If I was to buy a guitar in the US and take it back to the UK, would I have to pay any tax on it?

Question

If I was to buy a guitar in New York and then bring it back to the UK, would I have to pay any import duties or other taxes, and if so, about how much would this be? I know you have to pay duties if you have something shipped from th US, but what about if you take it back in person?

The guitar in question costs about $999.99 if that helps.

Answer 1

jay is right, you will have to pay taxes. as for how much, the import duty rate is currently 3.2% or 3.7% (the difference between the two is whether the guitar is electric or acoustic, i can never remember which way round though sorry)

also you should note vat is applicable too, so shall we say for arguments sake (and for a round figure) that the guitar is approx £500? your 3 point something percent would be applied to the £500,

then lump it all together making a subtotal of about £516,

the vat at 17.5% whether guitar is new or old, is then applied to the £516

Answer 2

You will have to declare it if the value of that and other items you are bringing back total more than £145.  Sorry that I don't know what the tax will be but you can probably find out on the Customs and Excise website - links to 2 different pages below.

Travelling to the UK from outside the European Union (EU)

£145 worth of all other goods including gifts and souvenirs.

If you bring in something worth more than the limit of £145, you must pay charges on the full value, not just the value above £145.