How to Calculate U.S. Import Duty from an HTS Code (Worked Example)

If you do not have a U.S. HTS code yet

Start with the Classify Product skill. It walks you and your agent through identifying the right code for your products. See the process in the U.S. HTS cotton T-shirt walkthrough or read what Claude can and cannot do with HS codes. Once you have a code, bring it back to Calculate Duty for the separate duty analysis below.

The shipment in this example

We use the same shipment from start to finish:

• Product: finished adult snowboard without bindings
• Customs value (entered value): USD 10,000
• Country of origin: China
• Entry date: September 9, 2026
• Supplied U.S. HTS code: 9506.11.40.10
• Tariff version: US_HTS 2026-rev-18

This example assumes that 9506.11.40.10 is the right code for this snowboard. If you are not sure, the Classify Product skill identifies the right HTS code from product facts. The Calculate Duty skill starts with the code you provide and checks the duties that go with it. It does not pick a different code.

First, choose the rate that applies

The Explorer lists three rate choices for 9506.11.40.10: a 2.6% General rate, Free for listed Special programs, and a 33 1/3% Column 2 rate. You use one of them, not all three. Most imports use the General rate. A Special rate applies only when the shipment qualifies for a named trade program. Column 2 applies only to goods from Belarus, Cuba, North Korea, or Russia.

This shipment is from China, and this example does not show that a Special program applies, so we use the General rate. That produces the base duty—also called the ordinary duty—in this example.

Now check whether an extra Chapter 99 duty applies

Some products from China pay an extra Section 301 tariff. Provision 9903.88.15 is one rule that can add 7.5%. It covers the products described by U.S. note 20(r) whose HTS subheadings appear in U.S. note 20(s)—not every product from China. Click the provision link to read the rule and follow its notes in Tariff Code Explorer.

Before adding USD 750 to the estimate, confirm all four points:

• The goods are a product of China.
• The HTS code appears in the list covered by the rule.
• The rule was in effect on the entry date.
• No exclusion or exception removes the extra duty.

Calculate Duty follows these records and asks only for shipment facts it still needs.

China is only the first clue. The HTS code, entry date, legal notes, and exclusions determine which extra duties apply. Checking those records by hand is tedious. Calculate Duty can trace them for your agent, show the sources, and identify what is still missing.

If you want to check the duty yourself

1. Open 9506.11.40.10 in US_HTS 2026-rev-18 and confirm the product description and three rate choices.
2. Use the 2.6% General rate unless you can show that a Special program or Column 2 applies.
3. Open 9903.88.15 and read the rule, connected notes, dates, products covered, and exclusions.
4. Check the rest of Chapter 99 for another additional duty or exclusion before calling the estimate complete.

Explorer shows the source records. You still have to decide which rules match your shipment.

The easier way: ask your agent

After you connect Tariff Code Compliance to Claude, ChatGPT, or another supported AI assistant, you can ask in plain English. Copy this prompt:

You do not need to translate the job into tariff jargon. Calculate Duty checks the tariff version, the three rate choices, possible Chapter 99 duties, dates, exclusions, math, and source links. It asks only for facts it cannot establish and clearly labels anything uncertain.