Shipping to Philippines: Everything You Need to Know

Quick Answer: With AB Group Shipping, shipping to the Philippines starts from $175 for a 10 kg door-to-door courier box from Miami, Houston, New Jersey or Los Angeles (October 2026 quote). Sea LCL and FCL cost less per kilo on larger loads. Imports valued over PHP 10,000 FOB/FCA pay duty and 12% VAT.

The price table under the opening answer updates itself every month, so the number you see there is the number we are quoting today. Everything below explains which rules apply to your box, your household goods or your car — and which paperwork keeps them moving.

What should you know before shipping to the Philippines?

Quick Answer: Two rules decide most shipments to the Philippines. Imports above PHP 10,000 FOB or FCA value are dutiable on the full amount, and used motor vehicles of all types are prohibited except under the No-Dollar Importation Program for a returning resident's or immigrant's own vehicle.

Start with those two limits. The PHP 10,000 de minimis value comes from Republic Act 10863 (the CMTA) sec. 423, and Bureau of Customs CAO 01-2025 sec. 3.16 repeats it. Below that value, the Philippines collects no duties and no taxes.

The vehicle ban is just as hard. Executive Order 156 of 12 December 2002, sec. 3.1, prohibits importing used motor vehicles of all types. One listed exception exists: a vehicle owned by and for the personal use of a returning resident or immigrant, moved under the No-Dollar Importation Program and not resold for at least three years.

Who decides what at the border?

The Bureau of Customs (BOC) sits under the Department of Finance. The DOF Revenue Office issues the Tax Exemption Indorsement (TEI) or Tax Exemption Certificate (TEC) that most Section 800 exemptions require. Philippine consulates do not grant exemptions — they only notarize or authenticate the Affidavit of Ownership.

Knowing that chain saves time. People often ask a consulate for something only the DOF can issue.

Three legal routes into the country

• Balikbayan box — personal and household effects sent to relatives, CMTA sec. 800(g), covered in detail later.
• Returning-resident effects — CMTA sec. 800(f), with value caps tied to years abroad.
• Ordinary dutiable import — everything else, assessed on dutiable value plus 12% VAT.

Your US gateway shapes the price and the schedule. Florida moves through PortMiami. Texas and the central states ship via Port Houston. California and the Southwest sail from Los Angeles/Long Beach. The Northeast uses the Port of New York and New Jersey. The Southeast loads at Savannah, the Midwest railheads through Chicago, and the Pacific Northwest sails from Seattle.

How much does it cost to ship a box to the Philippines?

Quick Answer: With AB Group Shipping, a 10 kg door-to-door courier box to the Philippines starts from $175 from Miami, Houston, New Jersey or Los Angeles (October 2026 quote). Sea LCL and FCL drop the cost per kilo sharply once volume passes roughly 2 CBM. Rates move monthly.

That $175 October 2026 courier price covers a 10 kg (22 lb) box, door to door, from four of our main gateways. Rates change every month, which is why the price table under the opening answer refreshes itself. For anything heavier, bulkier or multi-piece, the calculator on this page prices it in seconds.

Courier 10 kg

MiamiUSMIA

→

ManilaPHMNL

from · Oct 2026 USD$175 Quote this route →

Courier 10 kg

HoustonUSHOU

→

ManilaPHMNL

from · Oct 2026 USD$175 Quote this route →

Courier 10 kg

New JerseyUSEWR

→

CebuPHCEB

from · Oct 2026 USD$175 Quote this route →

Courier 10 kg

Los AngelesUSLAX

→

ManilaPHMNL

from · Oct 2026 USD$175 Quote this route →

What actually drives your price?

• Chargeable weight vs volume — air and courier bill the greater of actual and volumetric weight. A light, bulky box prices like a heavy one.
• Origin gateway — a Phoenix pickup sails from Los Angeles; a Dallas pickup sails from Houston. Different trucking leg, different number.
• Destination — Metro Manila delivery costs less than provincial out-port delivery to Leyte, Bohol or Zamboanga.

Shipping from a city we do not list? Use the nearest listed origin as an aprox. guide and name its port — Dallas prices aprox. as Houston, Phoenix aprox. as Los Angeles, Boston aprox. as New Jersey. The calculator prices your exact ZIP code.

Air express vs air freight vs LCL vs FCL vs balikbayan box: which mode wins?

Quick Answer: Air express suits documents and parcels under 30 kg that must arrive in days. Air freight handles 50-500 kg at a lower cost per kilo. LCL sea freight serves 1-10 CBM shipments. FCL wins above roughly 10 CBM. Balikbayan boxes serve personal and household effects only.

Pick the mode by weight, volume and deadline — in that order. International shipping to Philippines rewards planning: the same 300 kg of goods can cost four very different numbers depending on how you move it.

The point most guides miss

A balikbayan box is not a shipping mode. It is a customs regime under CMTA sec. 800(g) and CAO 01-2018. Physically, those boxes ride consolidated LCL in a shared container. What makes them "balikbayan" is the exemption, the Information Sheet and the sender's status — not the vessel.

Per-CBM pricing behaves the same way on every long-haul lane. See how it plays out in our LCL Shipping USA to Guatemala 2026: Instant Quotes breakdown — the structure transfers directly to Manila and Cebu.

How long does shipping to the Philippines take from the US?

Quick Answer: Air express parcels from the USA reach Manila in about 3-7 days door to door. Air freight runs roughly 5-10 days airport to airport. Ocean LCL and FCL take several weeks depending on the gateway and whether the service transships. Customs clearance adds time on top.

We publish transit as mode bands, not invented port-by-port day counts. Carrier-specific FCL transit days by US port were not verified for this lane, and we do not print numbers we cannot stand behind. Your booking confirmation carries the actual carrier schedule.

Why ETD and cut-off are different dates

The vessel ETD is when the ship leaves. The port cut-off is when your container must be gated in, and the documentation cut-off is earlier still. Miss either and your cargo rolls to the next weekly sailing — often a full week lost, with storage accruing meanwhile.

Routing matters too. Los Angeles/Long Beach and Seattle sail transpacific, the shortest water path to Manila. Miami, Savannah, New York/New Jersey and Houston normally transship, adding a relay port and extra days.

For a sense of how we present verified lane-by-lane bands, read Shipping Times USA to El Salvador 2026: 1-25 Days. For long-haul ocean planning on a comparable distance, see How Long Does Shipping From the USA to Chile Take?.

What is a balikbayan box and who qualifies to send one duty-free?

Quick Answer: A balikbayan box is a shipment of personal and household effects only, not in commercial quantities, sent to relatives in the Philippines. Qualified Filipinos While Abroad may send them free of duties and taxes up to three times per calendar year, with total FCA value per sender capped at PHP 150,000.

The rule in force is CMTA sec. 800(g), implemented by CAO 01-2018 (with CMO 18-2018), which replaced CAO 05-2016. CAO 01-2018 secs. 4.1 and 4.2 set the two numbers everyone needs: three shipments per calendar year, and PHP 150,000 total FCA value per sender per year.

Anyone can send — not everyone is exempt

Here is the split that trips people up. Anyone may send a balikbayan box. Only Qualified Filipinos While Abroad are exempt from duties and taxes. That category covers non-resident Filipinos, OFWs and resident Filipinos temporarily abroad (BOC Balikbayan Box Guidelines; CAO 01-2018 sec. 3.22). Any excess over the allowance is taxed.

Each box needs an Information Sheet, which serves as the packing list (CAO 01-2018 sec. 5.1.2). One paperwork relief applies: balikbayan boxes are among the exceptions to the rule that Section 800 importations must secure a Tax Exemption Indorsement from the DOF Revenue Office (CAO 06-2020 sec. 4).

As a title-level note: the BOC created a Balikbayan and OFW Action Center under the Office of the Commissioner in 2026 (CMO 13-2026), renamed Overseas Filipino Workers Affairs and Partnerships by CMO 15-2026. We have read the titles only, not the contents.

How do Philippine customs duties and 12% VAT actually work?

Quick Answer: The Philippines collects nothing on goods valued at PHP 10,000 FOB or FCA and below. Above that, the full dutiable value is taxed, not only the excess. Dutiable value is the transaction value plus transport, loading, unloading, handling and insurance to the Philippine port. VAT on importation is 12%.

The de minimis sits in CMTA sec. 423 and CAO 01-2025 sec. 3.16. It covers every importation for consumption — postal consignment, passenger baggage, consolidated shipment, express consignment or on-board courier, by air or sea (CMO 28-2016 sec. 3.2).

Cross the line by one peso and the whole value is assessed (CMO 28-2016 sec. 3.1). Dutiable value is built under CMTA secs. 104 and 701: transaction value plus transport, loading, unloading, handling and insurance to the Philippine port of entry. VAT on importation is 12%, charged on the customs value plus duties plus excise and other charges (NIRC sec. 107, as amended by RA 9337).

A worked landed-cost illustration

This is an illustration, not a quote. It uses the Philippines' 2023 simple average MFN applied tariff of 6.0 percent (US Country Commercial Guide Philippines, "Import Tariffs", 2026-06-30). Your product's own HS-code rate governs the real figure.

1. Start with goods value: PHP 100,000.
2. Add freight and insurance to the Philippine port: PHP 20,000. Dutiable value = PHP 120,000.
3. Apply duty at 6.0% (illustrative average): PHP 7,200.
4. Add duty to dutiable value: PHP 127,200 as the VAT base.
5. Apply 12% VAT: PHP 15,264.
6. Total duty and VAT: PHP 22,464, before brokerage, storage and other charges.

Informal entry vs formal entry

Goods above the de minimis but under PHP 50,000 are low-value, dutiable goods and clear through informal entry. Goods of PHP 50,000 or over go through formal entry (CMTA sec. 402; CAO 01-2025 secs. 3.23 and 3.28). Formal entry means more documentation and usually a broker.

One more thing to watch. The law directs the Secretary of Finance to review the PHP 10,000 figure every three years using the consumer price index (CMTA sec. 423), and CAO 01-2025 still defines it as PHP 10,000 "or as may be adjusted". No change was confirmed as of October 2026. Confirm current figures with us or a licensed customs broker before you buy or ship.

What items are prohibited from being shipped to the Philippines?

Quick Answer: Used motor vehicles of all types and commercial imports of used clothing and rags are prohibited. Regulated goods — radio and telecom equipment, plants, animals and animal products, firearms, ammunition and explosives — need a permit from their agency before customs will release them.

Two outright bans matter most to families. Used motor vehicles of all types are prohibited under Executive Order 156 of 12 December 2002, sec. 3.1, with the narrow No-Dollar Importation exception described in the next section. Commercial importation of used clothing and rags is prohibited under Republic Act 4653 of 17 June 1966.

Which agency clears what

• NTC — telecommunications and radio equipment.
• Bureau of Plant Industry — plants.
• Bureau of Animal Industry — animals and their products.
• PNP-FEO — firearms, ammunition and explosives.

Those four come straight from the BOC "Guidelines on Arriving Travelers" of 3 April 2023. Moving a pet separately? Start with the USDA APHIS page on Pet Travel From the United States to the Philippines, then confirm the Philippine side with the Bureau of Animal Industry.

Regulated goods also lose the simplified e-commerce treatment even inside the de minimis value, unless they are for personal use and within the limits that agency's regulation allows (CAO 01-2025 sec. 10.4). Goods prohibited by the customs law cannot be imported as e-commerce purchases at all (CAO 01-2025 sec. 11).

If your product is not named above, confirm it with us or a licensed customs broker before booking. We do not guess agency rules. The Philippines - Import Requirements and Documentation guide is a useful starting reference for commercial importers.

Can you ship a car or household goods as a returning resident?

Quick Answer: Returning residents — Filipino nationals abroad at least six months, plus spouse and dependent children — may bring personal and household effects duty-free within value caps. Vehicles, watercraft and aircraft are excluded from that privilege. A personally-owned used car only moves under the No-Dollar Importation Program exception.

CMTA sec. 800(f) and CAO 06-2016 sec. 3.18 define a returning resident as a Filipino national who stayed abroad for at least six months. For the privilege, the term includes the spouse and dependent children.

Any amount above the cap pays the corresponding duties and taxes. The effects must accompany the owner or arrive within a reasonable time that in no case exceeds sixty (60) days after the owner's return (CMTA sec. 800(f)). They must not be in commercial quantities and must not be for barter, sale or hire.

Paperwork and timing

• Unaccompanied shipments need a Duty and Tax Exemption Certificate (TEC) from the Revenue Office of the Department of Finance (CAO 06-2016 sec. 4.4; BOC Guidelines on Arriving Travelers, 3 Apr 2023).
• A shipment arriving before its owner is tentatively assessed and conditionally released on a cash bond equal to 100% of the assessed duties and taxes (CAO 06-2016 sec. 9).
• CMO 07-2025 of 23 October 2025 set up e-TES Lite, a digital platform for online filing, validation and confirmation of tax and duty exemption applications.

OFWs get an extra privilege: home appliances and durables, one of each kind, once a calendar year, up to PHP 150,000 of FCA value (CMTA sec. 800(f); CAO 06-2016 sec. 6).

The vehicle question, answered plainly

Vehicles, watercraft and aircraft are excluded from the returning-resident privilege, and personally-owned motor vehicles are not entitled to the Section 800(f) exemption (CMTA sec. 800(f); CAO 06-2016 sec. 7; CMO 15-2017 sec. 3.5). Vehicles, vessels, aircraft and machinery for use in manufacture also fall outside the Section 800(i) exemption for people coming to settle.

The legal route for a used car is the No-Dollar Importation Program exception in Executive Order 156 sec. 3.1 — the vehicle must be owned by and for the personal use of a returning resident or immigrant, and not resold for at least three years. The BOC names the DTI Fair Trade Bureau (DTI-FTEB) as the agency, with a Certificate of Authority to Import and an Authority to Release Import Goods (ATRIG) as the papers (BOC Guidelines on Arriving Travelers, 3 Apr 2023).

Moving a household from the Northeast? Those origins route through the Port of New York and New Jersey — our guide to International Movers New York: All You Need to Know covers packing, survey and gateway handling for that corridor.

How do you book, document and track a shipment to the Philippines?

Quick Answer: Price your lane in the calculator on this page, confirm the booking, then prepare the commercial invoice, packing list and bill of lading or air waybill. Balikbayan boxes add the Information Sheet. Cargo moves to the gateway, sails or flies, then clears the Bureau of Customs.

1. Quote your exact origin and destination at the calculator on this page.
2. Confirm the booking and note both the documentation cut-off and the port cut-off.
3. Pack and label every box with the consignee name and a numbered list.
4. Prepare documents — invoice, packing list, B/L or AWB, Information Sheet where it applies.
5. Hand over cargo at the gateway or accept our pickup.
6. Sail or fly, then track against the carrier schedule.
7. Clear the Bureau of Customs, then take last-mile delivery.

Document checklist

• Commercial invoice with honest values and clear descriptions.
• Detailed packing list, item by item.
• Bill of Lading (B/L) for ocean, or Air Waybill (AWB) for air.
• Consignee ID and TIN where required.
• Information Sheet for every balikbayan box.
• Affidavit of Ownership, notarized or authenticated at a Philippine consulate, for personal-effects claims.

Write the address the Philippine way

Last-mile failures almost always trace to a bad address. Use this order: recipient name, unit or house number and street, barangay, city or municipality, province, ZIP code, PHILIPPINES — plus a working mobile number. A missing barangay can delay or derail a provincial delivery.

Which Incoterm should you use?

DDP looks clean to a Philippine receiver — nothing to pay on arrival. It also exposes the US seller to Philippine import-side liability, including reassessment and penalties. DAP keeps delivery responsibility with the seller while duty and VAT stay with the importer of record. Most families are better served by DAP.

Courier-level compliance works the same way across corridors — our USA to Central America International Courier: Customs Requirements & Compliance Guide walks through the same declaration discipline we apply on Philippine parcels.

Last point on holds. The three descriptions that cost the most time are undervalued invoices, vague wording like "gifts", and parcels declared "of no commercial value" — CAO 01-2025 bars that last one from e-commerce processing outright. Add cargo insurance before departure, keep photos of packed contents, and file any claim with the invoice and packing list attached.

Shipping to the Philippines from USA is straightforward once you know which regime applies and which gateway serves your state. As a licensed forwarder handling thousands of shipments a year across US export lanes, we price the freight, prepare the documentation and tell you plainly when a shipment needs a licensed customs broker instead. Price your box, your pallet, your container or your car with the calculator on this page — real numbers in seconds, no email, no follow-up calls.