As of June 1st 2012, there have been changes to the duty free limits for cross border shopping. Canada’s latest federal budget has increased the amount of goods Canadians traveling abroad can bring back to Canada when out of the country for more than 24 hours. Here is a list of the updated limits for each corresponding time period:
More than 24 Hours, less than 48 Hours – The limit has quadrupled from $50 to $200.
More than 48 Hours – You may bring duty free goods worth up to $800. This has increased from $400 for the period of 2 days up to a week.
More than 7 Days – This limit has increased from $750 to $800. This limit of $800 has been applied to applied to any period more than 48 hours.
IMPORTANT – When bringing alcohol or tobacco back into Canada, the items will not be tax exempt unless you have been outside Canada for more than 48 hours. (Note: age of majority restrictions apply)
Alcohol and Tobacco Limits:
You may bring 1 of the following items back into Canada:
- 1.5 litres of wine (53 ounces)
- 1.14 litres of liquor (40 ounces)
- When combining liquor and wine, a total of 1.14 litres
- 24 x 355ml (12 ounces) of cans or bottles (max 8.5 litres) of beer or ale
You may bring in all of the following items relating to tobacco:
- 200 cigarettes
- 50 cigars or cigarillos
- 200g (7 ounces) of manufactured tobacco
- 200 tobacco sticks
Before leaving for vacation, it is always important to know how much of these goods you are allowed to bring back into Canada. You would not want to have to leave your extra cigars in Cuba or your excess bottle of rum in the Dominican, so be sure to plan ahead and check Canada’s customs limits.