Canada Customs Question:

[nickerjones]

My wife and I were in Montana this weekend. We stopped by Ashley's furniture home store to ask about a repair to our furniture we bought at Ashley's in the states when we lived there. They had some really good deals on furniture, way better than what we could get here. I was curious how the importing would work. Does the $$ allowance we get when visiting work on goods work on items such as furniture? For example if we go down for a couple days and come back with furniture thats 1,600$ or less ($800 exemption for myself and $800 for my wife) will we have to pay taxes on the furniture purchase?

If we purchase $2,000 worth of furniture will we only be on the hook for the $400 bucks over the exemption?

[Drury18]

I found this on the Customs Site:

http://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/publicati...-eng.html#s2x8

What conditions apply to your personal exemptions?

You cannot combine your personal exemptions with another person's or transfer them to someone else.

In addition, you cannot combine your 48-hour exemption (CAN$800) with your seven-day exemption (CAN$800) for a total exemption of CAN$1,600.

In general, the goods you include in your personal exemption must be for your personal or household use. Such goods include souvenirs that you purchased, gifts that you received from friends or relatives living outside Canada or prizes that you won.

Goods you bring in for commercial use or for another person do not qualify for the exemption and are subject to applicable duty and taxes. In all cases, goods you include in your 24-hour exemption (CAN$200) or 48-hour exemption (CAN$800) have to be with you upon your arrival in Canada.

Except for tobacco and alcohol, goods you claim in your seven-day exemption (CAN$800) may be shipped to your home by mail, courier or other means of transportation.

I think if you say bought two couches at $1000 each, you could claim one for the $800 exemption and your wife could claim one for the $800 exemption and you'd be fine. If you only bought one $2,000 couch, only one of your could claim it and get the $800 exemption.

[Calgary14]

I had a buddy that did a similar purchase, he bought $2600 worth of household stuff down there with his spouse and was on the hook for $1000 ($2600 - $1600). The problem is that they are inconsistent in their rules. If it's really busy or you're really close to the exemption (but just over) they might just wave you through.

Another thing to consider is the warranty work. If you buy furniture from Ashley's in the US I'm not sure the warranty would be valid up here since you didn't buy it from Ashley's Canada. I'm drawing on an example a couple years ago of a couple I know who bought a Toyota vehicle in the US when our dollar was higher. They needed some warranty work done but had to go back down to the US to get it done because Toyota Canada wouldn't recognize it. Not sure if the same thing holds true for Ashley's. Might not be a big deal for some if you travel down often and it's close to home but for them it was about a 10 hour drive.

[nickerjones]

Originally Posted by Calgary14

Another thing to consider is the warranty work. If you buy furniture from Ashley's in the US I'm not sure the warranty would be valid up here since you didn't buy it from Ashley's Canada. I'm drawing on an example a couple years ago of a couple I know who bought a Toyota vehicle in the US when our dollar was higher. They needed some warranty work done but had to go back down to the US to get it done because Toyota Canada wouldn't recognize it. Not sure if the same thing holds true for Ashley's. Might not be a big deal for some if you travel down often and it's close to home but for them it was about a 10 hour drive.

You are somewhat correct with the warranty work. We both have US vehicles here and only the Jeep warranties aren't honored here now. However, both US dealerships told us they would be warrantied anywhere in North America. When we got to Canada, dealerships only honor factory warranties. That's changed in the last year. Jeep Canada doesn't honor factory warranties for American vehicles but Nissan Canada still does. It's weird.

To make it more weird Jeep told me if I was traveling through or hadn't registered my vehicle in Alberta yet they could honor the American warranty. I'm not sure why this is but I guess you have to ask yourself if you're going to have 15-20k done in warranty work done. That's how much more they quoted me to buy a new vehicle here in Canada, that matched the specs of my current vehicle. Of course that was before negotiating the sticker price. I paid 30k for my Jeep in the states brand new. They want 48k for it here.

[hatty]

Customs can be tricky, i know there is a 9.55% duty on furniture not produced in the US which is imported into Canada, and then of course the 5% tax. This is why sometimes furniture in the States can be quite a bit cheaper because as a retailer, when we (I have a family owned furniture store in Calgary) bring anything in from the US that was not manufactured there, we get charged the Duty, Brokerage, and Tax, so you end up paying approximately 11% in just Duty and Brokerage alone. Also when we import from Asian countries, Canada implements a 6% duty on any overseas product, while at the current moment, the US has no duty on any imported product.

Good luck with your purchase, here is my plug, if you like anything at Ashley Furniture PM me, I am an Ashley dealer and have been for the past 20 years. I have access to almost their entire catalog and can order just about anything from their warehouse (barring any exclusive items held by the home stores) but all I need is the name of the collection and I can look it up and see what pricing I can work out for you.

[Calgary14]

Originally Posted by nickerjones

You are somewhat correct with the warranty work. We both have US vehicles here and only the Jeep warranties aren't honored here now. However, both US dealerships told us they would be warrantied anywhere in North America. When we got to Canada, dealerships only honor factory warranties. That's changed in the last year. Jeep Canada doesn't honor factory warranties for American vehicles but Nissan Canada still does. It's weird.

To make it more weird Jeep told me if I was traveling through or hadn't registered my vehicle in Alberta yet they could honor the American warranty. I'm not sure why this is but I guess you have to ask yourself if you're going to have 15-20k done in warranty work done. That's how much more they quoted me to buy a new vehicle here in Canada, that matched the specs of my current vehicle. Of course that was before negotiating the sticker price. I paid 30k for my Jeep in the states brand new. They want 48k for it here.

Maybe it depends on the vehicle manufacturer. I know people can save a ton of money buying in the US if they buy at the right time (ie. high dollar). But the warranty thing seems tricky. Ive also heard some Toyota dealers in the US won't sell to Canadians but that could just be a dealer-specific thing

[spetch]

Depends on your custom agent. I bought a $3000 picture in Hawaii. Was honest on my form and they pulled me aside. I told then what it was and the guy wrote us up 3-$800 vouchers for duty incase we got charged when the print delivered. We got 3 based on me, my wife and my 9 month old. So in fact they let us combine our totals, however on my customs form only I claimed the picture.

[Titan]

I have always understood you can pool the exception if it would be legal for the person to buy it. For example the 9 month old can't buy cigs or booze so they would not count.

When in doubt, be totally honest, have all your receipts and be friendly and polite. Worst case scenario is a little extra tax. Way better than having your stuff confiscated and getting a very black mark on your personal record.

[Pliddy]

I live 30 mins north of Coutts so I cross the border at least 5x/month (beer,cheese,cherry coke and other essentials). As I understand it, and as I have experienced, it all comes down to the border guard. If you exceed your exemption then they can technically take the entire exemption away and you would be paying on the entire purchase, I have been warned about this on 2 occasions but it has never happened to me. I have found that being polite, upfront and honest has saved me hundreds of dollars on taxes and duties, in a lot of ways it is probably more important to the border guard than tax laws

[Tsawwassen]

Originally Posted by Calgary14

Maybe it depends on the vehicle manufacturer. I know people can save a ton of money buying in the US if they buy at the right time (ie. high dollar). But the warranty thing seems tricky. Ive also heard some Toyota dealers in the US won't sell to Canadians but that could just be a dealer-specific thing

There is a Pontiac Buick dealership in Abbotsford, BC and just over 20 km south is a Chevy Buick dealership in Lynden, Wash. It is cheaper south of the 49th parallel but that dealership doesn't sell to canadian residents because it would violate the terms of the dealership. Still there are some companies that will sell regardless.

"But several auto manufacturers are sticking to a policy prohibiting U.S. dealers from selling to Canadians, who see thousands of dollars in savings on dealer websites. Dealers claimed that Honda U.S. had threatened to close down their dealership if they do sell new vehicles to Canadians. http://www.thestar.com/business/2007...car_deals.html