Import duty, including Section 301 tariffs on Chinese-made goods, is charged on the customs value of your goods (usually the factory FOB price), not your Amazon price, and it adds straight to your landed cost per unit. For an example $24.99 pet product with a $6.00 factory cost and illustrative duty rates, net profit per unit is $6.51 at 0% duty, $5.01 at 25% and $3.51 at 50% at the non-peak 2026 Amazon FBA fee with January to September storage, or $6.09, $4.59 and $3.09 from October 15 to December 31. To keep the same profit, raise the price $1.33 for every $1 of duty, because the 15% referral fee and 10% ad spend take 25 cents of every extra dollar.
Example product, made-up costs: pet category, 12 oz in a 9 x 6 x 2.5 in box, $1.00 freight, $0.35 FBA inbound and a 1% damage allowance per unit, ads at 10% of sales, non-peak FBA fee and January to September storage. Tariff rates are examples, not your product's rate.
Duty is charged on factory cost, not your Amazon price
This is the tariff mistake I see most. Duty is charged on the customs value of the goods: generally what you paid the seller, usually the factory FOB price on your commercial invoice. Not your Amazon price, and in the US, not the ocean freight you pay separately.
So a 25% tariff on a product that costs $6.00 at the factory is $1.50 a unit, not 25% of a $24.99 selling price ($6.25).
Section 301 tariffs are extra duties on many China-origin goods, on top of the normal HTS rate, and the rates add: a 4% base rate plus a 25% Section 301 rate is 29% (example rates). Other additional duties in force when your goods enter can add on top as well, but not every combination stacks, so have your customs broker confirm the combined rate.
How the calculator handles it
The free calculator multiplies your Unit Manufacture Cost by the rate you enter in Import Duty / Tariff Rate to get duty per unit, and adds that to landed cost. The Country of Origin menu doesn't guess your rate. China is selected by default, and the note under the duty field warns that US-China rates have changed; add any Section 301 duty to the base rate yourself. If your invoice includes packaging or inserts, include them in factory cost so duty matches what customs sees.
FBA profit at 0%, 7.5%, 25% and 50% duty
Same example product, four illustrative rates. These are round numbers, not current rates for any HTS code.
Example: $24.99 pet product, $6.00 factory cost, $1.00 freight, $0.35 FBA inbound, 1% damage allowance, non-peak FBA fee and January to September storage, ads at 10% of sales.
| Duty rate (example) | Duty per unit | Landed cost | Net profit (margin) | Price to keep $6.51 profit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0% | $0.00 | $7.41 | $6.51 (26.1%) | $24.99 |
| 7.5% | $0.45 | $7.86 | $6.06 (24.3%) | $25.59 (+$0.60) |
| 25% | $1.50 | $8.91 | $5.01 (20.1%) | $26.99 (+$2.00) |
| 50% | $3.00 | $10.41 | $3.51 (14.1%) | $28.99 (+$4.00) |
Amazon's fees don't change with the tariff: $3.75 referral, $4.76 FBA fee and $0.06 storage at every rate, plus $2.50 of ads. Only landed cost moves, by $0.06 per point of duty. At 50%, profit is down 46%.
Duty is also cash up front: at 25%, a 1,000-unit order owes $1,500 when it clears customs, before you've sold a unit.
Q4 makes it worse, in two steps. From October 1, storage rises to $2.40 per cu ft, or $0.19 a unit, so profit is $4.89 at 25% and $3.39 at 50%. From October 15, the peak FBA fee of $5.06 starts too, and profit falls to $4.59 at 25% and $3.09 at 50% through December 31. The calculator rounds only the final total, so these won't subtract to the cent from the table.
Worked example: 25% duty, step by step
- Customs value: $6.00 factory FOB per unit.
- Duty: $6.00 × 25% = $1.50.
- Landed cost: $6.00 + $1.50 duty + $1.00 freight + $0.35 FBA inbound + $0.06 damage allowance (1% of factory cost) = $8.91.
- Referral fee: 15% (pet) × $24.99 = $3.75.
- FBA fee: 9 × 6 × 2.5 = 135 cu in ÷ 139 = 0.97 lb dimensional weight, above the 0.75 lb unit weight. Large standard, 12 to 16 oz, $10 to $50 band: $4.60 + $0.16 fuel surcharge (3.5%) = $4.76.
- Storage: 0.078 cu ft × $0.78 (January to September rate) = $0.06 for one month.
- Ads and returns: 10% × $24.99 = $2.50. Returns processing: $0.00, since the calculator's 1% pet return estimate is under Amazon's 10.2% Pet Products threshold.
- Net profit: $24.99 − $8.91 − $3.75 − $4.76 − $0.06 − $2.50 = $5.01 per unit, a 20.1% margin.
How much to raise your price to cover the tariff
Here's the rule I use:
Amazon takes 15% of any increase, and ads at 10% of sales grow with price too. You keep 75 cents of each extra dollar, so every $1.00 of duty needs a $1.33 rise: $1.50 of duty needs $2.00, from $24.99 to $26.99. With no ads, it's about $1.18 per $1.
If a price rise crosses $50, this box moves to the over-$50 FBA fee ($4.76 to $5.03). If you can't raise price, negotiate factory cost first, since duty rides on it: at 25%, each $1.00 off FOB is worth $1.26 a unit.
How to find your real duty rate
- Find your product's 10-digit HTS code at hts.usitc.gov. The General rate is the base duty.
- If it's made in China, check whether the code is covered by Section 301 (Chapter 99 of the HTS, usually referenced in a footnote on your code).
- Check other additional duties in force when your goods will enter; rates have changed often since 2025, so recheck close to shipping.
- Confirm the full rate with a licensed customs broker before you order.
- Enter the combined rate in the calculator's Import Duty / Tariff Rate field.
Origin means where the product is made, not where it ships from. Declare what you actually paid; under-valuing an invoice is illegal. This is seller math, not legal or customs advice.
Fee data: the Amazon fees here match the calculator's 2026 data (US, non-apparel), checked against Seller Central on September 26, 2026. Amazon changes fees, so always confirm in Seller Central before pricing. Tariff rates here are illustrative.
FAQ
Is the Section 301 tariff charged on my Amazon selling price?
No. Duty, including Section 301, is charged on the customs value of the goods, usually the factory FOB price on your commercial invoice. On a $6.00 factory cost, a 25% rate is $1.50 per unit, not 25% of a $24.99 Amazon price ($6.25).
How do I calculate import duty for an Amazon product?
Multiply customs value per unit by the combined duty rate: the base HTS rate plus any Section 301 or other additional duty that applies to your goods. For example, $6.00 x 25% = $1.50 per unit. Add that to landed cost before you subtract Amazon fees and ads from your price.
How much should I raise my price to cover a tariff?
Divide the duty per unit by what you keep of each extra dollar. With a 15% referral fee and ad spend at 10% of sales, you keep 75 cents, so $1.50 of duty needs a $2.00 increase, from $24.99 to $26.99, to hold the same profit.
Where do I find the current Section 301 rate for my product?
Look up your 10-digit HTS code at hts.usitc.gov, check whether it is covered by Section 301 for China-origin goods, and confirm the full rate with a licensed customs broker before you order. Rates have changed often since 2025.
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