🇬🇧 Shipping to United Kingdom from the USA
£39 is the gift VAT rule, £135 is the duty line, and online sellers are supposed to charge VAT at checkout
Quick answer
- How long: 2 to 3 days by express and about 1 to 2 weeks by USPS.
- What the recipient pays: UK VAT at 20% applies from £0 on sales. Up to £135, the overseas seller should charge it at checkout. Above £135, VAT and any duty are collected at import.
- Gifts: a gift of £39 or less is free of VAT. There is no general £39 threshold for purchases.
- Final mile: Royal Mail or Parcelforce for USPS items; both add a handling fee when collecting charges.
Gift VAT limit
Private gifts only
Duty line
Non-excise goods
VAT rate
5% and 0% on some goods
Delivery
Express to postal
Shipping Rates to the UK
| Carrier & Service | 1 lb | 5 lbs | 10 lbs | 20 lbs | Delivery Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| USPS First-Class Intl | $31.95 | N/A | N/A | N/A | 7-14 days |
| USPS Priority Mail Intl | $69.70 | $94.45 | $118.40 | $177.50 | 6-10 days |
| USPS Priority Mail Express Intl | $93.15 | $113.55 | $141.60 | $197.25 | 3-5 days |
| UPS Expedited | $68.00 | $105.00 | $165.00 | $285.00 | 3-5 days |
| FedEx International Priority | $75.00 | $115.00 | $185.00 | $315.00 | 2-3 days |
| DHL Express | $65.00 | $98.00 | $155.00 | $265.00 | 2-3 days |
USPS prices are official retail rates from Notice 123 (effective October 4, 2026). UPS, FedEx, and DHL figures are rough list-price estimates before fuel and other surcharges, not quotes, and a live quote can be much higher or lower. Delivery times exclude customs delays unless stated.
Reference list-price estimates before fuel and demand surcharges, duties and taxes, not quotes. USPS Priority Mail Express money-back guarantees have been suspended to Great Britain, per USPS alerts.
How long shipping to the UK takes
London Heathrow and the East Midlands air hubs give the UK some of the fastest express transit from the US, typically 2 to 3 business days to English cities. Scotland and Wales can add a day, and the Scottish Highlands and islands more. USPS parcels pass to Royal Mail (Parcelforce for many Priority Mail Express items). Priority Mail International usually takes 6 to 10 days and First-Class Package International Service 7 to 14. Mail held for a "fee to pay" stops until the card is paid online, so a slow parcel may simply be waiting for the recipient.
See FedEx delivery times and DHL delivery times for carrier detail.
The £39 and £135 rules, in plain terms
This page once called £39 a general VAT threshold. It is not. GOV.UK's guidance on goods sent from abroad and the overseas seller VAT rules say:
| Parcel | VAT | Customs duty (Great Britain) |
|---|---|---|
| Purchase, £135 or less | 20% charged by the seller at the point of sale | None for non-excise goods |
| Purchase, over £135 | Import VAT before delivery | Tariff rate, may be 0% |
| Private gift, £39 or less | None | None |
| Private gift, £39.01 to £135 | 20% at import | None for non-excise goods |
| Private gift, over £135 | 20% at import | Duty per tariff |
Excise goods such as alcohol and tobacco are taxable at any value. Duty and VAT are worked out on price plus postage, packaging and insurance. Goods to Northern Ireland can follow EU-linked "at risk" rules, including €3-per-item treatment for some non-business parcels.
Worked examples. A gift worth £60 with £10 postage: VAT £14, plus Royal Mail's £8 fee, so £22. A £200 jacket purchased with £20 shipping at a 12% tariff: duty £26.40, VAT £49.28, total £75.68 plus the carrier's fee. Royal Mail's fee-to-pay page lists £8 on Royal Mail products and £12 on Parcelforce products; couriers set their own.
Change ahead: the government has published plans to remove the £135 duty relief and introduce new customs arrangements for low-value goods. Law firm summaries report a deadline around October 2028, but check the GOV.UK policy paper for the final date. Unlike the EU, the UK did not have an equivalent flat duty in force at the time of this review.
Prohibited
- Offensive weapons, flick knives, pepper spray
- Indecent or obscene material
- Counterfeit goods
- Unlicensed medicines
Restricted
- Meat and dairy from outside the UK and EU
- Plants and seeds
- Alcohol and tobacco: excise applies
- Firearms: license needed
Also see USPS prohibited items.
Tips for shipping to the UK
- Sellers: register before selling. An overseas seller shipping directly into Great Britain at £135 or under is expected to charge UK VAT. Marketplaces often do this for you.
- Use a UK postcode exactly: a single postcode covers just a few homes, so it does much of the routing.
- Beware "fee to pay" scams: real Royal Mail cards carry a reference and can be checked on royalmail.com.
- Gift forms need a gift: the sender must be a private person. A business "gift" does not qualify.
- Check the commodity code: the UK Trade Tariff gives the current duty on goods over £135.
From elsewhere?
EU parcels are imports too since Brexit, but origin rules can remove duty. Canada-to-UK and Australia-to-UK sales follow the same £135 logic. For a parcel to Dublin, read the Ireland guide, as it is an EU destination. The Channel Islands and Isle of Man have separate treatment: Jersey and Guernsey are outside the UK VAT area, so a label to St Helier is not a UK delivery for tax purposes.
UK shipping questions
Is there a VAT-free amount for small purchases?
No. VAT on purchases applies from £0; the seller charges it up to £135. Only gifts have a £39 limit.
Why did I get a bill for a parcel under £135?
Usually it was treated as a gift over £39, or the seller did not charge UK VAT, or it contained excise goods.
Which is cheapest, Royal Mail or a courier?
For small parcels, USPS plus Royal Mail. For parcels over a couple of kilos, compare USPS vs UPS.
Can a US sender prepay VAT?
Yes, on courier services under DDP terms, and USPS offers its DDP service to some destinations only. Prepaying avoids surprises for the recipient.