Landed cost
Calculate the true landed cost of your imported product
Combine the product cost, freight, insurance, customs duty, additional tariffs, import taxes and fees to calculate the total and per-unit cost of an imported shipment — the number you actually price against.
Who this is for
- Ecommerce sellers setting a retail price
- Importers comparing suppliers on true cost, not sticker price
- Procurement teams building a landed-cost model
- Founders checking whether a product is worth importing
What you need
- Quantity and unit purchase price
- International freight and insurance
- The customs value basis and duty rate
- Any additional tariff measure
- Import VAT/GST rate and whether it is recoverable
- Customs, broker and handling fees, plus domestic delivery if known
How it works
- 1
Start from the purchase value
Multiply unit price by quantity for the goods value — the base everything else is added to.
- 2
Add the transport
International freight and insurance move the goods to the border and, depending on valuation basis, form part of the customs value.
- 3
Apply duty and tariff
Duty and any additional tariff are charged on the customs value you choose (FOB or CIF).
- 4
Add import tax and fees
Import VAT/GST, customs processing, broker and handling fees are added. Recoverable tax is kept separate.
- 5
Divide to per unit and check margin
The total is divided by quantity for landed cost per unit, then compared to your selling price for the achieved or required margin.
Worked example
Hypothetical: 1,000 units at 4.50 each
All rates below are entered for illustration. Arithmetic uses the same deterministic engine as the calculator.
- Goods value (1,000 × 4.50)
- USD 4,500.00
- Freight + insurance
- USD 1,280.00
- Duty (user-entered 10%)
- USD 578.00
- Import tax (user-entered 0%)
- USD 0.00
- Handling & broker fees
- USD 250.00
- Total landed cost
- USD 6,608.00
- Landed cost per unit
- USD 6.61
- Price needed for 45% margin
- USD 12.01
Illustrative only. Confirm duty, tariff and tax rates for your HS code, origin and destination with the official authority before pricing.
Common mistakes
- Confusing purchase cost with landed cost
- Omitting freight and insurance from the total
- Using the wrong customs-value basis
- Ignoring tariff surcharges and additional measures
- Counting recoverable tax as a permanent cost
- Forgetting quantity when comparing suppliers
- Comparing supplier prices without comparing landed cost
- Calculating margin on purchase cost rather than landed cost
What UtilityPilot calculates
- Total landed cost and landed cost per unit
- Duty, additional tariff and non-recoverable tax
- The effective duty rate on your goods value
- The selling price required for a target margin
What you must verify
- Current duty and import-tax rates for your line
- Whether import tax is recoverable for you
- Freight and insurance quotes for the actual shipment
- Any broker, entry or handling fees your agent charges
Official sources to verify
- USITC Harmonized Tariff Schedule
United States · The official US HTS: full national tariff lines and general duty rates.
- European Commission TARIC
European Union · EU integrated tariff: duty rates, measures and trade-defence duties by CN code.
- UK Trade Tariff
United Kingdom · UK commodity codes, duty rates, VAT and preferential rates.
- Singapore Customs
Singapore · Dutiable goods, GST on imports and classification enquiries.
- Canada Border Services Agency — Customs Tariff
Canada · Canadian tariff schedule, duty rates and CUSMA/CPTPP preferences.
UtilityPilot links to these authorities so you can confirm a figure at its source. It does not publish live tariff rates or reproduce these databases. Source list last updated 4 September 2026.