taxes on shipping personal belongings to Finland
taxes on shipping personal belongings to Finland
I want to ship personal items to Finland such as household personal items from clothing, dvds, plates/cuttlery, books, nicknacks. Would/can they(Finnish customs/whoever) charge me tax on my goods? None of these things are in their original boxes.
Having read what the tulli link had to say, I still have a few questions.. I'm confused, or perhaps just dumb 
My fiance is moving to Finland in June, and he sent me three boxes of his clothes, books and other stuff, using FedEx. The boxes are coming from the USA, and it said it's door to door delivery, but will it actually work that way or will I have to go to the local customs office to get them? How will I avoid having to pay the VAT, or will the boxes have to sit there waiting until my fiance arrives here and can go get them himself?
My fiance is moving to Finland in June, and he sent me three boxes of his clothes, books and other stuff, using FedEx. The boxes are coming from the USA, and it said it's door to door delivery, but will it actually work that way or will I have to go to the local customs office to get them? How will I avoid having to pay the VAT, or will the boxes have to sit there waiting until my fiance arrives here and can go get them himself?
Taxes
When you DHL or FedEx stuff you need to make it really clear it's personal effects. My mum forgot to do this once and I had to do a lot of explaining but eventutally they waived the tax in exchange for a lecture about filling in forms properly. Check as you send it to make sure any of the right boxes are ticked to declare as personal effects. I recently had 5 boxes sent via Excess Baggage "port to port" and was told it was my responsibility to clear at Customs. However I declared everything as personal effects in London and when I arrived at the freight handlers in Helsinki, they said there was no need to clear customs as it had been declared "personal effects." Seems a little to simple but it has worked for me.
But sending stuff to Finland from Australia (your mum???) is not the same as sending stuff from London. AFAIK Australia still isn't in the EU. You wouldn't be liable for any taxes and duty on stuff from the UK, at least not on items purchased (taxed paid) normally.
So even if you put "personal effects" on items shipped from Australia I'm not totally sure it would get through every time. The term "gift" is also widely used.
So even if you put "personal effects" on items shipped from Australia I'm not totally sure it would get through every time. The term "gift" is also widely used.
Where?
I thought the original post was about shipping from US to Finland? Either way, not on my Australian DHL consignments or my UK air cargo coming into Finland have I ever had to pay tax because they were declared used items / personal effects.
options
Best way to send stuff to and from Finland is by using a freight company that is spezialised in handling personal belongings. http://www.travelcargo.fi is a company like this. They handle excess baggage, smaller removals and courier shipments... It has always been the most convenient and cheapest option for me..
I wouldn't go with freight companies if you are only moving small items. I looked into moving companies for my own stuff and the downpayment alone was $1000! 
So, if it is under 200 pounds, I would say USPS would be the way to go.
I shipped by my stuff here in 4: 12inx12inx12in boxes. They went surface economy and you can expect to pay about $1/lb. And it takes 1 - 2 months to arrive. Airmail is more expensive (~$5/lb) but will arrive in 1 - 2 weeks.
So, if it is under 200 pounds, I would say USPS would be the way to go.I shipped by my stuff here in 4: 12inx12inx12in boxes. They went surface economy and you can expect to pay about $1/lb. And it takes 1 - 2 months to arrive. Airmail is more expensive (~$5/lb) but will arrive in 1 - 2 weeks.
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Xochiquetzal
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Used or new, you are due for taxes if your items come from outside the EU. Some things that might help:
Address the box to everyone in your family in Finland (i.e., all the kids too). There is a limit for untaxed items PER PERSON so by putting everyone's names on the box, you up the limit (i.e., put 3 people's names on the address and you raise the pretax limit from 50e to 150e). Most likely, your items will be for several people anyway unless you are moving there by yourself (which isn't very likely and in which case you wouldn't have all that much stuff anyway).
Don't send new items and keep the values in the box under 20e. So, for example, if you buy new clothes, remove the tags and wash them and then their value goes down to pennies on the dollar. Remember that the value of the items is subjective in the Finnish customs favor. They can put any value they want on your items. So something worthless in the US may have a high value in Finland.
Any box you ship goes through customs, regardless of the carrier. If the declared value is over 25e, they will hold it and you will have to pay VAT. That means a trip to Vantaa and a line.
Suspicious boxes are x-rayed. So if someone sends you some DVDs and puts it in an amazon.com box, you can bet it will be stuck in customs and you will have to open the box and get charged the VAT.
Shipping USPS ground is economical, especially the higher the weight. It's about $1 per pound or so. I recently shipped myself 50lbs worth of used books and it set me back around $50. The weight limit is something insane like 75lbs but there are tight size restrictions. You need to measure width and girth and believe me, the size is rather small. The USPS website has details.
When shipping boxes ground, use a LOT of package sealing tape around all corners and edges. Boxes that go by boat get beaten up and I've rarely had one arrive looking like it was when I had sent it. Any small pieces will fall out and be lost so make sure to put them in bags. Try to keep the boxes square instead of long and flat - and sit on the box heavily to test it for freight worthiness before mailing. Don't send breakables. My sister sent a small snowglobe as a present this year but I received a soggy box with broken glass in it.
When you move to Finland, you are allowed to bring a certain amount of items with you. I believe that is the PDF that HankW showed you. When I moved here, I packed an entire household (couches, beds, dining room furniture, dishes, etc.) into a sea container and then put the car in there as well (with a board between household items and car). I had to unload the container with the customs guys watching (and pay them for their time). If I had had new items in the container, I would have been charged VAT on them by the customs guys. I was charged taxes on my two year old car for upgrades not available on the model in Finland (automatic, etc.). But I was not charged any taxes on the household items. It is especially important not to keep items stored in their original box or they may look new.
The rule of thumb is to be nice to the customs guys and perhaps they will be nice to you. And buy any items you need now and use them so they will have no value when you bring them in (i.e., they will be used).
Remember, Finland is a country about fairness and equality. The rules are made so that no one is allowed an unfair advantage over another. So while customs may seem draconian to someone from the US, they do serve their purpose well in ensuring that everyone is on the same boat. Or island. Or whatever.
Address the box to everyone in your family in Finland (i.e., all the kids too). There is a limit for untaxed items PER PERSON so by putting everyone's names on the box, you up the limit (i.e., put 3 people's names on the address and you raise the pretax limit from 50e to 150e). Most likely, your items will be for several people anyway unless you are moving there by yourself (which isn't very likely and in which case you wouldn't have all that much stuff anyway).
Don't send new items and keep the values in the box under 20e. So, for example, if you buy new clothes, remove the tags and wash them and then their value goes down to pennies on the dollar. Remember that the value of the items is subjective in the Finnish customs favor. They can put any value they want on your items. So something worthless in the US may have a high value in Finland.
Any box you ship goes through customs, regardless of the carrier. If the declared value is over 25e, they will hold it and you will have to pay VAT. That means a trip to Vantaa and a line.
Suspicious boxes are x-rayed. So if someone sends you some DVDs and puts it in an amazon.com box, you can bet it will be stuck in customs and you will have to open the box and get charged the VAT.
Shipping USPS ground is economical, especially the higher the weight. It's about $1 per pound or so. I recently shipped myself 50lbs worth of used books and it set me back around $50. The weight limit is something insane like 75lbs but there are tight size restrictions. You need to measure width and girth and believe me, the size is rather small. The USPS website has details.
When shipping boxes ground, use a LOT of package sealing tape around all corners and edges. Boxes that go by boat get beaten up and I've rarely had one arrive looking like it was when I had sent it. Any small pieces will fall out and be lost so make sure to put them in bags. Try to keep the boxes square instead of long and flat - and sit on the box heavily to test it for freight worthiness before mailing. Don't send breakables. My sister sent a small snowglobe as a present this year but I received a soggy box with broken glass in it.
When you move to Finland, you are allowed to bring a certain amount of items with you. I believe that is the PDF that HankW showed you. When I moved here, I packed an entire household (couches, beds, dining room furniture, dishes, etc.) into a sea container and then put the car in there as well (with a board between household items and car). I had to unload the container with the customs guys watching (and pay them for their time). If I had had new items in the container, I would have been charged VAT on them by the customs guys. I was charged taxes on my two year old car for upgrades not available on the model in Finland (automatic, etc.). But I was not charged any taxes on the household items. It is especially important not to keep items stored in their original box or they may look new.
The rule of thumb is to be nice to the customs guys and perhaps they will be nice to you. And buy any items you need now and use them so they will have no value when you bring them in (i.e., they will be used).
Remember, Finland is a country about fairness and equality. The rules are made so that no one is allowed an unfair advantage over another. So while customs may seem draconian to someone from the US, they do serve their purpose well in ensuring that everyone is on the same boat. Or island. Or whatever.