I am considering purchasing a canoe in Canada and bringing it into the US where I live. I have done this a few times before but I cannot recall the taxes and fees that are charged by the seller in Canada and also whether there are charges associated with bringing it into the US. Anyone have knowledge about this?
NAFTA
Since the North American Free Trade Agreement was enacted, there are no tariffs or fees placed on canoes or other products crossing the border.
I do not know if there are any applicable provincial taxes at the point of purchase.
When I bought a new boat in Abbotsford, BC and brought it back into Washington State a few years ago, there were no charges above and beyond the stated purchase price, except for a $25 fee for someone to accompany me to the customs check point at the border (quite close to Abbotsford).
We drove to Alaska and back…
via Canada.
We had two kayaks on the roof, and came through customs without any questions asked.
jack L
If you purchase anything in Canada
you will be charged Canadian Federal and Provincial sales tax, the amounts of which which will vary with province. There used to be a program where visitors could reclaim the federal sales tax, but I believe that this was stopped, certainly it appears the rules concerning rebates changed in 2007
http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/tx/bsnss/tpcs/gst-tps/rbts/menu-eng.html
Irrespective of NAFTA, Canadians citizens and residents returning to Canada must declare any purchases they have made in the US and will be have to pay Federal duty on total purchases exceeding an exemption limit ($800 Can for at least 48 hrs in the US).
I’m pretty sure similar rules exist going in the opposite direction but that is something to check with the US border services:
http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/travel/vacation/sample_declaration_form.xml
yea
I have never purchased a canoe or kayak up in Canada but have bought other things like skis and you get charged there fed and prov tax which was about 15 percent in Ontario. So yikes they have high tax rate. I never got charged any tax crossing the border back into the USA and I told border guys what I had purchased which was around 800 bucks one time. Back then you could get the one tax back which I did but Canada stopped doing that back a few years ago so you get stuck with the both taxes now.
No taxes or duty on a canoe made in
North America and brought into the US by an American citizen.
Because of NAFTA you no longer have to pay duty on a canoe. You should have paperwork and the canoe should show on it where it was made.
I have done this many times with Souris River and Swift Canoes.
Once upon a time you could get part of your taxes paid in Canada back, but no more. So bring funds for the HST.
The rest of whatever you buy may be subject to duties if you go over your exemption limit. At any rate you have to declare the canoe. To declare is not synonymous with must pay duty.
I’ve addressed your particular situation and not tried to cover what Canadian residents might be subject to.
The bottom line is that Canada wants your tax money.
I’m told by the builder that
he does not collect HST or any other tax. I am beginning to think I may be able to buy the canoe and bring it into the US with no sales tax and no duty. The dollar is very strong right now against the Canadian dollar so it is a good time to buy up there. At least that is how I am trying to explain it to my spouse. 
That is how it worked for me
In my case the builder was Marlin Bayes of Clipper Canoe, in Abbotsford, BC. I paid exactly the price shown on his website. Since Abbotsford is only a few miles from the crossing, rather than having to show paperwork, someone from Western Canoeing and Kayaking simply drove to the border with me and indicated to the border agent that I had just purchased the canoe new.
I found crossing back into the US with the boat was considerably faster than crossing into BC without it.
hopefully your spouse does not recall
pre-2008 exchange rates!
Back in the '80’s
When I brought my first boat back from Canada I paid $ 1100 CDN. And it came to $890 USD. There was duty in those pre NAFTA days but the customs agent did not feel like doing all the paperwork to collect one percent of ninety dollars and just waved us through
Good point.
– Last Updated: Jan-25-14 12:57 PM EST –
No point in bringing up past exchange rates and such. Ancient history. Don't you think?