Alcohol Allowance Question

[xipetotec]

So my oldest is now 18.

Speaking of allowances coming back from the *US* specifically, does Canadian Customs care if *HE* is legal to purchase in the USA, or if just if he's legal to bring it into Canada? I'm not even asking for him to buy anything illegally, more like if we wanted to bring back more than me and DW were allowed, could I have him as an "adult" listed to bring back alcohol, or would they question the fact that he's not legal to buy alcohol in the US.

 

[dancin Disney style]

You will be entering Canada and he must be old enough in the province that you are entering.

 

[xipetotec]

You will be entering Canada and he must be old enough in the province that you are entering.

okay, so in other words coming back to Quebec ( legal age 18 ) we could use him to declare alcohol even if he's not legal to purchase in the us.

 

[dancin Disney style]

okay, so in other words coming back to Quebec ( legal age 18 ) we could use him to declare alcohol even if he's not legal to purchase in the us.

Yes...as long as you enter QC directly from the USA. If you are driving and will enter through Ontario, for example, then no.

Any booze that you have in your possession while in the USA is totally fine(parents are old enough to buy it). It's Canada customs that cares about only allowing you in with a limited amount.

 

[glendalais]

Also, in the case of Quebec, you must spend a minimum of 48 hours outside of Canada before attempting to bring back in alcohol under your personal exemption, regardless of the amount.

If you attempt to import alcohol without spending 48 hours abroad, you may be required to pay Duty/GST/QST/SAQ Mark-Up and/or contact the SAQ's Customs and Excise Services office in Montréal before bringing your goods into the country. For more information, visit the SAQ's website on the matter (aussi disponible en français).

 

[dancin Disney style]

Also, in the case of Quebec, you must spend a minimum of 48 hours outside of Canada before attempting to bring back in alcohol under your personal exemption, regardless of the amount.

If you attempt to import alcohol without spending 48 hours abroad, you may be required to pay Duty/GST/QST/SAQ Mark-Up and/or contact the SAQ's Customs and Excise Services office in Montréal before bringing your goods into the country. For more information, visit the SAQ's website on the matter (aussi disponible en français).

It's the same for any province....you can bring it back but you will have to pay if you have been away under 48hrs.

 

[LSmith]

In the words of the Canadian Border Services Agency:

"Alcoholic beverages

You are allowed to import only one of the following amounts of alcohol free of duty and taxes:
•1.5 litres (53 imperial ounces) of wine;
•a total of 1.14 litres (40 ounces) of alcoholic beverages; or
•up to a maximum of 8.5 litres of beer or ale.

Alcoholic beverages are products that exceed 0.5% alcohol by volume. Minimum ages for the importation of alcoholic beverages, as prescribed by provincial or territorial authorities, are 18 years for the provinces of Alberta, Manitoba and Quebec and 19 years for the remaining provinces and territories."

So yes, feel free to purchase it the US and have your son claim one of the bottles at the border. Any amount over that you would need to pay duty on.

We always bring more than allowed, are honest when the border guards ask, and have never had to pay extra duty. So far, lucky. I would like to know how much the duty would be on a bottle of wine though.

 

[rewok]

We always bring more than allowed, are honest when the border guards ask, and have never had to pay extra duty. So far, lucky. I would like to know how much the duty would be on a bottle of wine though.

A lot! Rule of thumb for wine, expect about 100% in various fees of what the bottle was paid. This is for Quebec, but as most provinces have high taxes on alcohol, it should be similar. For hard liquor it's higher, since tax rate increase with alcohol per volume...

 

[SmilingGrump]

We always bring back extra alcohol and only have to pay extra duty about 1/2 the time. When we do have to pay, the amount varies but has always been far less then if we'd bought in Canada. In Phoenix, BevMo often has a "Buy one, get the second for $0.05" deal ... the reaction of Customs when you declare a 5 cent bottle of Malibu Rum and produce the receipt is hilarious

 

[LSmith]

A lot! Rule of thumb for wine, expect about 100% in various fees of what the bottle was paid. This is for Quebec, but as most provinces have high taxes on alcohol, it should be similar. For hard liquor it's higher, since tax rate increase with alcohol per volume...

Yikes! I had no idea it would be that much. Good to know.

 

[SmilingGrump]

It really does vary depending on the officer (at least here in Alberta). We've brought back the exact same items before and have been charged different amounts each time. The most we have had to pay was just over $46 and that was when we were 6 bottles over, but I've also been charged $24 for being two bottles over (though I did not have my receipt that time so they had no pricing to base the tax on and they could have seized it instead). We don't bother bringing wine back because the we save much less on wine then hard liquor.

As a side note, I asked about bringing back open bottles and Customs had no issue with it. Airlines may be a different story, but the Customs officer I asked had the attitude of "Why would you waste it?"

 

[cabmom]

I have gone over quite abit in the last 6 weeks for 24 hrs and have brought back beer each time. I've been charged around $10/case each time I've had to pay Duty. Still cheaper than what a case costs in our stores!