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Ship Household or NOT

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Globbetrotter
  5/11/2016 14:32 EST

I am learning of the tax associated with shipping household items. Does it make sense to ship a 2 bedroom house of goods from US to Bermuda? Seems very costly..Work contract is for 3 years..

Philparkin
  5/11/2016 14:52 EST

Assuming you are new to the island, you have 90 days from landing in which to get your items through Customs without paying duty. Unless they are < 6 months old, in which case you will have to pay (so you may have to produce receipts for anything which looks new).

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Globbetrotter
  5/11/2016 14:57 EST

CUSTOMS REGULATIONS
A customs officer will be at residence at time of delivery assessing duties item by item. Customs value is generally lower than what the declared value and it is recommended that the customer is present at the time of clearance to answer the customs officers' questions at time of unloading and assessment.

A Customs Bond (Deposit) of 33.38% value of the shipment is required and usually determined by the insured value of the goods. Should the duty and customs fees be less than the deposit, the difference will be refunded to the customer. Accordingly, if the duties and fees are more than the deposit, the difference will be billed to the customer.

Actual duties and taxes will vary dependent upon the items in the shipment. Indicative duties are as follows:

Used clothing and books are duty free
Appliances 33.4% of customs value
Furniture and sporting goods 22.25% of customs value
Antiques 8.5% of customs value
Any person may import duty free up to 200 cigarettes and 50 cigars, plus 1.137 liters of spirits and 1.137 liters of wine.
DOCUMENTS REQUIRED
The following documents are required for customs clearance of household goods and personal effects into Bermuda:

Inventory
Cash value sheet with fair depreciated values for everything on the inventory
Signed customs letter
Copy of the Standard Work Permit (not Temporary Work Permit) if applying for duty exemption
“Certificate of Transfer of Residence Allowance”. This is mandatory when applying for duty exemption and should be requested upon arrival. HM Customs will only issue this certificate if you are in possession of a Standard Work Permit (or proof of Bermuda Citizenship).
Bermuda citizens returning home after living abroad for more than a year can also apply for duty exemption. Proof of absence is required such as a lease agreement or electricity bill. Such customers are only eligible for this exemption if thegoods arrive within 90 days of customer’s arrival back to the island. Exemption is only on items that are over six months old.
Items newer than 6-months must be noted as “new” on the Cash Value Sheet with the Retail Value of the goods and any supporting invoice. Full customs duty will apply to these items. A signed CAPS Trader Registration Form is needed to acquire a CAPS number in order for your goods to be duty free

Globbetrotter
  5/11/2016 15:00 EST

Phil- are you suggesting that there is zero cost if my items are over 6 months old and I pick them up within 90 days?
I pulled the documents from the website and it suggest, Customs collects and holds a deposit of 33% of the insurance value no matter what and if i am lucky, I may see some of the deposit returned.

Please advise if I am interpreting this item correctly. Thanks

Philparkin
  5/11/2016 15:22 EST

That is what I am suggesting. When you land, you should be given a form called a 'Certificate of Transfer of Residence'.

This contains the following details (plus more not listed):

Date of Issue
Date of Expiry (3 months after Date of Issue)
Name
DOB
Passport Number
Proof of Residency (probably work permit)
Name of Employer
Address
Contact Number

Get your stuff into Bermuda before Date of Expiry and all you pay is shipping + wharfage + some other smaller charges I can't remember in detail.

Steve4jazz
  11/12/2016 22:31 EST

Can anyone tell me if I bring in my used cell phone, work laptop, plus
a used electric guitar and some equipment, will I have to pay duty on these items?

Thanks

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davetecsgirl
  11/13/2016 07:21 EST

you have 90 days grace from when you move here to bring your items over at duty free...

skater
  11/13/2016 09:00 EST

You have 90 days to ship duty-free. I would hold off on shipping a household until you decide you want to stay. Household items are plentiful in consignment shops and on EMoo Bermuda - which serves as the island's online classifieds.

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