Importing a luxury watch into the US: duties and paperwork

Importing a luxury watch into the United States means declaring it to US Customs and Border Protection, paying the duty the Harmonized Tariff Schedule sets for watches, plus any additional country-based tariff in force on the day, plus state use tax where it applies, and keeping the paperwork that proves what you paid. A traveller carrying a watch home gets a personal exemption on the first US$800 of goods and pays on the rest; a watch shipped to you is a formal entry once its value passes US$2,500 and needs a customs broker. This guide explains how the duty is worked out, why the 2025 tariff changes matter for Swiss watches, what the traveller and shipped routes look like in practice, and the documents to have ready for a Rolex, Audemars Piguet, Patek Philippe or Richard Mille. Bizak & Co. is based in Miami Beach and sources to order from domestic and overseas trade; our Rolex price guide explains how landed cost changes the comparison between markets.

Last reviewed on September 21, 2026 by Filip Biczak. Prices are dated observations, not quotes. This guide describes the rules in general terms; it is not customs or tax advice, and a licensed customs broker should confirm the treatment of any specific import.

Do you have to declare a watch bought abroad?

Yes. Everything acquired abroad, whether bought, received as a gift or won, must be declared on arrival, whether it is in your luggage or on your wrist, and whether it was bought in a boutique, at a duty-free shop or from a private seller. Duty-free means the shop did not charge its own country's tax; it has nothing to do with US duty. Wearing the watch through the airport is the oldest mistake in the trade and it is smuggling, with penalties that can include seizure of the watch. Declare it, pay what is owed and keep the receipt; the paperwork will also matter when you sell or insure the watch later.

How is US customs duty on a watch calculated?

Watches sit in Chapter 91 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States, and the duty is unusual: rather than a single percentage of the price, the schedule breaks a watch into its movement, case and strap or bracelet, and applies a mix of per-unit amounts and percentages to each part, with the rate depending on whether the case is precious metal, how many jewels the movement has and what the strap is made of. The practical result is that the base Chapter 91 duty on a mechanical Swiss watch is usually modest relative to the price of a five-figure watch. On top of that base rate come any additional tariffs that apply by country of origin, a merchandise processing fee on formal entries and, for shipped goods, the carrier's brokerage charge. Because the calculation is component-based, a broker will ask for the movement type, case metal and strap material as well as the invoice.

The 2025 tariff changes and Swiss watches

Almost every Rolex, Audemars Piguet, Patek Philippe and Richard Mille is Swiss made, a designation the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry polices, so the country of origin for duty purposes is Switzerland. In 2025 the United States introduced additional country-based tariffs on imports, and the rate applied to Swiss goods was set at a high level in August 2025 and then lowered under a framework announced in November 2025. Those measures have been changed by executive action and litigation more than once since, and the rate in force on the day of entry is the one that counts. The 2025 changes also suspended the duty-free treatment that had applied to low-value shipped parcels, so a mailed watch is dutiable from the first dollar. Before you budget an overseas purchase, check the current additional rate for Switzerland with a broker or in CBP's current notices; on a five-figure watch it can be a larger number than the base Chapter 91 duty.

Bringing a watch back as a traveller

• Personal exemption. A returning US resident can bring in US$800 of goods duty free after a trip abroad, and family members travelling together can combine their exemptions. The exemption applies to goods that accompany you.
• The next US$1,000. Goods above the exemption are dutiable; CBP has long applied a flat rate to the first US$1,000 above it, with the tariff schedule rate applying beyond that.
• Declaration. You declare on the customs form or at the kiosk, then pay at the CBP counter by card or cash. Bring the boutique invoice; the officer values the watch on the price paid.
• Additional tariffs. CBP guidance in 2025 applied the country-based tariffs to travellers' goods above the exemption as well as to shipped goods; confirm the current treatment before you fly.
• Registering a watch you already own. If you travel abroad wearing a watch bought in the United States, register it with CBP before departure on the certificate of registration for personal effects taken abroad, so you are not asked to pay duty on it when you come home. A dated US invoice serves a similar purpose.

Shipping a watch into the US

• Informal versus formal entry. Shipments valued above US$2,500 require a formal entry with a customs bond, filed by a licensed broker; the express carriers act as broker for their own shipments and charge for it. Below that value an informal entry applies, though the duty is still owed.
• Commercial invoice. The shipper's invoice must state the seller and buyer, a description that identifies the watch (brand, reference, serial, case metal, movement type, strap), the country of origin, the price and the currency. Under-declaring value to reduce duty is fraud and, if discovered, forfeits the watch.
• Classification. The broker assigns the Chapter 91 subheading from the description; an accurate description of the case metal and movement avoids a reclassification later.
• Insurance. Carrier liability is limited; insure the shipment separately to the full value with signature on delivery. Our guide to paying for a watch safely covers shipping and handover.
• Payment of duty. The carrier or broker pays CBP and bills you before or on delivery, with a brokerage fee and sometimes a disbursement fee on top.

Sales tax and use tax after import

Federal duty is not the end of it. A watch bought abroad or from an out-of-state seller and brought into your home state is generally subject to that state's use tax, which is the sales tax's counterpart for purchases on which no sales tax was collected, at the state's rate plus any local surtax. The rules and rates vary by state, a few states have no sales tax at all, and enforcement on individuals is uneven, but the liability exists and dealers who ship into a state where they have a presence must collect it. Auction purchases from Phillips or Sotheby's in their US salerooms carry sales tax under the house's conditions of sale, and lots bought at their overseas sales and shipped to the US go through the import process above.

Is it cheaper to buy a Rolex abroad and import it?

Sometimes, and less often than it was. The arithmetic runs: the overseas retail price, less any VAT refund for a non-resident, plus US duty, plus the additional country tariff in force, plus brokerage or the traveller's counter payment, plus state use tax. Set against that is the US retail price plus sales tax, or the US secondary-market price. Because Rolex prices its watches to keep markets roughly aligned after tax, and because the 2025 tariff changes added cost on the Swiss side, the saving on a current steel reference is often small or negative once everything is counted, while the saving can be larger on gold references where the VAT refund is bigger. For a dated comparison point, on September 21, 2026 Bizak's sourced catalogue listed a Rolex Cosmograph Daytona 126500LN with white dial at US$31,619, sourced to order and delivered domestically, which is the kind of all-in domestic figure an overseas purchase has to beat. Those are dated observations, not quotes.

Paperwork to keep for a landed watch

Importing a watch: what to check before you buy overseas

• Current additional tariff rate for the country of origin, confirmed with a broker in the week you buy.
• Chapter 91 classification for the case metal and movement, and the base duty it implies.
• Merchandise processing and brokerage fees for a shipped watch.
• Your state's use tax and whether the seller will collect it.
• VAT refund eligibility and the process at departure, which can fail if the paperwork is not stamped.
• Guarantee card stamped and dated by an authorised dealer, so the international guarantee applies at home.
• Insurance for the journey, whether on your wrist or in a parcel.
• The domestic alternative, priced all-in, from a dealer who can source the same reference. Our Daytona 126500LN guide shows what a domestic sourced ask looks like.

Quick answers

How much is import duty on a watch in the USA?

The base duty under Chapter 91 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule is calculated on the movement, case and strap separately and is usually modest relative to a luxury watch's price. Any additional country-based tariff in force, a merchandise processing fee and state use tax come on top, so the total depends on the rate on the day of entry.

Do I have to declare a Rolex bought abroad?

Yes. All goods acquired abroad must be declared on arrival, including a watch worn on the wrist and one bought at a duty-free shop. Failing to declare is smuggling and can lead to seizure.

What is the US customs exemption for a returning traveller?

Generally US$800 of goods per returning resident, combinable within a family travelling together, with duty applying to the value above that. A flat rate has long applied to the first US$1,000 above the exemption.

Does a watch shipped to the US need a customs broker?

Above US$2,500 in value it is a formal entry and needs a licensed broker; the express carriers act as broker for their own shipments for a fee. The 2025 changes removed duty-free treatment for low-value parcels, so any mailed watch is dutiable.

Is the Rolex warranty valid in the US on a watch bought abroad?

Yes. The international guarantee is honoured at Rolex service centres worldwide on presentation of the genuine, dated guarantee card, regardless of where the watch was sold.

Request a domestic sourcing quote

Tell us the reference, dial and bracelet, the set you require and your budget and timing, through our sourcing enquiry form. We confirm the specific watch, photographs, card and final landed price before you commit, and every watch is sourced to order. Catalogue entries: Rolex Daytona 126500LN white dial, Rolex Submariner 126610LN; browse the Daytona collection, the Rolex collection, or sell or trade your watch.

Related reading: Daytona 126500LN guide · Rolex price guide · Rolex waitlist explained · Buying from a grey dealer.