Balikbayan Box Question
 

Hey all:

US Citizen here. Sending some stuff to my wife before I move to Northern Luzon. I live in Charlotte, NC. Considering sending via balikbayan. I know I'm not exempt from "taxes" but how are those collected? At the shipper? Do the shippers (or agents) ship by weight or flat fees? What kind of fees am I looking at? Thanks a bunch.

I have never sent expensive stuff to my family that required any import fees and taxes, but when I looked at shipping my old pick-up truck via freighter, the freight company usually knows how much would be due and you pay them so they can forward the payment to the govt on your behalf at port of entry. Same thing goes with FedEx and UPS. The only way I know to get around this is if you are at the receiving end and meet the container at the port of entry.

The Balikbayan companies can do it for you if the declared value is enough to collect fees, Best bet is to ask the shipper as they consolidate all the "boxes" into a container or air freight and must have a document of what is in each box and it's value.

I'm just sending my 3d printer (about $150 value) and some filament to go with it. Maybe a few tools.