How LandedLlama builds an import estimate
An estimate combines your product, origin, customs value, quantities and entry date with the tariff data available for that date. The result is estimated duties and modeled fees, with unresolved amounts and coverage limits shown explicitly.
Methodology reviewed October 5, 2026
From shipment facts to an estimate
- Confirm the U.S. HTS classification from the actual product specifications. Search results help you find candidates; they do not constitute a binding classification.
- Use country of origin, not simply the port or warehouse the shipment leaves. A trade preference requires its own supporting eligibility evidence.
- Enter the total customs value for the goods covered by the calculation and any quantities needed by a specific or compound duty. FOB is a possible starting point, not an automatic final customs value.
- Choose the planned entry date and transport mode. Complete the inputs before pressing Calculate; opening a guide, scenario or example does not submit a calculation.
- Read the total, charge lines, tariff revision, source references and warnings together. If an amount is unknown, the displayed subtotal is incomplete; an unknown charge is not zero.
Sources and review
Our tariff classifications and base rates use USITC HTS releases. Additional measures are researched through official CBP guidance, USTR, Federal Register and relevant government notices. The estimate identifies its available release and sources. Our explanatory guides distinguish official rules from LandedLlama’s own illustrative arithmetic and product behavior. Source-check dates describe our review, not the legal effective date of a rule.
New guides are reviewed in English and Spanish before publication. We review content sensitive to tariff or regulatory changes weekly and other guides monthly. A substantive revision needs a new factual and editorial review. The visible review date is updated when that review is completed.
What the total can and cannot tell you
LandedLlama estimates the duties and fees modeled for the supplied inputs. It does not file an entry, issue a binding CBP ruling, certify preferential origin or quote freight and brokerage. AD/CVD scope is not comprehensively covered, and pending or unavailable measures can leave additional liability outside the figure. Freight, insurance, storage, examinations and other services need their own documented budgets. Confirm classification, eligibility and the payable amount with your customs broker before ordering or filing.