Duty Drawback Calculator
Estimate recoverable duties on exported imports — 99% drawback math with eligibility share and program costs.
US drawback refunds 99% of duties (including Section 301 in most cases) on goods exported or destroyed — unused merchandise, manufacturing and substitution flavors each have their own record requirements.
Sources & references
- 19 USC 1313 / CBP drawback regulations (19 CFR 190)
- TFTEA — substitution standard and timeframes
Duty rates, fee amounts and tax structures change with budgets and notifications — figures computed here use the structure described and YOUR entered rates, as a planning estimate. Confirm the live rate for your HS code and any exemptions with your customs broker before relying on the total.
Duty drawback is the trade world's least-claimed refund: import duties (99% of them in the US scheme) come back when the goods — or substitutable equivalents, or products manufactured from them — are exported or destroyed. Industry estimates have long suggested most eligible drawback goes unclaimed, largely because importers assume the program is too complex to pay. This calculator answers the only question that matters first: at your duty spend and export share, what's the net recovery after program costs?
About Duty Drawback Calculator
The three US flavors map to business models: UNUSED merchandise drawback (imported, then exported substantially unchanged — distributors and e-commerce returns); MANUFACTURING drawback (imported inputs consumed in exported products — requires a ruling but recovers duty on materials); and SUBSTITUTION drawback (the modern superpower — exports of goods classifiable under the same 8-digit HTS as the imports qualify, even when the physical units differ, post-TFTEA). Substitution turned many 'we can't trace the exact units' programs viable overnight. Two planning facts sharpen the math: Section 301 China duties are drawback-eligible (which is what pushed many programs from marginal to compelling — 25% extra duty recovered at 99% changes everything), and claims reach back years (five-year framework under TFTEA), so a NEW program's first filing often recovers a retroactive pile that dwarfs the annual run rate. If the calculator's net line is meaningfully positive, the next call is a drawback specialist.
How to use Duty Drawback Calculator
- 1Set each input — duties paid on imports (annual), share re-exported / used in exports, drawback rate, program costs (broker/filing, annual) — using your own figures.
- 2The estimate recomputes instantly as you type; no submit button, no waiting.
- 3Review the line-item breakdown to see how each component contributes to the total.
- 4Click “Copy quote” to paste the itemised result into an email, quote or audit note.
Why use Duty Drawback Calculator?
- ✓Itemised line-by-line breakdown, not just a single opaque total
- ✓Copy-ready output for emails, quotes and audit notes
- ✓Recomputes live as you type — compare scenarios in seconds
- ✓Free and private — nothing you enter leaves your browser
Frequently asked questions
What kinds of duty drawback exist in the US?+
Three main types under 19 USC 1313: unused merchandise (§j — import, export unchanged), manufacturing (§a/b — imported materials into exported products, ruling required), and substitution variants of both (same 8-digit HTS matching post-TFTEA). Rejected merchandise drawback covers returns to vendor. Each refunds 99% of eligible duties, taxes and fees; each has distinct record demands — substitution's relaxed tracing is why programs boomed after 2018.
Are Section 301 tariffs recoverable through drawback?+
Yes — Section 301 duties are drawback-eligible (unlike Section 232 steel/aluminum duties, which were excluded). For China-sourced importers paying 25% additional duty, this single fact often multiplies program value four-fold: a product carrying 4% column-1 plus 25% §301 recovers ~29% × 99% of value on the exported share. It's the main reason drawback went from sleepy to strategic after 2018.
How far back can drawback claims reach?+
The TFTEA framework allows claims within five years of the import date — so a program started today files on years of history at once. That retroactive harvest is typically the program's payback case: setup and record-assembly costs amortise against the accumulated pile, and the steady-state annual recovery then runs at low marginal cost. Records are the constraint: entries, export proofs and (for manufacturing) consumption data must connect.
What does running a drawback program cost?+
Specialist filers typically charge setup plus a contingency (10–20% of recoveries) or fixed per-claim fees; in-house programs trade fees for staff time and software. Add a one-time accelerated-payment bond if you want refunds before claim liquidation. The calculator's cost line exists because drawback is a business case, not a windfall — at small duty spend × low export share, the honest answer is sometimes 'not worth it', and the math should say so.
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