The FY2027 customs user fees become effective October 1, 2026, changing merchandise processing fee limits and multiple arrival, informal entry, and permit charges. Customs brokers, importers of record, finance teams, and ABI providers need coordinated system and billing updates to prevent assessment errors at the fiscal-year transition.
What Changes Under the FY2027 Fee Schedule
The annual inflation adjustment increases numerous customs user fees while leaving the merchandise processing fee’s ad valorem rate unchanged. The adjustment reflects a 2.84% year-over-year increase in the applicable CPI-U average, exceeding the threshold that generally triggers annual revisions under 19 CFR 24.22(k).
New MPF Minimum and Maximum
For formal entries subject to the merchandise processing fee, the MPF rate remains 0.3464% of the applicable merchandise value. Effective October 1, 2026, however, the minimum assessment rises to $34.58 and the maximum increases to $670.86.
These limits materially affect lower- and higher-value entries. Based on the unchanged rate, an otherwise subject entry with an assessable value below approximately $9,983 will generally reach the new minimum. An entry with a value above approximately $193,666 will generally reach the maximum. Preferential tariff treatment, statutory exemptions, entry type, and other transaction-specific factors can change whether MPF applies, so these thresholds should not replace entry-level eligibility logic.
The manual entry or release surcharge also increases to $4.15. Broker fee engines must distinguish this surcharge from the MPF calculation rather than incorporating it into the minimum or maximum.
Other Entry, Arrival, and Permit Fees
The automated informal entry fee for an entry not prepared by CBP becomes $2.77. Related informal entry charges become $8.30 for a manual entry not prepared by CBP and $12.45 when CBP prepares the manual entry. The express consignment or centralized hub fee is $1.38 per waybill, while the dutiable mail fee rises to $7.61.
Other adjusted amounts include:
- Commercial vessel arrival: $604.47
- Commercial vessel calendar-year maximum: $8,237.06
- Commercial truck arrival, CBP component: $7.60
- Customs broker permit user fee: $190.88
The broker permit amount generally applies to permits issued on or after October 1, 2026, as well as applicable calendar-year 2027 annual payments.
Operational Updates Required Before October 1
A fee change is not merely a reference-table update. It can affect entry calculations, customer invoices, landed-cost estimates, accruals, crossing transactions, and exception controls. Implementation ownership should therefore extend beyond the customs compliance team to finance, operations, product management, and software support.
Update Entry and ABI Calculation Logic
Entry-summary fee calculators should retain the 0.3464% MPF rate while replacing the prior minimum and maximum with $34.58 and $670.86. Teams should also load the $4.15 manual surcharge and verify that entry-type logic assigns the correct informal fee.
ABI vendors and self-filing importers should test calculations at values immediately below, at, and above both MPF thresholds. Useful scenarios include amended entries, multiple-line summaries, duty-free merchandise that remains subject to MPF, and transactions claiming a program or origin treatment that may provide an exemption.
The effective date should be driven by the legally relevant transaction date used by the filing workflow, not simply the invoice date or the date on which a software release is installed. Any system that caches fees by customer, port, entry type, or mode should be checked for stale values.
Revise Billing and Landed-Cost Models
Broker invoice templates, disbursement schedules, customer rate cards, and importer accrual models must reflect the new amounts. Separately labeled government fees should remain distinguishable from brokerage service charges to support reconciliation and customer review.
Importers using projected landed costs should update both MPF caps and non-entry fees. Although a one-dollar increase in the minimum MPF may appear modest on a single transaction, the aggregate effect can be significant across high-volume portfolios concentrated below the minimum threshold.
Treat Truck Charges as Separate Components
The FY2027 CBP commercial truck arrival fee is $7.60, but it is not necessarily the total border charge. When the USDA APHIS agricultural quarantine and inspection fee also applies, the additional amount is $14.50, producing a combined single-crossing charge of $22.10.
After 18 single-crossing fees have been paid and used for a vehicle identification number in a DTOPS account during the calendar year, subsequent qualifying crossings generally collect only the $14.50 AQI component. Billing logic should preserve this distinction rather than treating $7.60 or $22.10 as a universal all-in rate.
Building a Controlled FY2027 Fee Transition
Strong implementation controls reduce the likelihood of underbilling, customer disputes, manual corrections, and inconsistent government-fee treatment. A structured rollout should include documented ownership, effective-dated configuration, representative test cases, and post-deployment monitoring.
Pre-Implementation Control Checklist
Before October 1, brokers, importers, and technology providers should complete the following actions:
- Load the $34.58 MPF minimum and $670.86 maximum while retaining the 0.3464% rate.
- Configure the $4.15 manual entry or release surcharge separately.
- Update informal entry, dutiable mail, express consignment, vessel arrival, truck arrival, and broker permit tables.
- Confirm whether customer-specific invoice mappings rely on hard-coded amounts.
- Validate that the truck crossing workflow can separate the $7.60 CBP fee from the $14.50 AQI fee.
- Test ACE and ABI messages for formal, informal, manual, and automated scenarios.
- Update landed-cost assumptions, finance accruals, operating procedures, and customer communications.
- Record the effective date and applicable authority in internal release documentation.
Parallel testing is particularly valuable when multiple systems calculate or display the same fee. The expected amount should match across entry preparation, accounting, customer billing, reporting, and audit extracts.
Post-Effective-Date Monitoring
Organizations should review transactions filed on and immediately after October 1 for incorrect caps, duplicate surcharges, legacy informal fees, and mismatches between entry data and invoices. Exception reports can identify MPF amounts outside the new minimum and maximum, subject to valid exemptions or special processing.
Finance and compliance teams should also reconcile the first several days of government-fee disbursements against billing output. Any override capability should require a reason code and retain the original calculated amount, user identity, timestamp, and approval history. This audit trail makes it easier to distinguish legitimate exceptions from configuration failures.
- CBP issued CSMS #69847323 on September 21, 2026, confirming the Customs Broker Permit User Fee rises from $185.38 to $190.88 effective October 1, 2026 (per the July 31 FR notice); the new amount applies to all permits issued on or after that date and to all CY2027 annual payments (due date still pending a future FR notice).
- Industry advisories in mid-to-late September 2026 (e.g., GHY on Sept. 21/updated Sept. 22, C.H. Robinson on Sept. 18, EMO Trans on Sept. 21) reiterated the MPF changes—minimum $34.58 (from $33.58), maximum $670.86 (from $651.50), ad valorem rate unchanged at 0.3464%—and urged brokers/IORs to update fee tables, ACE entry-summary edits, invoices, and landed-cost estimates before the fiscal-year flip.
- Logistics firms posted reminders on X around September 21–22, 2026, highlighting the MPF increases’ impact on landed costs alongside other upcoming CBP changes (e.g., Janel Group noting expanded duties and CAPE Phase 3).
- No additional regulatory or policy changes to the underlying inflation methodology (19 CFR 24.22(k) and 24.23) or FAST Act framework have been announced in the past 30 days; activity has focused on operational implementation of the July 31, 2026, notice (2.84% CPI-U increase triggering a 38.322% cumulative adjustment from the FY2014 base).
Frequently Asked Questions
When Do the FY2027 Customs User Fees Take Effect?
The adjusted fees are required beginning October 1, 2026, the first day of the federal fiscal year. Systems should use effective-dated tables so that earlier transactions retain the applicable prior-year amount while qualifying transactions on or after the transition use the FY2027 schedule.
Is the MPF Percentage Rate Changing?
No. The merchandise processing fee rate remains 0.3464%. Only the applicable minimum and maximum change, increasing to $34.58 and $670.86. Calculation engines should therefore preserve the percentage rate while updating the floor and ceiling used to determine the final MPF amount.
Which Transactions Are Most Affected by the New MPF Limits?
Lower-value formal entries that calculate below the new minimum and higher-value entries that exceed the new maximum will experience the clearest change. Mid-range entries that produce an MPF between $34.58 and $670.86 remain governed by the unchanged 0.3464% rate. Exemptions may apply depending on origin, trade program, or entry type.
Is the $7.60 Commercial Truck Fee the Total Crossing Charge?
Not always. The $7.60 amount is the CBP component. When the $14.50 USDA APHIS AQI fee also applies, the combined single-crossing amount is $22.10. Systems and invoices should maintain the two components separately because annual usage rules and agency treatment differ.
What Happens to the Customs Broker Permit User Fee?
The customs broker permit user fee increases to $190.88. The amount generally applies to permits issued on or after October 1, 2026, and to applicable calendar-year 2027 annual payments. Brokerages should update permit administration schedules, payable forecasts, and internal fee references accordingly.
How Should Companies Validate Their Software Updates?
Testing should cover values below, at, and above the MPF thresholds, along with manual entries, informal entries, express shipments, vessel arrivals, and truck crossings. Results should be compared across ABI calculations, ACE responses, accounting records, customer invoices, and landed-cost reports.
How Stable Software Can Help
Automating Effective-Dated Fee Operations
Stable Software helps customs brokers and importers manage complex entry, billing, and compliance workflows without relying on fragmented spreadsheets or hard-coded fee tables. Effective-dated configuration, centralized operational data, automated calculations, and structured exception handling can reduce the risk of applying obsolete MPF limits or misclassifying arrival and processing fees.
Trade teams can also build more reliable controls around customer billing, transaction review, audit trails, and system changes at fiscal-year boundaries. By connecting compliance requirements with day-to-day brokerage operations, Stable supports scalable growth while preserving visibility and accountability. Learn more about modernizing customs operations at stablesoftware.com.
Resources
| Type | Resource |
|---|---|
| Primary FR notice | Customs User Fees To Be Adjusted for Inflation in Fiscal Year 2027 (CBP Dec. 26-14, 91 FR 48398) |
