Do you have to declare Japanese trading cards when you fly home, and will you pay duty?

Cards in your luggage, not in the mail

The exemptions below are for goods you carry through the airport yourself, and several of the official pages say so outright. Cards mailed to your own address are treated differently: the shipping guide covers how to get them sent, and the cost guide covers U.S. duty on Japanese goods that arrive by post. Cabin-bag rules for card boxes and cases are set by TSA and your airline, whose pages aren't summarized here.

United States

CBP's "Types of Exemptions" page lists a US$800 exemption for travelers arriving from anywhere other than a U.S. insular possession: "you may bring back $800 worth of items duty free, as long as you bring them with you." The page calls this "accompanied baggage." Its example shows that goods already duty-free in their own category, such as fine art, don't use up the $800.

A smaller US$200 exemption applies to people who can't claim the others, because they were out of the country less than 48 hours or made more than one trip in 30 days. Items must be for personal or household use, and if you bring back more than $200 in dutiable items, "the entire amount will be dutiable." That whole-amount rule is written for the $200 exemption; the page doesn't say the same of the $800 one.

CBP's "What to Expect When You Return" page says all travelers must complete CBP Declaration Form 6059B, itemizing all purchased merchandise, and that you should declare if in doubt. It also suggests keeping purchase receipts "in an envelope in your carry-on bag." An officer asking what you paid for a sealed box or a slab wants a value you can show, and the receipt is it.

Above $800, the same page says only that "the CBP officer will calculate the duties to pay on your newly acquired goods." Neither CBP page gives a rate for the amount over the exemption or mentions the Section 301 action on Japanese goods. The landed cost guide explains the 12.5% combined rate for Japan-origin goods, but nothing on CBP's traveler pages says an officer applies it to baggage, so don't plan around that number.

United Kingdom

The GOV.UK page for arriving in Great Britain allows other goods worth up to £390 (£270 if you arrive by private plane or boat). Go over, and you "pay tax and duty on the total value of the goods, not just the value above the allowance." A haul worth £400 therefore costs more at the border than one worth £380.

You must carry the goods yourself and use them yourself or give them as gifts. GOV.UK's allowances page adds that there are no personal allowances for goods brought in to sell or use in a business, so cards meant for resale, including duplicates bought in bulk to sell on, fall outside the £390. The allowance applies "regardless of where you bought them," a tax-free shop included.

You can declare online before you travel or at the border, and goods you fail to declare can be seized. Arrivals in Northern Ireland are covered by a separate GOV.UK page.

Australia and Canada

The Australian Border Force page on duty free sets a general goods concession of A$900 for adults and A$450 for under-18s. Exceed it and "you'll need to pay duty on all your general goods not just on the excess." The page says "If in doubt, always declare" and warns that penalties may apply for undeclared goods.

In Canada, the CBSA page on personal exemptions for residents gives three tiers:

For the 48-hour tier, duties and taxes apply only to the part of the goods over C$800. The page doesn't say whether that also holds for the 24-hour tier. Same-day shoppers get no exemption.

Goods "must be in your possession and reported at time of entry to Canada," and an exemption can't be combined with another person's or transferred. Values are reported in Canadian funds, so a yen price has to be converted at the rate the CBSA recognizes. Goods claimed under the 7-day exemption, other than tobacco and alcohol, can follow you home by mail, courier or other transport, which helps if the cards are too bulky to carry.

Leaving Japan with a pile of cards

Japan Customs' page on departure procedures has no declaration for cards or collectibles as such. It does say commercial or high-value goods may need the same export procedures as ordinary trade cargo, without giving a threshold. Cash is a separate rule: ¥1 million or more in cash or payment instruments must be declared on departure.

If you bought cards tax-free, non-residents must show their passport to customs when departing, and tax-exempt goods you plan to check in must be confirmed by customs before the bag goes to the airline. The tax-free guide explains the refund and its 90-day limit. If the cards are in your cabin bag, there is nothing to retrieve from the hold before that check. Customs may inspect any goods being exported.

Space and receipts

Graded cards in slabs and storage boxes take real room, and sealed boxes are the bulky part of a sealed-versus-singles haul, so the luggage you can carry sets how much comes home under the limits above.

Every limit above is a value, and Canada wants yours in Canadian funds. A shop receipt from one of the stores in our Tokyo, Osaka and Fukuoka guides gives you the yen amount to convert. Of the four countries' pages, only CBP's mentions receipts, and none says a declaration without one will be refused.