Shipping From France to the US: Duties, Forms, Gifts and What You Cannot Send (2026)

Shipping something from France to the United States has become more expensive and more formal since August 2025, and the French and US pages do not describe it in the same way. This guide takes the three situations Americans living in France actually meet: a parcel posted to family or friends, a move back with your household effects, and the bags you would rather send than carry. For each, it says what the official pages state, and where they leave you to ask.

It is the reverse of our guide to shipping your belongings from the US to France, and it does not cover a business shipping goods for sale.

What Changed on August 29, 2025

Service-Public (published September 18, 2025, updated March 18, 2026) says the US administration changed the customs procedures for goods sent to the United States in August 2025:

• goods sent to the US are now taxed from the first dollar, where there used to be an allowance up to $800;
• the customs duties are now charged to the sender, and no longer to the recipient as in the rest of the world;
• they must be paid to US customs before the items enter US territory, provided the address is correctly entered on the CN23 customs declaration.

US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) says the same thing from its side: in its e-commerce FAQ (last modified September 2, 2026), the suspension of the de minimis exemption applies “to merchandise valued at $800 or less arriving via all modes, including the international postal network”. The same FAQ says that the exemptions for bona fide gifts and for personal or household articles accompanying travelers “remain unchanged”, and that a new mail informal entry process takes effect on July 24, 2026.

Posting a Parcel From France

La Poste’s page on sending a parcel to the USA is the plainest summary of the practice:

• only certain services, such as Colissimo, still ship to the US, and the rule covers shipments with a total value of up to 2,000 euros;
• goods are taxed from the first dollar, and the duties, charged to the sender, must be paid before the parcel enters US territory (the page also says before it leaves French territory: Colissimo’s online form calculates the duties and fees as you declare the parcel);
• you fill in a CN23 customs declaration with the nature of the parcel, a precise description, the HS code, the country of origin, the weight and the value, and the sender’s address must be correct so the parcel can be returned if needed;
• a detailed commercial invoice in English is required for goods, with each article’s value, description and country of origin. The same page ties this document elsewhere to shipments of a commercial nature, so ask at the counter whether a personal parcel needs one;
• the limits are 30 kg, 150 cm in length, and 300 cm for length plus twice the height plus twice the width, with delivery in 2 to 5 working days depending on the destination and the service.

Service-Public quotes La Poste on the cost of getting it wrong: a non-compliant item (an erroneous customs declaration, a commercial shipment under the Courrier offer) “will be returned to its sender, or even destroyed by US customs, and subject to a minimum penalty of $100 per parcel”.

The French customs side

Douane.gouv.fr (the page shows 03/08/2026 as its update date) states that a postal item sent outside the EU needs a customs declaration, even when it is free of charge. The form depends on the value:

The CN23 states the sender and the recipient (with the country), a detailed description of the contents and the number of items, the customs tariff code, the value, the weight and the country of origin, and it must be signed. It can be written in English, in French or in a language the destination country accepts. The page adds that the CN23 is the only postal document the tax administration recognizes, which is why it recommends it over the CN22 to justify the VAT exemption on exports under 1,000 euros. It also warns that any false, ambiguous or incomplete statement may lead to the seizure of the shipment.

Gifts: Pages That Do Not Match

This is where you should not rely on a rule of thumb.

CBP says that gifts worth up to $100 may be sent free of duty and tax to friends and relatives in the US, as long as the same person does not receive more than $100 worth of gifts in a single day. The outermost wrapper is marked “Unsolicited Gift” (plus “Consolidated Gift Package” for several recipients); if any item is worth more than $100, the entire package is dutiable; alcohol and tobacco cannot be sent duty free as gifts; and you cannot send a gift to yourself. CBP’s FAQ defines a bona fide gift as an article formerly owned by a donor who gave it outright to a donee without compensation. For a dutiable package, CBP’s gift page describes the United States Postal Service collecting the duty from the addressee, and says the sender cannot prepay it.

La Poste answers the question “can I send a gift to the US without customs constraints?” with “No”: even for a gift, the contents must be declared to customs, and gifts may be subject to the duties and taxes applicable on entry into the US.

Service-Public describes something narrower for items posted from France: US authorities accept only gifts between individuals that contain “homemade” items, the words “Gift” and “CN23” must be on the parcel, and an item with a market value cannot be declared as a gift (DVDs and books included). It gives no value ceiling for that exception.

CBP’s shopping abroad page (last modified January 22, 2026) adds that new items sent for personal use should be marked with their nature and value, that “duty will be waived if the value is $200 or less”, and that above that the parcel carrier may assess duty. The French pages do not mention such an allowance, and say goods are taxed from the first dollar.

The pages do not say how these rules fit together. Before you post a gift, ask the counter or the carrier what they will accept and who will be billed, and plan on paying duty as the sender.

Moving Back: Household Effects

The most favorable rule is for a household that comes home. CBP’s page on household items says items used in your household abroad are duty free if you used them for at least one year while abroad, and they are not intended for anyone else or for sale. Three details from the same page:

• clothing, jewelry, photography equipment, electronics and vehicles are personal effects, and “cannot be brought or mailed duty free as household effects”;
• duty “is usually waived on personal effects more than a year old”;
• you must pay duty for all vehicles.

Goods that travel separately from you are declared on CBP Form 3299, the Declaration for Free Entry of Unaccompanied Articles. In the version read for this guide, you declare your place of residence abroad and how long you lived there, state that the household effects were used abroad for at least one year by you or your family and are not for any other person or for sale, and attach a packing list. A resident declares personal effects “taken abroad by me or for my account”. Some goods have to be listed separately: articles for another person, articles for sale or commercial use, firearms and ammunition, alcohol and tobacco, fruits, plants, seeds, meats and birds, and fish, wildlife and their products.

The copy of the form we read carries an expiry date of February 28, 2026 in its header. Download the current form from CBP before you fill it in.

CBP’s gift page adds a rule for small returns: personal belongings of US origin that have not been altered or repaired abroad can be mailed home duty free, with the words “American Goods Returned” on the outside of the package.

How It Enters the US: Mail, Express or Freight

CBP’s page on sending items back to the United States (last modified December 31, 2025) calls anything you do not carry “unaccompanied baggage” and sorts it into three channels:

• Mail: CBP examines every foreign mail shipment. A package that owes duty gets a mail entry form and a $5 processing fee, and packages with fruits, vegetables, meat or other agricultural items are inspected for the Department of Agriculture. Informal entries are generally personal packages or commercial items worth less than $2,000.
• Express: a private courier usually clears the goods for you and charges a fee for it, which CBP says some travelers found higher than they expected.
• Freight: cargo must clear customs at the first US port of arrival, usually through a freight forwarder and a customs broker, whose fees are not a CBP charge. CBP warns of storage fees if goods are not cleared within 15 days of arrival.

Art, Antiques and Furniture Leaving France

This is the part most often missed, and it has two sets of rules: the French export papers, and the US duty treatment of the piece when it arrives.

The French side. Douane.gouv.fr’s page on exporting cultural goods says that for an exit from France the owner (or an agent) must ask the Ministry of Culture for either a temporary exit authorization (AST) or an export certificate, depending on whether the exit is permanent. The goods concerned are those defined as “cultural goods” in annex 1 of the regulatory part of the Code du patrimoine, which sets cumulative age and value thresholds for 15 categories of objects. A decree of December 28, 2020 changed the value thresholds. National treasures can only leave France temporarily, with an obligatory return.

For a destination outside the EU, such as the United States, European law adds an export licence, issued by the Ministry of Culture and presented to customs at clearance. Since the 2020 decree, the national thresholds are higher than the European ones for 10 categories: a European licence may be required when a national certificate no longer is.

The same page lists the exceptions and the traps:

• cultural goods that have been in France for less than two years, or are under the temporary admission regime, do not need a certificate or an AST;
• a work carried by its own author needs neither document, and a simplified detailed inventory applies: ask your customs office;
• skipping these formalities can be both a customs offence and an ordinary criminal offence;
• a flat tax on precious objects (the TFOP) applies at export to jewelry, works of art, collectibles and antiques: ask the tax office;
• furniture, instruments and silverware that contain ivory, tortoiseshell or precious woods fall under the separate Washington Convention rules.

The forms are on the Ministry of Culture’s mesdemarches.culture.gouv.fr portal, and the customs advisers answer at 0 800 94 40 40.

The US side. CBP’s informed compliance publication on works of art, collector’s pieces and antiques (the PDF is dated June 2020, so ask a broker about any duty added since) says original paintings, drawings, pastels and collages must be declared to CBP, but that most of them enter duty free under heading 9701, provided they are executed entirely by hand. An antique must be over 100 years old at the time of importation to be classified under heading 9706; an article entered as an antique and later found to be younger is assessed a 6.6 percent duty in addition to any other duty or penalty. A repaired or restored antique keeps its status if it keeps its original character, and loses it if more than 50 percent has been repaired or restored.

Furniture and a container. A household’s furniture is a freight shipment: it clears at the first US port, usually through a freight forwarder and a customs broker, and CBP warns of storage fees after 15 days without clearance (see the section above). Furniture used in your household abroad for at least one year can be declared as household effects on Form 3299. Antique furniture is the case where the French export papers above apply first.

Our guide to shipping art and antiques to France covers the opposite direction.

What Not to Put in the Box

• Medicines: CBP says that “virtually all foreign made medications are prohibited from being brought into the United States”, and refers readers to the FDA for personal importations. Check before you send any.
• Wine: La Poste’s advice article says it is forbidden for an individual to send wine to the United States.
• Alcohol and tobacco: not duty free as gifts (CBP), and listed among the articles to declare separately on Form 3299.
• Food, plants and meats: Form 3299 lists them among the articles to declare, and CBP says agricultural items in the mail are inspected. The French customs page sends food and plant products to separate fact sheets. Read the one for your product.
• Anything dangerous: the French customs page says you cannot ship anything that could be dangerous.
• Art, antiques and precious stones: the French customs page says cultural goods and precious stones must be presented at specialized customs offices, and art and antiques have export papers of their own: see the section above.

Bags and Boxes: Luggage Shipping Services

For a suitcase or a few boxes, a luggage forwarder is the alternative to posting a parcel or paying airline excess-baggage fees. Send My Bag’s pricing FAQ says prices are per item, for one item up to a weight band such as 20 kg or 30 kg; heavier items are charged per kilo for the extra weight; and a size above the band’s maximum moves the item to the next band, or adds an excess-volume charge. An additional fee may show for an item over 117 cm on certain services. Its quote form lists France among the departure countries and the United States among the destinations.

Read its customs page before you book. It says its prices “do not include any taxes, local charges, inspection fees or any other charges”, that any duties arising must be settled by the sender directly with customs before the item is delivered, and that its transit times do not account for customs delays. You complete a packing list online, and for many countries a personal effects form. It also prohibits across all routes, among other things, aerosols, liquids, tobacco, money and medication. The page speaks of a duty-free allowance for returning residents on items “owned by them for a minimum of 6 months”: CBP’s household rule is one year of use, so follow CBP.

You can get an instant quote from Send My Bag by entering your route and your bag’s weight and size, without creating an account, and compare it against La Poste’s 30 kg limit and your airline’s published baggage charges. Some links in this article are partner links that may earn EasyFranceNow a commission at no extra cost to you.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Posting without the sender’s address on the CN23. Service-Public and La Poste make the duty payment and the return of the parcel depend on it.
• Leaving out the invoice. La Poste requires a detailed commercial invoice in English for goods.
• Declaring a low value to stay under a threshold. The $800 allowance no longer exists for goods that do not qualify for an exemption, and French customs warns that a false or incomplete statement may lead to seizure.
• Calling a purchase a gift. Service-Public says an item with a market value cannot be declared as a gift.
• Mailing personal effects as household effects. Clothing, jewelry, photography equipment and electronics are personal effects, and CBP says they cannot be mailed duty free as household effects.
• Skipping the packing list on a move. Form 3299 asks for one.

Practical Checklist

• Decide which case you are in: a gift parcel, a move back, or bags you want delivered.
• For a parcel, write the CN23 with the sender’s address, a detailed description, the HS code, the value and the country of origin, and prepare the invoice in English. Keep your copy.
• For a gift, ask La Poste or your carrier what they accept and who is billed, before you post.
• For a move, list what you used abroad for a year or more, build the packing list, and download the current Form 3299.
• Leave out medicines, wine, alcohol, tobacco and food until you have read the rule for each.
• For bags, price the same items with a luggage forwarder and with La Poste, and read what the quote leaves out about duties.

When to Get Help

A move of a whole household, a vehicle, valuable art, or goods you are not sure are personal effects are the cases for a customs broker or the shipper’s customs team, not for a guess. The pages above also change: CBP’s own FAQ dates from September 2026, and Service-Public updated its page in March 2026.

FAQ

Is there still an $800 duty-free allowance for a parcel from France?

Not for goods that do not qualify for an exemption: Service-Public says the allowance up to $800 no longer exists since August 29, 2025 and that goods are taxed from the first dollar. CBP’s FAQ says the suspension of the de minimis exemption covers merchandise of $800 or less arriving by all modes, including the international postal network, and that the gift and traveler exemptions are unchanged.

Who pays the duty on a parcel I post from France?

La Poste and Service-Public say the sender, and that the duty must be paid before the goods enter the US, with the sender’s address on the CN23. CBP’s gift page describes the addressee being billed for a dutiable package. Ask the carrier which applies to your shipment.

Can I send my US family a $100 gift for free?

CBP’s page says gifts up to $100 per person per day are duty free and must be marked “Unsolicited Gift”. La Poste says a gift must still be declared and may be subject to duty, and Service-Public’s page is narrower. Ask before you post.

Do I pay duty on my belongings if I move back to the US?

CBP says household items used abroad for at least one year, and not intended for anyone else or for sale, are duty free. Clothing, jewelry, photography equipment and electronics are personal effects, usually waived when more than a year old, and vehicles always pay duty.

What is the largest parcel La Poste will take to the US?

La Poste’s page gives 30 kg, 150 cm in length, and 300 cm for length plus twice the height plus twice the width.

Conclusion

From France to the US, plan on the sender paying duty and on declaring everything: a CN23, and an invoice in English for goods, gift or not. The one clear exception is a household coming home with items it used abroad for a year or more, and that goes on CBP Form 3299, not on a postal label. For gifts, the French and US pages differ: ask the carrier first. For bags, compare a luggage forwarder per item with La Poste’s 30 kg limit, and remember that its price leaves out customs duties.