International Shipping Calculator
Calculate international shipping cost including volumetric weight and duty.
About International Shipping Calculator
Carriers bill the greater of actual and volumetric weight, so bulky light items are charged on volume. Import VAT is calculated on the value including duty and shipping, which compounds the total. Because VAT applies to duty and freight as well as goods value, the landed cost of a low-value bulky item can approach or exceed its purchase price.
Formula
International Shipping
Volumetric weight = L × W × H ÷ 5,000; chargeable weight is the greater of that and actual
- volumetric divisor
- Usually 5,000 for air freight, converting cm³ to a billable weight
- VAT base
- Includes duty and shipping, so VAT is charged on the whole landed value
Worked example
With the default values below, International Shipping Calculator returns Total Landed Cost of $303.12. Change any input above and every figure here is recalculated in your browser.
Inputs used
- Actual weightminimum 0 kg
- 12 kg
- Lengthminimum 0 cm
- 60 cm
- Widthminimum 0 cm
- 40 cm
- Heightminimum 0 cm
- 35 cm
- Shipping rate per kgminimum 0
- 9.5
- Declared valueminimum 0
- 450
- Import duty rateaccepts 0–60 %
- 4 %
- Import VAT rateaccepts 0–40 %
- 20 %
Results
- Total Landed Cost
- $303.12
- Chargeable Weight
- 16.800 kg
- Volumetric Weight
- 16.800 kg
- Shipping Cost
- $159.60
- Duty and Import VAT
- $143.52
Step by step
- 1Values used
- 2International Shipping
- 3Total Landed Cost= 303.12
- 4Chargeable Weight= 16.800 kg
- 5Volumetric Weight= 16.800 kg
- 6Shipping Cost= 159.60
- 7Duty and Import VAT= 143.52
Assumptions and limits
- The result is derived only from the 8 inputs listed above. Anything not among them is not part of the calculation.
- In particular, this calculator does not take inflation, fees or charges or compounding frequency into account.
- Figures are rounded for display to 3 decimal places, so totals built from several rounded parts can differ slightly from the unrounded arithmetic.
How these calculators are built and tested is described on the Methodology page. If a figure looks wrong, please report it.
Frequently Asked Questions
How is International Shipping calculated?
Volumetric weight = L × W × H ÷ 5,000; chargeable weight is the greater of that and actual Carriers bill the greater of actual and volumetric weight, so bulky light items are charged on volume. Import VAT is calculated on the value including duty and shipping, which compounds the total.
Why does International Shipping matter?
Because VAT applies to duty and freight as well as goods value, the landed cost of a low-value bulky item can approach or exceed its purchase price.
What values do I need to enter?
This calculator takes 8 inputs: Actual weight, Length, Width, Height, Shipping rate per kg, Declared value, Import duty rate, Import VAT rate. The pre-filled defaults are a realistic starting point — replace them with figures from your own environment for a result you can act on.