What You Must Declare at Customs

• Items you purchased and are carrying with you upon return to the United States.
• Items you received as gifts, such as wedding or birthday presents.
• Items you inherited.
• Items you bought in duty-free shops or on the ship or plane.
• Repairs or alterations to any items you took abroad and then brought back, even if the repairs/alterations were performed free of charge.
• Items you brought home for someone else.
• Items you intend to sell or use in your business.
• Items you acquired (whether purchased or received as gifts) in the U.S. Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Guam, or in a Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery Act country please see section on $600 exemption for a list of these countries) that are not in your possession when you return. In other words, if you acquired things in any of these island nations and asked the merchant to send them to you, you must still declare them when you go through Customs. (This differs from the usual procedure for mailed items, which is discussed in the section on Sending Goo