Landed cost calculator
The supplier's invoice is not your cost. Add freight, insurance, duty, import tax and clearing fees to find the real cost of one unit — the number every pricing decision should start from.
How the calculation works
Customs valuation rules differ between countries, and the details matter. This calculator uses the most common structure, and shows each component separately so you can adjust any part of it to match your jurisdiction.
- Goods cost = supplier price per unit × quantity.
- Logistics and fees = freight + insurance + brokerage and clearance + other fees.
- Duty base = goods cost + freight + insurance. This approximates a CIF-based valuation, which is what many authorities use.
- Duty = duty base × duty rate.
- Import tax base = duty base + duty, plus brokerage and other fees if you enable that option.
- Import tax = tax base × tax rate.
- Total landed cost = goods + logistics + duty + import tax.
- Landed cost per unit = total landed cost ÷ quantity.
The calculator also reports the per-unit cost excluding import tax, which is the number a tax-registered business should generally price from if the import tax is recoverable as input tax.
A worked example
Take the default figures: 100 units at 12.50 each, freight 850, insurance 60, brokerage 120, other fees 90, duty 6.5%, import tax 20%, and a planned sell price of 39.00 per unit.
| Line | Working | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Goods cost | 100 × 12.50 | 1,250.00 |
| Logistics and fees | 850 + 60 + 120 + 90 | 1,120.00 |
| Duty base | 1,250 + 850 + 60 | 2,160.00 |
| Duty at 6.5% | 2,160 × 0.065 | 140.40 |
| Import tax base | 2,160 + 140.40 | 2,300.40 |
| Import tax at 20% | 2,300.40 × 0.20 | 460.08 |
| Total landed cost | 1,250 + 1,120 + 140.40 + 460.08 | 2,970.48 |
| Cost per unit | 2,970.48 ÷ 100 | 29.70 |
At a sell price of 39.00, the margin per unit is 9.30, which is a margin of 23.8% and a markup of 31.3%. Note how far that is from the 6.5% duty rate many people assume is the only extra cost: the supplier's 12.50 unit price became 29.70 landed. If the importer can recover the 460.08 of import tax, the pricing figure becomes 25.10 per unit and the margin at 39.00 improves to 35.6% — which is worth knowing before deciding to price from the tax-inclusive number.
Where the biggest improvements usually are
- Classification. A different, defensible HS code can change the duty rate substantially. This is a technical exercise — get it wrong deliberately and the liability follows you.
- Origin and trade agreements. Preferential origin can reduce or eliminate duty, but it requires evidence that the goods qualify.
- Consolidation. Moving from quarterly small shipments to larger, less frequent ones spreads fixed clearing costs over more units.
- Incoterm position. Moving from a term where you pay the freight to one where the supplier does changes the freight line — and usually the price they quote you along with it. See the Incoterms guide.
- Import tax recovery. If you are entitled to reclaim import tax and are not doing so, that is often the single largest number on this page.
Frequently asked questions
Is the duty base the same as the value I paid?
Not always. Many customs authorities assess duty on a value that includes the goods plus certain freight and insurance costs — roughly the CIF value — rather than on the invoice alone. This calculator uses goods plus freight plus insurance as the duty base by default, and lets you add brokerage and other fees to the tax base with a single checkbox, because practices differ between jurisdictions.
Should I include import tax in my unit cost?
It depends on whether you can recover it. If you are registered for the relevant tax and can reclaim import tax as input tax, then it is a cash-flow item rather than a cost, and the per-unit figure excluding tax is the one to price from. If you cannot recover it — for example, a consumer or a non-registered business — then it is a real cost and belongs in the landed cost.
Why does my landed cost change so much with quantity?
Because freight, brokerage and fixed clearing charges do not scale with the number of units. Doubling the quantity of goods typically does not double the freight, so the per-unit overhead halves. This is also why small first orders from overseas suppliers are usually much more expensive per unit than the price list suggests.
Does the calculator include currency conversion?
No — enter everything in one currency after conversion, and use the rate you would actually transact at, including any spread your bank or payment provider applies. The rate on a search engine result is a mid-market rate and is almost never the rate you receive.