CBP Adjusts Customs User Fees for Fiscal Year 2027: Merchandise Processing Fee Minimum Rises to $34.58 and Maximum to $670.86 From October 1, 2026
CBP published a Federal Register notice on July 31, 2026 adjusting customs COBRA user fees for inflation for Fiscal Year 2027, as the FAST Act requires when CPI-U rises more than 1%; CBP measured the increase at 2.84%. From October 1, 2026, the minimum Merchandise Processing Fee on formal entries is $34.58 (up from $33.58 in FY2026) and the maximum is $670.86 (up from $651.50). The 0.3464% ad valorem MPF rate is unchanged, so only low-value and high-value formal entries that hit the floor or cap see a change.
Real-World Impact
A formal entry valued at $5,000 works out to $17.32 at the 0.3464% rate, so the minimum applies: MPF goes from $33.58 to $34.58 (+$1.00). An entry valued at $250,000 would be $866 at the ad valorem rate, so the cap applies: MPF goes from $651.50 to $670.86 (+$19.36). Entries between those two thresholds pay the same 0.3464% as before.
Key Points
- The adjusted fees are required as of October 1, 2026, the start of Fiscal Year 2027
- Minimum Merchandise Processing Fee: $34.58 (FY2026: $33.58); maximum: $670.86 (FY2026: $651.50)
- The MPF ad valorem rate stays at 0.3464% — only the minimum and maximum limits are adjusted
- Automated informal entry or release fee (not prepared by CBP personnel) is adjusted to $2.77 (FY2026: $2.69)
- Express consignment carrier/centralized hub facility fee per individual waybill is adjusted to $1.38 (FY2026: $1.34)
- CBP made the adjustment because CPI-U rose 2.84% between the June 2024–May 2025 and June 2025–May 2026 periods, above the FAST Act's 1% trigger
What You Should Do Now
- 1Update the MPF minimum and maximum in your landed-cost and FBA profitability calculations for entries filed on or after October 1, 2026
- 2Review your entry pattern: if many shipments sit at the MPF minimum, consolidating them into fewer, larger entries reduces the number of minimum fees paid
- 3Check your customs broker's invoices for entries after October 1, 2026 to confirm the new FY2027 amounts are being applied