Ship boxes from United States to United Kingdom
1 to 10 boxes, collected from your door in United States and delivered to the door in United Kingdom. Price up front, customs paperwork prepared for you.
- Typical transit
- 3–5 business days
- Duty-free up to
- Gifts from one individual to another worth £39 (about $53) or less pay no VAT or duty, unless they are alcohol or tobacco, which always pay excise duty
United States → United Kingdom
Enter a weight to see your price.
Who ships on this route
- Expats and people relocating for work
- Students heading to or home from university
- Households moving a few boxes, not a whole home
Expats, students, 2 to 10 box moves.
Leaving United States
Sending boxes out of United States
Most personal boxes leave the US with just a commercial invoice. You or an authorized agent, such as the courier, must file Electronic Export Information (EEI) in the Automated Export System when any one Schedule B number is worth more than $2,500, or when an export license is needed, whatever the value. The export rules' exemption for personal effects covers only baggage not shipped under an air waybill, so courier boxes follow the normal rules.
Documents
- Commercial invoice listing each item and its value, marked as used personal effects or a gift where true
- Sender's photo ID if the courier asks for it
- EEI filed in AES, which the courier can do as your agent, if one Schedule B number is over $2,500 or a license is needed. Household goods for your own use abroad are reported without Schedule B codes.
- Any export license, or OFAC authorization for an embargoed destination
Can't leave United States
- Items that need a Commerce or State Department export license, such as firearms and defense articles. EEI is required for these at any value.
- Goods for Cuba or Iran need US government authorization. For Iran, general licenses cover gifts up to $100 and the used household effects of people relocating there.
- Medicines that are controlled substances may need a DEA export permit, which also triggers EEI
- Couriers will not carry cash, aerosols, flammables, or loose lithium batteries
Arriving in United Kingdom
United Kingdom customs, in short
- Duty-free threshold
- Gifts from one individual to another worth £39 (about $53) or less pay no VAT or duty, unless they are alcohol or tobacco, which always pay excise duty. There is no general tax-free limit: other goods, including your own used things sent without Transfer of Residence relief, pay VAT from the first pound. Customs duty is not charged on goods worth £135 (about $183) or less in total, except alcohol and tobacco, which pay duty at any value. The government plans to remove this £135 duty relief on a date still to be set, by October 2028 at the latest.
- Import tax
- VAT at 20% (standard rate). Some goods pay 5% or 0%; children's clothes, for example, are zero-rated. VAT is charged on the value of the goods plus postage, packaging, insurance, and any duty. Above £135, customs duty is charged on the goods plus postage, packaging, and insurance, at a rate that depends on the type of goods and where they came from (listed in the UK Trade Tariff). Alcohol and tobacco also pay excise duty.
- Who pays
- Shipments are sent DAP. The receiver pays any duties and taxes before or on delivery. The courier may add a clearance or disbursement fee.
- Moving there?
- Transfer of Residence (ToR) relief lets you bring in your personal and household belongings free of duty and VAT if you have lived outside the UK for at least 12 consecutive months, have had the goods for at least 6 months before moving, will use them the same way here, and import them within 12 months of moving. It covers moves to Great Britain from anywhere, including the EU, and moves to Northern Ireland from outside the EU. You must get approval first: apply online with form ToR1 before the boxes ship, then give the courier your unique reference number. For 12 months after you move, you can't lend, hire out, transfer, or use relieved goods as security. Alcohol and tobacco are never covered, and goods from a second or holiday home don't qualify. Full-time students and people moving to marry have their own reliefs that don't need ToR1. The marriage relief also covers wedding presents worth up to £900 (about $1,220) each from people who live outside the UK.
Not allowed into United Kingdom
- Aerosols, spray cans, and compressed gas cylinders
- Flammable liquids and solids: fuel, lighter fluid, paint, nail polish, matches
- Loose or spare lithium batteries and power banks not installed in a device
- Cash, gift cards, checks, and other negotiable items
- Firearms, ammunition, replicas, and weapon parts
- Perishable food, and meat, dairy, or fresh produce
- Cannabis, CBD, and THC products, even where they are legal at origin
- Controlled drugs, including prescription medicines that contain them (they can't be posted to the UK)
United States to United Kingdom: questions
How long does it take to ship boxes from United States to United Kingdom?
Typically 3 to 5 business days door to door after pickup, plus any time customs in United Kingdom takes to clear the shipment.
Do I pay duty on used belongings sent to United Kingdom?
Gifts from one individual to another worth £39 (about $53) or less pay no VAT or duty, unless they are alcohol or tobacco, which always pay excise duty. There is no general tax-free limit: other goods, including your own used things sent without Transfer of Residence relief, pay VAT from the first pound. Customs duty is not charged on goods worth £135 (about $183) or less in total, except alcohol and tobacco, which pay duty at any value. The government plans to remove this £135 duty relief on a date still to be set, by October 2028 at the latest. Shipments are sent DAP. The receiver pays any duties and taxes before or on delivery. The courier may add a clearance or disbursement fee.
What paperwork do I need to send boxes from United States?
A commercial invoice listing what's in each box and what it's worth today. Onvoyo prepares it from your contents list for you to review and approve. Most personal boxes leave the US with just a commercial invoice. You or an authorized agent, such as the courier, must file Electronic Export Information (EEI) in the Automated Export System when any one Schedule B number is worth more than $2,500, or when an export license is needed, whatever the value. The export rules' exemption for personal effects covers only baggage not shipped under an air waybill, so courier boxes follow the normal rules.
Do I pay tax on a gift sent to the UK?
Not if it's worth £39 (about $53) or less and sent from one individual to another for an occasion such as a birthday. Above £39, the receiver pays VAT, usually 20%. Above £135 (about $183), customs duty may apply too. Several gifts in one box each get the £39 allowance if they're for different people, listed separately, and wrapped individually. Alcohol and tobacco always pay excise duty.
How do I bring my belongings into the UK tax-free when I move?
Apply for Transfer of Residence relief online with form ToR1 before your boxes ship. You qualify if you've lived outside the UK for at least 12 consecutive months, have had the goods for at least 6 months, and import them within 12 months of moving. Give the courier your unique reference number so it goes on the customs declaration.
Do boxes from the EU go through UK customs?
Yes, if they're going to England, Scotland, or Wales. EU boxes are imports like any others, with the same £39 gift limit, VAT, and relocation relief. Northern Ireland is different: boxes from the EU don't go through customs there, while boxes from outside the UK and EU pay VAT and may pay EU duty rates, including a flat €3 (about $3.50) per item on goods up to £135 (about $183) that the courier treats as 'at risk' of moving into the EU.
Official sources
Export rules for United States and import rules for United Kingdom, checked against these official pages. Customs makes the final decision on every shipment.
- 1.Office of the Federal Register (eCFR) · 19 CFR Chapter I -- U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Department of Homeland Security; Department of the Treasury (opens in a new tab)
- 2.U.S. Customs and Border Protection · Prohibited and Restricted Items (opens in a new tab)
- 3.U.S. Census Bureau (eCFR) · 15 CFR Part 30 -- Foreign Trade Regulations (opens in a new tab)
- 4.Office of Foreign Assets Control, U.S. Department of the Treasury (eCFR) · 31 CFR Chapter V -- Office of Foreign Assets Control, Department of the Treasury (opens in a new tab)
- 5.HM Revenue & Customs · Tax and customs for goods sent from abroad (opens in a new tab)
- 6.HM Revenue & Customs · VAT rates (opens in a new tab)
- 7.HM Revenue & Customs · Reforming the customs treatment of low value imports into the UK (opens in a new tab)
- 8.HM Revenue & Customs · Transfer of residence to the UK (opens in a new tab)
- 9.HM Revenue & Customs · Application for transfer of residence relief (ToR1) (opens in a new tab)
- 10.Border Force and HM Revenue & Customs · Bringing goods into the UK for personal use (opens in a new tab)
- 11.Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs, Animal and Plant Health Agency, and Border Force · Bringing food into Great Britain (opens in a new tab)
- 12.Home Office · Travelling with medicine containing controlled drugs (opens in a new tab)
- 13.HM Revenue & Customs (UK Integrated Online Tariff) · September 2026 HMRC currency exchange monthly rates (opens in a new tab)
Going the other way? Ship boxes from United Kingdom to United States