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Studying Aboard in the United States?

How much alcohol can a Canadian studying in the United States bring over?

  • I am a Canadian citizen starting graduate school in the US in the fall on a F-1 Visa. It would seem very economical to me to buy enough booze to get me through a semester each time I cross the border at the duty free. Please note I am NOT asking how much I can bring BACK to Canada - I know that already. I am driving from Canada - crossing the border and buying liquor - and then studying in the US for 3-4 months and drinking it all (slowly) - is there a limit? How much? What are the fees, if any?

  • Answer:

    I don't know why you'd bother. Booze is cheap enough in the US that you probably won't save much for your trouble. Better selection and price range in the average US grocery or liquor store than you'll ever get at a duty-free store, too. But if you want to do it, here's some info. http://www.ttb.gov/importers/personal_importation.shtml

Rob at Yahoo! Answers Visit the source

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https://help.cbp.gov/app/answers/detail/a_id/190 This is the customs website page on this. For personal use it is really not worth the hassle and paperwork involved.You buy the liquor in CANADA before you cross the border. After you cross you cannot shop in the duty free store on the US side.Depending on exactly what brand you are wanting it will probably be of little difference in price if you pay as you go when you get back to school.Customs will charge various state and federal taxes for the state you enter and if you cross state lines there can be additional fees and problems with various liquor laws. If you purchase alcohol on your way out of the US you could be charged duty on it when you bring it back into the US. These rules are basically to control bootlegging as well as other things. You can bring up to the limits with little problem it is when you go over that it gets very involved.

Rona Lachat

I would suggest that you find and call the duty-free store at the border you will be crossing. When I looked for how much you can buy at a duty free, I only found one small mention that you could bring 1L of alcohol into the US for personal consumption, as long as you are 21 years or older. The rest all were talking about your personal exemptiond and what you could bring back. Remember that you are going to US so if you are 19 or 20 yrs old (18 in some provinces) and legally allowed to drink in Canada, you would still not be allowed to be in possession of alcohol once you cross the border as you are still considered underage.

SteveN

The duty free is a rip off. You can get booze cheaper everywhere in the USA than at a Canadian duty free store. Whenever I have looked at a duty free store I have been appalled by the prices. When this Canadian lived in LA, I could 40 ounce bottles of Windsor Canadian for $9.95 at the Rite-Aid drug store. I routinely paid $4.99 for 12 packs of cheap beer at supermarkets. Boones Farm malt beverage was like $1.99 a bottle for 750 ml.. My daughter is getting her PhD at a US university and she would not waste even a minute taking booze to the USA. Just buy it there as you need it.

Chuckles

Importation of goods into the US would be better served in the US forums.

Soviet Canuckistan

i have never been asked.

knh959

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