No gift dodge on two items
Mobile phones may not be declared as a gift on the customs declaration, and neither may tobacco or tobacco products. The old trick of writing gift to duck assessment does not work on either.
Türkiye
Shipping to Turkey from the United States
The low-value shortcut that made small parcels to Turkey cheap has been taken away. A presidential decree published in January 2026 ended the duty-free allowance for ordinary goods and left a flat customs tax in its place, one that falls harder on a parcel from the United States than on one from inside Europe. That change, and a prohibition list that bars all liquids and cosmetics by post, are what a sender needs before pricing anything. Sources and the date read are at the foot of the page.
2026 duty change, datedProhibitions quotedExport leg priced by a person
The shortcut is gone
No low-value pass, a flat tax on ordinary goods, and full customs handling on anything that holds goods.
The duty exemption ended in 2026
For years a small parcel could enter Turkey under a low-value allowance and clear without duty. A presidential decree published on January 7, 2026, taking effect thirty days later, removed that allowance for ordinary goods and confined duty-free treatment to medicines and dietary supplements valued up to 1,500 euros. Everything else is taxed from the first euro.
The rate depends on where the goods were made, and it is not gentle. The change is reported as a flat customs tax of 60 percent on goods of non-European-Union origin, set against 30 percent on goods of EU origin, with an additional charge on certain categories. A parcel from the United States is non-EU origin, so it sits at the higher figure. These are the destination’s charges as reported in the Turkish press reading the decree, drawn on 2026-08-08, and they describe what the recipient owes at clearance rather than a shipping price.
The country listing corroborates the direction of travel. It states that postal items containing goods, apart from a small group of non-commercial products, will not be processed under the simplified customs declaration procedure. A parcel with anything dutiable inside now takes the full customs path, which is slower and more paperwork-heavy than the shortcut it replaced.
A prohibition list that catches the ordinary
Several Turkish prohibitions reach items that fill a normal parcel, and two of them are broad enough to catch a whole shelf of a drugstore.
- Liquids of any type
- Cosmetic products
- Tea
- Playing cards, other than children’s games
- Lottery tickets and advertisements relating to lotteries
- Silver coins and all foreign coins, except gold coins and ancient coins for collections
- Coins, banknotes, precious metals, jewelry and other valuable articles
- Fish, canned animal products, cured spiced beef and sausage, and edible fruits and vegetables
- Narcotic substances of all kinds
- Perishable biological substances and radioactive materials
Liquids of any type is the phrase that undoes a thoughtful package. It reaches sauces, syrups, shampoos, perfumes and any bottled thing at all, so a gift box assembled around a favorite food or toiletry is a prohibited shipment. Cosmetic products bar the makeup and skincare that people most often ask a relative abroad to send, and tea, into a country of tea drinkers, is barred as well.
What has to be declared honestly, and what needs papers
Turkey writes several of its rules around the customs declaration itself, closing the loopholes senders reach for.
Athletes’ foods and supplements
Food supplements and foods for athletes are admitted only when a medical report, a prescription, or a national sportsperson’s certificate travels with them. A tub of protein sent without one is turned back.
Small print, real papers
Clinical thermometers need a certificate of inspection. Commercial shipments need a combined certificate of origin and consular invoice, certified by a chamber of commerce and legalized by a Turkish consul.
One entry reads like a fossil. The listing still expresses the value cap on gift shipments in Deutsche Mark, a currency retired in 2002, which is a reminder that a country listing carries old text alongside new and that the live customs rule above is the one that governs at the border.
The box is generous; the border is not
| Product | Weight ceiling | Size ceiling | Customs form |
|---|---|---|---|
| Priority Mail International | 66 lb | 42 in long, 79 in length plus girth | PS Form 2976-A inside PS Form 2976-E |
| Priority Mail Express International | 66 lb | 36 in long, 79 in length plus girth | PS Form 2976-B inside PS Form 2976-E |
| Airmail M-bags | 66 lb | One direct sack to one addressee | PS Form 2976 |
| First-Class Package International Service | 4 lb | Small-packet limits per the international manual | PS Form 2976 |
| First-Class Mail International | 3.5 oz letters and postcards, 15.994 oz large envelopes | Letter and flat limits | None, unless otherwise required |
| “Global Express Guaranteed” | Listed as suspended since September 29, 2024 | — | — |
The postal envelope is generous, with both parcel products carrying 66 lb and Airmail M-bags available for a bulk sack of like matter. The constraint on a Turkish shipment is not the box; it is the customs treatment waiting at the far end, which is why the duty section above matters more than the weight table.
Pricing a box now the shortcut is gone
There is no Turkish postage on this page; the labels this site sells move parcels within the United States and stop at the water’s edge. The domestic side, first leg to a forwarder included, is a minute’s work in the calculator. The export side goes to a person: send the carton dimensions, the packed weight, the contents and the Turkish address to freight review, and it returns with the product, the paperwork and a price set by hand. Run the customs arithmetic first, because with the duty-free allowance withdrawn the flat tax and full-declaration handling can decide whether a low-value parcel is worth mailing at all.
Common questions
Is there still a duty-free allowance for parcels to Turkey?
Not for general goods. A presidential decree published on January 7, 2026 removed the low-value allowance and limited duty-free treatment to medicines and dietary supplements valued up to 1,500 euros. Other noncommercial goods now face a flat customs tax from the first euro.
How much duty does Turkey charge on a parcel from the US?
The change is reported as a flat customs tax of 60 percent on goods of non-EU origin, which the United States is, against 30 percent on goods of EU origin, with an added charge on certain categories. The recipient settles it at clearance, and a person should price the lane before you send it.
What is prohibited from being mailed to Turkey?
Liquids of any type, cosmetic products, tea, and playing cards other than children's games, alongside narcotics, arms and munitions, and the valuables list of coins, precious metals and jewelry. The liquids and cosmetics bans catch ordinary care-package contents.
Can you declare a phone as a gift to Turkey?
No. Mobile phones may not be declared as a gift on the customs declaration, and neither may tobacco products. The declaration has to state what the item actually is, and postal items containing goods no longer go through the simplified customs procedure.
What do athletes' supplements need to enter Turkey?
Food supplements and foods for athletes are admitted only when a medical report, a prescription, or a national sportsperson's certificate is enclosed. Clinical thermometers separately need a certificate of inspection to be admitted.
Where these rules come from
- USPS, Individual Country Listing for Turkey — product ceilings, customs forms, the prohibition list, the gift-declaration limits on phones and tobacco, the athletes’-food and thermometer restrictions, and the note that goods no longer clear under the simplified declaration. Read 2026-08-08.
- USPS, International Service Alerts — checked to confirm Turkey carries no mail suspension, and for the Global Express Guaranteed status. Read 2026-08-08.
- Daily Sabah, report on the January 2026 customs decree — the removal of the low-value allowance, the 1,500-euro limit for medicines and supplements, and the flat 60 percent and 30 percent rates by origin. Read 2026-08-08.
Turkish import rules changed twice between 2024 and 2026, and the newest figures come from press reporting of the decree rather than a settled tariff table. Treat the rates as a guide to the size of the charge, confirm the current position with the recipient, and let a person price the lane.