See what your import duties could be worth. Duty drawback refunds up to 99% of the duties, tariffs and fees you paid when goods are later exported or destroyed, reaching back five years. Enter two numbers for a directional estimate, then let a licensed specialist confirm it against your actual entries.
A directional estimate only. Actual recovery depends on HTS matching, the five-year window, and export documentation.
Get my exact number →Drawback is one of the few federal programs that returns money you already paid. The calculation is simple; the compliance behind it is where a licensed broker earns the recovery.
Every dutiable import generates a paper trail of duties, tariffs and fees. That total is the pool drawback draws from, ordinary duty, eligible special tariffs such as Section 301 and Section 122, and the merchandise processing and harbor maintenance fees.
Drawback only pays on merchandise that leaves the country or is destroyed. If you export or destroy 40% of what you import, directly, as a component of a finished export, or via a qualifying substitute of the same 8-digit HTS, roughly 40% of the duty pool is in play.
CBP refunds 99% of the eligible duty and retains 1%. Because claims reach back five years from importation, a first-time filer typically recovers several years of past duties in the opening claim, then continues recovering going forward.
Formula: duties paid × export share × 99%. The retroactive figure applies that annual estimate across your recoverable years. This is a planning estimate, not eligibility advice. Read how duty drawback works or see which tariffs are recoverable.
Drawback refunds up to 99% of the duties, taxes and fees paid on imported merchandise when that merchandise, or a qualifying substitute of the same 8-digit HTS classification, is later exported or destroyed. A simple estimate is duties paid × your export share × 99%. CBP retains the other 1%. Because claims reach back five years, a first-time filer often recovers several years of past duties at once.
Five years from the date of importation. A first claim can recover eligible duties across that entire window, which is why the retroactive amount is usually the largest single piece of a first recovery.
Ordinary customs duties, Section 301 and Section 122 tariffs, Section 232 duties where the proclamation allows it, and the merchandise processing and harbor maintenance fees. Antidumping and countervailing duties are not eligible. See our tariff refunds guide for the current, proclamation-by-proclamation picture.
It is directional, enough to know whether drawback is worth pursuing. Your exact recovery depends on 8-digit HTS matching, the five-year window, and proof of export or destruction. Alliance runs a free, precise assessment against your actual ACE entry data.
A licensed U.S. Customs broker will size your opportunity against your real entries, identify the optimal compliant pairings, file with CBP, and defend the claim end to end.