About & methodology

DutyAhead is an independent, English-language guide for small online sellers who ship internationally.

DutyAhead was formerly called DutyDesk (dutydeskguide.com). Old links redirect here automatically.

Sources

We use primary sources wherever possible: customs authorities (CBP, HMRC, CBSA, EU Commission, national customs), legislation (Federal Register, EUR-Lex, GOV.UK), trade ministries (USTR, Global Affairs/Finance Canada), postal operators' official pages, and marketplace help centres. We currently cite 49 sources. See the full list.

Verification labels

• Verified We read the official page or document on the date shown.
• Partly verified We found the official source but confirmed only part of the detail (e.g. via an extract), or the source is secondary (industry body, carrier, law firm).
• Unverified Not yet confirmed against a primary source. We show these so you know the gap. We never fill gaps with guesses.

Current fact count: 40 verified, 15 partly verified, 7 unverified.

Update process

1. We check the monitored official sources on a regular schedule.
2. When something changes, we update the data, add a dated change-log entry with sources, and email alert subscribers.
3. Every fact carries a "last verified" date. Pages show the most recent date.

Calculator assumptions

The calculator is driven by the same data files as the guides. It treats "ship from" as the goods' country of origin, uses ECB exchange rates, and only includes carrier fees that are published. Read the notes on the calculator page.

Corrections

Found an error? Email [email protected] with the source and we will fix it and log the correction.