We recently got our Canadian permanent residency status and will move from the United States to Canada next month. We’ll be driving my 2019 Lexus LX 570 (built in Japan) from Southern California to Vancouver. Since this is our permanent entry into Canada, do we have to pay import duties at the border? Aren’t we allowed to bring a car duty-free? – Raj
If you’re moving to Canada for the first time and staying for at least a year, you won’t have to pay duty. But there are a host of other costs you will have to pay.
Under Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) rules, you’re considered a settler if you enter Canada “with the intention of establishing for the first time a residence for a period of not less than 12 months.”
As a settler, you’re allowed to bring your “personal and household effects” (in other words, your stuff) without paying duty or taxes – and that includes your personal vehicles, according to the CBSA website.
Yet customs rules can be confusing, especially when it comes to cars.
Canadians who buy a new or used vehicle in the United States might have to pay duty and a sales tax when they bring it back home, depending on when the car was built.
CBSA didn’t immediately answer questions, but it pointed us toward its website.
If your car was built outside North America – for instance, in South Korea, Germany or Japan – you would normally have to pay a 6.1-per-cent duty and 5-per-cent GST on the current value of your car when you cross the border.
But if your car was built in the United States, Canada or Mexico – the three members of the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) – you don’t have to pay duty. Cars built in North America have a vehicle identification number (VIN) starting with a number between 1 and 5.
Also, if your car is more than 25 years old, it’s considered a vintage vehicle and you wouldn’t have to pay duty.
For settlers moving to Canada for the first time, when you cross the border you would give border officers a form listing everything you’re bringing with you – whether you have it at the time or it’s being shipped.
“If you have bills of sale and registration documents, they can help you prove that you meet these requirements,” the CBSA website states. “Leased goods are subject to duty and taxes because the CBSA does not consider you to own them.”
But you wouldn’t be considered a settler if you’re not applying for permanent residency and you’re planning to be here temporarily – for example, if you’re a student or you’re filling a contract job that will last less than 36 months.
There’s also an exception for returning Canadians.
If you’re a Canadian permanent resident or citizen, you had left Canada for at least a year, and you owned your U.S.-bought vehicle for at least six months before coming back, you’ll get the first $10,000 of the car’s current value duty-free and exempt from GST.
So, if your car was worth $25,000, you would pay duties and taxes on $15,000.
Cost of leaving?
When you’re moving a U.S.-bought car across the border into Canada, there are other fees you have to pay, whether you already live here, you used to live here and are moving back or you’re moving here for the first time.
If your car is less than 15 years old, you’ll have to pay $325 plus tax to the Registrar of Imported Vehicles (RIV).
If your car has air conditioning, you will have to pay a $100 excise tax.
You’ll also have to pay a Green Levy of at least $1,000 if your car has a fuel consumption rating of more than 13 litres per 100 kilometres and was put into service after March 18, 2007.
Once you get it across the border, you’ll have to get your car inspected to see whether it meets safety standards. That’s included in the RIV fee and you can get it done at a Canadian Tire service centre. Depending on the province, you may also have to get a provincial inspection. In British Columbia, for instance, that can cost $120 or more.
If your car is not up to Canadian safety standards – for instance, if it doesn’t have daytime running lights – you’ll have to pay for any fixes or upgrades needed.
There’s also a federal luxury tax on new vehicles worth more than $100,000.
Then when you register your vehicle, you’ll have to pay a provincial sales tax, depending on your province.
Some provinces, including B.C., don’t require new residents to pay provincial tax on personal vehicles that they’re bringing with them.
Have a driving question? Send it to [email protected] and put ‘Driving Concerns’ in your subject line. Emails without the correct subject line may not be answered. Canada’s a big place, so let us know where you are so we can find the answer for your city and province.
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Publish date : 2024-11-23 16:01:00
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