their list at HMRC. Maybe I should have my mom write the kids names on the parcels. Hopefully, their names are not on the HMRC just yet.
Custardy, I should ask my mom maybe to sent the presents in mulit parcels..I am going to ask her if it would be better if she would go online and ordered a present from a shop here in the UK and had it sent to us then I'll wrap here...So all she would need to do was sent a card. Lot cheaper and less hassel and it would get to us in time for Christmas and birthdays. Thank-you for all your good advice.

dzug1

Commercial consignments are liable to duty/VAT if over £18
Gifts are exactly the same except that the threshold is £36.

It's a myth that gifts are exempt.

Hailz86

what is it with this government, is there anything they can't charge us for now?

soolin

Hailz86 wrote: »

what is it with this government, is there anything they can't charge us for now?

It's hardly a recent thing though, I've certainly been aware of charges for at least 20+ years having family overseas .

roosterpotatoes

I have ordered some things for my grandad from America, he has just recently been registered as blind, so as you do i went online and started shopping for gadgets. Whole order is only worth £13, my mum told me about these charges and im now wishing id never bothered, the company says it writes "blind matter" on the envelope so i just hope i dont get stung