What Is the Merchandise Processing Fee (MPF)? 2026 Rates, Caps & Formula

When importers budget for a shipment, they usually focus on the tariff rate — the duty percentage tied to their product. But almost every formal entry into the United States also carries a separate federal charge that has nothing to do with the product itself: the Merchandise Processing Fee, or MPF. It is collected by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to cover the cost of processing your entry, and it shows up on the same paperwork as your duty.

MPF is small in percentage terms, but it is easy to miscalculate because it is not a flat percentage — it has both a floor and a ceiling. On a low-value shipment you pay more than the percentage suggests; on a high-value one you pay far less. This guide explains exactly how MPF works in 2026, walks through worked examples at three different values, and shows how it differs from import duty and from the Harbor Maintenance Fee.

What the Merchandise Processing Fee actually is

MPF is a user fee, not a tax on the goods themselves. The distinction matters. A tariff (or duty) is calculated from your product's classification and country of origin, and the rate can be anywhere from zero to over 100%. MPF, by contrast, is a fixed administrative charge that compensates CBP for the work of reviewing, releasing, and processing your import entry — the same fee structure regardless of what you are importing.

Because it is a processing fee, MPF applies to the entry as a whole, not to individual line items. One entry can cover dozens of products under different HTS codes, but you pay one MPF for the entire entry. That is also why the cap matters so much: no matter how large the entry, the fee stops growing once it hits the ceiling.

MPF is charged in addition to any duty. Even when your product qualifies for a 0% duty rate, you can still owe MPF — the two are calculated and collected separately.

The exact MPF formula for 2026

On a formal entry, MPF is an ad valorem fee — meaning it is a percentage of value. The 2026 rate is 0.3464% of the customs value of your merchandise. But that percentage is bounded on both sides:

• Rate: 0.3464% of the customs value of the entry.
• Minimum: $33.58 per entry — if the percentage comes out below this, you pay the floor.
• Maximum: $651.50 per entry — if the percentage comes out above this, you pay the ceiling.

Where the floor and ceiling kick in (worked examples)

Because of the minimum and maximum, MPF behaves differently across the value range. There is a band in the middle where you pay the straight percentage, but below and above that band the fixed bounds take over. The two break points are roughly $9,693 (where 0.3464% equals the $33.58 floor) and roughly $188,077 (where 0.3464% equals the $651.50 ceiling). Here is how it plays out at three customs values:

• $5,000 customs value: 0.3464% × $5,000 = $17.32. That is below the $33.58 floor, so you pay the minimum of $33.58.
• $100,000 customs value: 0.3464% × $100,000 = $346.40. That sits comfortably inside the band, so you pay $346.40 — the straight percentage.
• $250,000 customs value: 0.3464% × $250,000 = $866.00. That exceeds the $651.50 ceiling, so you pay the maximum of $651.50.

Formal vs. informal entries

Everything above describes the ad valorem MPF, which applies to formal entries — generally commercial shipments valued over $2,500. Most commercial imports of any meaningful size are formal entries, which is why the 0.3464% rate with its floor and ceiling is the version most importers deal with.

For informal entries — typically lower-value shipments and certain non-commercial imports — MPF is not a percentage at all. Instead, CBP charges a small flat fee per entry (a fixed dollar amount, lower than the formal-entry minimum). The flat informal fee replaces the ad valorem calculation entirely; there is no percentage and no cap to worry about.

Knowing which type of entry you are filing tells you immediately which MPF rule applies. If you are working through a customs broker, the entry type is determined for you, but it is worth understanding because it changes the fee from a percentage into a flat charge.

When MPF does not apply: exemptions

MPF is broad but not universal. The most important exemptions for commercial importers come from free trade agreements. Goods that qualify for preferential treatment under certain FTAs are exempt from MPF — historically this has included goods qualifying under agreements such as the U.S.-Australia, U.S.-Chile, and several others, and goods qualifying as originating under USMCA are likewise treated favorably. The key point is that the exemption depends on the goods actually qualifying under the agreement's rules of origin, not merely on shipping from a partner country.

Beyond FTA-qualifying goods, certain categories are exempt or excluded — for example, some products of designated beneficiary countries under preference programs, and specific classes of goods that CBP does not assess the fee on. Because the exemption rules are tied to specific HTS provisions and origin claims, the only reliable way to know is to check the qualification for your exact product and program rather than assume.

One thing exemptions do not change: if your goods do not qualify, MPF applies even when the duty rate is zero. A 0% duty product is not automatically a 0% MPF product.

How MPF differs from duty

It is worth being precise about the difference, because the two are often lumped together as "what I pay customs." Duty is a tariff on the product — its rate is driven by the HTS classification and the country of origin, and it can stack multiple layers (a base most-favored-nation rate plus trade-remedy duties like Section 301 or IEEPA tariffs). MPF is a single, product-agnostic processing fee with a fixed rate and fixed bounds.

Duty scales without limit: double the value and you roughly double the duty. MPF does not — it stops at $651.50 no matter how large the entry. And while duty can legitimately be zero for many products, MPF still applies to most formal entries regardless. When you estimate total import cost, you need both numbers. Our tariff calculator includes MPF in its total so you see duty and fees together rather than just the headline tariff rate.

How MPF differs from the Harbor Maintenance Fee (HMF)

MPF is frequently confused with the Harbor Maintenance Fee, but they are distinct charges with different rules. HMF is 0.125% of the customs value and — crucially — it applies only to cargo arriving by ocean. Air freight and most land shipments do not incur HMF at all. There is no minimum and no maximum on HMF; it is a straight percentage of value.

So an ocean shipment can carry both fees: MPF (clamped between $33.58 and $651.50) and HMF (a flat 0.125% with no cap). An air shipment of the same goods would carry MPF but no HMF. On a high-value ocean entry, HMF can actually exceed MPF, because HMF keeps scaling while MPF has already hit its ceiling. To see duty, MPF, and HMF combined into a true total, use the landed cost calculator.

Where MPF shows up on CBP Form 7501

On the entry summary — CBP Form 7501, the document that finalizes your entry and the duties and fees owed — MPF appears as a separate line in the fees section, identified by its own user-fee class code. It is listed alongside any HMF and totaled together with the duty into the grand total payable to CBP.

Reviewing the 7501 is the single best habit for catching fee errors. Because MPF has a floor and ceiling, an incorrectly entered customs value can push the fee to the wrong side of a bound — for example, paying the full percentage on a high-value entry that should have been capped at $651.50. If you import under an FTA, the 7501 is also where you confirm that an MPF exemption was actually claimed rather than silently paid.

Getting MPF right across every entry

For a single shipment, MPF is a quick calculation: take 0.3464% of your customs value, then clamp it between $33.58 and $651.50. The complexity appears at scale — across many entries, with FTA exemptions to claim, ocean shipments adding HMF, and annual inflation adjustments to the floor and ceiling that quietly change the math each fiscal year.

Tariffloop folds MPF into the full cost picture automatically. The calculators on this site apply the current rate, floor, and ceiling for you and combine them with duty and HMF, so the number you see is the number that lands on your 7501 — not just the headline tariff rate. When you are estimating a sourcing decision or quoting a customer, that complete figure is what protects your margin.