Receiving and posting gifts overseas this Christmas: All you need to know

The cost of postage continues to rise in the UK. This applies both to mail and parcels being sent within the country and also overseas.

Since April 2025, a 1st class postage stamp has cost £1.70 and a 2nd class stamp 87p. It’s no wonder that an increasing number of people are no longer sending Christmas cards, relying on online greetings instead. 

Of course, if you have family or friends overseas, you may still want to post gifts to them. But what is the best way to do this now, and how much is it likely to cost? And do you or the recipient have to pay tax on the gift, particularly in light of the recent tariff changes for items going in or out of the USA? 

In this article we take a look at:

• Options for posting gifts overseas from the UK this Christmas;
• Advantages and disadvantages of using overseas delivery companies;
• What taxes and fees need to be paid on gifts purchased or posted overseas.

Options for posting gifts overseas from the UK this Christmas

The main two options to post from the UK are Royal Mail or a courier service:

• Royal Mail

When posting gifts abroad, the first option most people think of is Royal Mail. But if you think that means spending time queuing at the Post Office, think again!

Royal Mail now offers a “Parcel Collect” option that will pick up parcels from your home, work or other designated safe place. You can book and pay for a collection online or via the Royal Mail app up to midnight the day before, and Royal Mail can add a printed label to your parcel if you are unable to print this yourself.

There is a 30p fee for collection, on top of the normal postage costs. The cost of the postage itself depends on various factors, including the size and destination of the parcel. The cheapest method is International Standard which starts at around £8.95 for a small parcel to Europe. 

From August 2025, Royal Mail teamed up with Parcelforce Worldwide to become a single delivery network. Standard international delivery is handled by Royal Mail, who may also use a postal operator in the destination country such as the GLS network in Europe. But premium or express services are handled by the Parcelforce network and parcels are sorted and shipped through dedicated hubs run by or their international partners. 

• Courier services

Another option to post from the UK is to choose one of the many courier services available. Some of the most popular courier services are DHL, UPS, Evri and FedEx. 

To make the best choice of courier you need to weigh up the factors that are important to you such as cost, speed, tracking or a strong network in your particular destination.

Whichever delivery service you choose, be aware of the latest recommended international posting dates for Christmas. These will be announced nearer the time but are typically early December.

Advantages and disadvantages of using overseas delivery companies

If you are ordering gifts online for family or friends overseas, another option is to get the gift delivered to them direct. Many companies offer this service, including Amazon, gift companies such as Moonpig, Etsy, Not on the High Street, many large department stores, Marks and Spencer, Interflora and various hamper and food companies.

The advantage of this is that it is a simple way to get a great gift to your recipient with as little hassle as possible.

However, there are a couple of potential disadvantages to be aware of:

• Some products may not be available for international shipping to your desired destination. This may be due to local availability or could be related to customs restrictions in particular countries, for example on fresh food or alcohol.
• There may be customs fees and duties to pay on the gift. Some companies will handle all of this upfront, but others may require the recipient to pay additional charges on arrival. 

Tax and fees on gifts purchased or posted overseas

We have just referred to customs fees and duties needing to be paid on some gifts. We will now look at this in more detail. 

Customs fees and duties can apply to goods bought overseas and being delivered to you in the UK, or gifts you are sending from the UK to people living overseas.

• Goods purchased from overseas and delivered to the UK

Anything that is either posted or couriered to you from another country needs to go through UK Customs to check that it is not a banned or restricted item and that the correct amount of tax and duty has been paid on it. This includes all items bought online (either new or used) and gifts sent to you by others.

In general there are two potential costs to pay, VAT and Customs Duties:

• VAT

VAT is charged on all goods sent from outside the UK. The only exception to this is gifts worth £39 or less. 

You often pay VAT when you buy the goods, for example if the total value is less than £135 the seller will have included VAT in the total you paid. But if not, it needs to be paid to the delivery company before you receive the goods, and will be charged on the total value of the package, including the value of the goods, postage, packaging and insurance, and any duties you owe.

• Customs Duty

You’ll be charged Customs Duty on all goods sent from outside the UK – including the EU and USA – if they are:

• worth over £135;
• a gift worth more than £39;
• subject to Excise Duty such as alcohol and tobacco.

If you are charged Customs Duty, it will be applied both to the price paid for the goods and also postage, packaging and insurance.

If you do need to pay any VAT, Customs Duty or delivery charges/handling fees to receive your item(s) you will be contacted by Royal Mail, Parcelforce or your courier company who will hold the item(s) for around 3 weeks until your bill is paid. If you do not pay, your item may be returned to the sender.

• Gifts posted overseas from the UK 

Depending on the value of your gift, and its destination, there may be charges to pay when you post an item abroad. We will take a quick look at the situation with gifts to the USA and EU, and then explain how you can avoid the recipient having to pay any additional charges.

• USA

Tariffs on goods entering the USA have been big news this year. And there is a potential impact on sending gifts to the USA. 

At the end of August, a long-running global tariff exemption known as de minimis came to an end. The de minimis exemption enabled goods under the value of $800 – around £600 – to be imported into the USA duty free. But now only gifts worth $100 – around £74 – or less will remain exempt. Any gift over that value will be subject to US import duties and taxes.

• EU

If you are sending goods to the EU, there may be charges to pay. It depends on the value of the items you are sending:

• Gifts worth less than €45 – around £39 – are not subject to any charge. 
• Gifts over €45 but less than €150 – around £130 – are subject to import VAT at the rate of the country being sent to. There may also be a clearance fee, to cover that administration involved in the transaction.
• Gifts over €150 may attract Customs Duty as well as import VAT and clearance fees.

Other countries may have different rules and charges for receiving goods from the UK. The important thing is to check with your postal service or courier what those charges will be and to complete the necessary customs declaration form(s) detailing the contents, value, and origin. Customs forms for most countries can be completed online, but Royal Mail currently advises that for sending goods or gifts to the USA it is best to take your items into a Post Office Branch for the calculations to be done for you.

You can find out more about customs forms on the Post Office website.

If you are sending a gift abroad, the last thing you want is for the recipient to have to pay any additional charges when they receive that gift. There are two ways round this:

• Ensure that the value of your gift is below the value at which any charges will apply, Make sure that this information is clear on the customs form(s) and also that you mark on the form that the item is a GIFT.
• If you want to send a gift that is subject to charges, send it through a DDP – Delivered Duty Paid – service. This enables you to pay any import VAT, Customs Duty and clearance fees up front so the recipient will not have to pay anything extra. Most major couriers offer DDP as an option, including UPS, DPD, and FedEx. 

Royal Mail has its own version of DDP called PDDP (Postal Delivered Duties Paid) available to a limited, but growing list of destinations within the EU and rest of the world.

We hope that the above information is useful to help you decide what to do about purchasing items and sending gifts overseas this Christmas.

For extra help and advice regarding Christmas finances, check out our recent article Now is the time to save money for Christmas. And if at any stage you need to boost your finances, remember that Loans 2 Go offer a range of personal loans which may be able to help.

For more useful lifestyle and financial tips, visit us here again soon at Loans 2 Go.