Do you need a customs broker to import from China?

No: US law lets you file your own entry when you import for your own account, but you stay responsible for it. Above $2,500 a shipment needs a formal entry, which needs a customs bond, and a sea shipment needs an ISF before it is loaded. Rabbit buys on 1688 for you and ships your goods; it is not a customs broker.

By Hussayn Delli, founder of Rabbit · Updated November 9, 2026.

What every shipment from China now pays at US customs, with a worked example: the end of de minimis for US resellers. This page is about the paperwork: which kind of entry your shipment needs, and who files it.

What is the difference between an informal and a formal entry?

Every shipment entering the US is “entered” with US Customs and Border Protection (CBP). There are two kinds of entry:

• Informal entry: for a shipment worth $2,500.00 or less. It is the simpler procedure.
• Formal entry: generally for a shipment worth more than $2,500.00. It asks for more, including a customs bond (below).

The value that counts is the value of the goods. CBP can also require a formal entry for any shipment, whatever its value, when it judges it necessary, and some goods need one below $2,500.00.

The CBP processing fee on each

Each entry pays a merchandise processing fee. On an automated informal entry it is a flat $2.77. On a formal entry it is calculated on the value, with a minimum of $34.58 and a maximum of $670.86. These amounts apply since October 1, 2026. For one air cargo batch, Rabbit’s code gives:

Duties come on top, and a sea shipment adds a harbor maintenance fee. Crossing $2,500.00 changes more than the fee: it changes the procedure.

Do you need a customs broker?

Not by law. A customs broker is licensed by CBP to file entries for other people. If you import for your own account, US rules say you don’t need a license to do it yourself, and CBP says importers may make entry on their own.

Many importers still hire a broker, because a formal entry, a bond and an ISF take systems and practice. Either way, CBP is clear on one point: even when you use a broker, you, the importer of record, are responsible for the correctness of the entry and for the duties, taxes and fees.

What is the importer of record?

For CBP, the importer is the person primarily liable for paying the duties on the goods. It can be the consignee, the importer of record, or the actual owner of the goods once the right declaration and bond are filed. In practice: the party named on the entry answers for it. If you buy goods to resell them in the US, ask before you ship whose name will be on the entry: yours, or your carrier’s.

When do you need a customs bond?

For a formal entry. CBP does not release the goods of a formal entry until a bond is filed: either a single-transaction bond for that one entry, or a continuous bond that covers a year of entries. The bond guarantees CBP that the duties, taxes and fees will be paid.

A rule proposed by CBP on October 8, 2026 would also require a bond for certain informal entries. It is a proposal, open for comments until December 7, 2026: it doesn’t apply today.

What is the ISF, and does it apply to you?

The Importer Security Filing (ISF, also called “10+2”) applies to cargo arriving by ship. The importer, or an agent, sends CBP data about the shipment electronically: seller, buyer, importer of record number, consignee, manufacturer, ship-to party, country of origin and HTS number no later than 24 hours before the cargo is loaded on the ship in China; the container stuffing location and the consolidator no later than 24 hours before it arrives in the US. A shipment by air or express doesn’t need an ISF. CBP warns that a missing or late ISF can bring penalties, more inspections and delays.

What changes for parcels sent by mail in January 2027?

Under the mail rule of June 2026, goods subject to duties under chapter 99 of the US tariff schedule can’t use the new informal entry for mail: they need a formal entry. CBP pushed the date to comply back to January 20, 2027. Every product of China now pays an additional chapter 99 duty, so this concerns mail parcels from China. CBP is also testing an optional electronic mail entry for eligible shipments of $2,500.00 or less, since September 22, 2026.

What does Rabbit do at customs, and what doesn’t it do?

• Rabbit is not a customs broker. Its terms describe it as a purchasing agent and logistics coordinator: it buys on 1688 on your behalf and arranges the shipment. It neither makes nor sells the products.
• You stay responsible for your customs, tax and regulatory obligations, including for the products you put on the market. Rabbit gives you the documents and information it has, without acting in your place.
• What you receive: the tracking number and the available import documents of your order.
• Before you order: for a US account, the estimated profit Rabbit shows already subtracts US duties and CBP fees, the processing fees above included. It doesn’t count a broker’s fees or the cost of a bond: no public source sets them, so add yours.

For your exact situation: your accountant or a customs broker.