The EU's €150 duty-free threshold disappears on 1 July 2026: what it means for personal effects moves
Almost every article about the EU de minimis removal focuses on e-commerce. But the rule change has specific - and frequently misunderstood - implications for relocation companies shipping personal effects into Europe.
For decades, the EU maintained a threshold - most recently set at €150 - below which imported goods entered the EU without paying customs duty. The idea was administrative pragmatism: the cost of processing duty on a €12 parcel of socks exceeds the duty collected, so the EU simply didn't bother.
That threshold disappears on 1 July 2026. From that date, every commercial shipment entering the EU - regardless of value - is subject to customs duty. During a transitional period until the EU's new Customs Data Hub is fully operational (expected around 2028), a flat-rate fee of €3 per customs declaration line applies to low-value consignments. A separate €2 handling fee per HS code is also confirmed, coming into force no later than 1 November 2026.
The change is significant for e-commerce, for freight forwarders, and for 3PLs moving commercial stock. But most of the coverage has focused on those sectors. If you run or advise on personal effects relocations into Europe, here is what actually applies to you - and what doesn't.
The headline: used personal effects are largely unaffected
The most important thing to understand is that the de minimis removal is primarily a commercial shipment rule change. The EU's Transfer of Residence (ToR) relief - the mechanism that allows people relocating to an EU country to import their personal belongings duty-free - remains intact and is not affected by this rule change.
If your client is moving to France, Germany, Spain, or any other EU country, and they meet the standard Transfer of Residence conditions, their used personal effects can still enter duty-free - exactly as before. The €150 threshold was never the basis of that exemption. ToR relief operates under entirely separate EU customs legislation and has its own eligibility conditions.
What actually changes on 1 July - the timeline
Pre-July 2021
Full de minimis regime in place. Goods under €150 import value enter the EU duty-free and VAT-free. VAT de minimis also applies.
July 2021
VAT de minimis removed. From this date, all goods entering the EU are subject to VAT regardless of value. The duty exemption remained - only VAT changed. This is the change most companies adjusted for in 2021.
1 July 2026
Duty de minimis removed. All commercial shipments entering the EU become subject to import duty. Interim flat-rate of €3 per declaration line applies to low-value consignments (under €150). Transfer of Residence relief for personal effects is not changed by this reform.
By Nov 2026
Additional €2 handling fee per HS code comes into force, bringing combined per-declaration-line charge to €5 for commercial low-value shipments.
~2028
EU Customs Data Hub becomes fully operational. Flat-rate interim measures replaced by standard tariff rates based on HS codes and country of origin. Full customs declarations required for all shipments.
Where the risk for personal effects moves actually sits
The complication - and the reason relocation companies should pay attention to this rule change - is not that ToR relief disappears. It doesn't. The risk is more specific: if a personal effects shipment cannot be classified under ToR relief, it may be classified as a commercial shipment - and then the new rules apply in full.
This matters because personal effects moves are frequently borderline. A shipment that contains a mix of used personal items and new goods, or that lacks the documentation to establish ToR eligibility, or that arrives outside the allowed timing window - any of these can result in the shipment being assessed as a commercial import rather than a personal effects transfer.
Before 1 July 2026, a shipment that failed to qualify for ToR relief might still have faced no duty if its declared value was under €150 - the de minimis safety net caught it. After 1 July 2026, that safety net is gone. A shipment that misses ToR qualification faces duty from the first euro of value, starting with the €3 flat-rate interim charge per declaration line.
Scenarios: affected, unaffected, and at risk
| Scenario | Impact of July 2026 change | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| Client moves from UK to France. Used household goods, owned 6+ months. Full ToR documentation prepared. Goods arrive within 12 months of establishing residence. | No change. ToR relief applies as before. The de minimis removal does not affect this move. | ✓ Unaffected |
| Client sends a small parcel of personal items ahead of their main move. Declared value under €150. No ToR documentation - just a personal shipment. | Previously entered duty-free under de minimis. From 1 July, subject to €3 flat-rate duty per declaration line. The backstop is gone. | ⚠ Now dutiable |
| Household goods move includes several new or recently purchased items. Client claims ToR relief but new items don't meet the 6-month ownership condition. | New items cannot qualify for ToR relief. Previously might have been low enough in value to fall under de minimis. Now assessed for duty at standard rates regardless of value. | × At risk |
| Documentation incomplete. Shipment lacks evidence to establish ToR eligibility - no proof of prior overseas residence, or goods arrived outside the allowed window. | Customs classifies as commercial import. Previously might have been low-value enough to clear without duty. Now faces full commercial duty assessment. €3/line minimum during transitional period. | × At risk |
| Relocation company sends a small supplementary shipment after the main move. Towels, kitchen items, personal effects under €150. No ToR claimed - value was too low to matter. | From 1 July, duty applies regardless of value. Small supplementary shipments that were never worth documenting properly now face the €3 flat-rate charge - and potentially standard tariff rates from 2028. | ⚠ Now dutiable |
| Corporate relocation with mixed shipment - personal effects combined with items procured for the new role (office equipment, branded materials). | The personal effects portion may qualify for ToR; the commercial items within the same shipment do not. Mixed shipments require careful splitting and declaration. New goods face duty. | ⚠ Review required |
The worked example: what a borderline shipment now costs
To make this concrete, consider a client who ships a small box of personal items separately from the main move - perhaps household items they forgot to include, or goods being sent by a family member. The shipment has a declared value of €120 and is not covered by a ToR claim. Before 1 July: no duty. After 1 July:
Worked example: €120 shipment, UK → Germany, no ToR claim
That's a 30–36% cost addition on a €120 shipment. The direct duty and handling charges are modest - it's the VAT and the carrier processing fees on top that add up. For a client who was told “just send it separately, it's only small” - this is a surprise bill they didn't expect.
The de minimis removal doesn't break the personal effects relocation model. But it does close the gap that allowed poorly documented or borderline shipments to clear without consequences. From July, documentation quality matters more than it ever did.
What relocation companies need to do differently
For well-run operations handling compliant ToR moves, the operational answer is straightforward: nothing changes for the main move. But there are several practices that should be reviewed ahead of 1 July.
- 01
Consolidate all shipments under a single ToR claim wherever possible
Supplementary shipments - small parcels, forwarded items, late additions - should be grouped with the main move and covered under the same ToR documentation. If they're shipped separately without ToR, they now face duty from the first euro.
- 02
Tighten the documentation process for new and recently purchased items
Clients frequently include items bought just before the move. These need to be identified, segregated in the inventory, and either excluded from the ToR claim or - if being assessed commercially - declared and duty paid in advance. The de minimis safety net that previously absorbed these items is gone.
- 03
Brief clients explicitly on the change to small supplementary shipments
Many clients, unfamiliar with customs rules, will assume that sending a small parcel of personal items from the UK to their new EU address is a low-stakes action. From 1 July, a €120 parcel without proper documentation can generate €40 in charges. This needs to be in your pre-move client brief.
- 04
Review your ToR eligibility checking process
The conditions for Transfer of Residence relief - ownership duration, timing of arrival vs goods arrival, proof of prior residence - are now more consequential, because the fallback of low-value de minimis is gone. A shipment that barely missed ToR eligibility previously might have cleared duty-free anyway. It won't now.
- 05
Update your country-specific requirement lookups
ToR conditions vary by EU destination country - the ownership period, the timing window, the evidence requirements. With post-July consequences more significant for misclassified shipments, having current, verified information for each destination is more important than it was.
The UK angle: not yet, but watch this space
The UK's equivalent - its £135 customs duty de minimis threshold - is not changing on 1 July 2026. The UK government has confirmed it will maintain the £135 relief through at least the end of 2026, with removal planned by March 2029 following a public consultation.
This means goods entering the UK from the EU (or elsewhere) under £135 in value are still duty-free for now. But the direction of travel is clear, and the timeline is shorter than it might appear: companies relying on low-value import exemptions for UK-bound shipments have until 2029 at the latest. For personal effects moves into the UK, the same logic applies - ToR relief in the UK (HMRC's Transfer of Residence scheme) remains the primary mechanism and is not affected by the de minimis review.
The practical summary
For most personal effects moves into the EU - compliant, properly documented, meeting Transfer of Residence conditions - the 1 July change is not the disruption it is for e-commerce. The ToR mechanism is unaffected. A client relocating from the UK to Germany with a well-documented household goods shipment will not notice a difference.
Where the change does land is at the margins: supplementary shipments, new items included in moves, borderline ToR documentation, mixed commercial and personal shipments. These cases, which were previously cushioned by the de minimis backstop, are now fully exposed to duty from the first euro.
The appropriate response for relocation companies isn't alarm - it's tightening. Stricter inventory review, cleaner ToR documentation, explicit client briefing on supplementary shipments, and a reliable reference for current ToR conditions by destination country. The companies that do this well won't notice much difference on 1 July. The ones that don't may start seeing a pattern of small unexpected duty charges in the second half of 2026 and not immediately understand why.