MPF and HMF: two import fees worth checking

The broker's invoice has two small lines below the furniture duty: MPF and HMF. On a $60,000 ocean entry subject to both, MPF adds $207.84 and HMF adds $75 in this worked example. Together they add $282.84 before the broker's own service fee.

MPF is the Merchandise Processing Fee. HMF is the Harbor Maintenance Fee. They have different rules and do not both apply to every import. Identify the entry type and transport route before checking the calculation, then keep each charge visible in landed cost.

The Section 232 overview explains the separate furniture tariff. A correctly calculated tariff does not settle which processing and harbor fees belong on the same entry.

Apply the fiscal-year MPF limits

Formal-entry MPF uses a 0.3464% rate, subject to limits and exemptions. For fiscal 2026, the minimum is $33.58 and the maximum is $651.50, effective October 1, 2025. Those limits come from CBP's fiscal 2026 fee notice.

Use the schedule effective for the entry, not a minimum copied from an old invoice. 19 CFR § 24.23 explains the annual adjustments and distinguishes formal and informal treatment. The base-year dollar amounts printed in the regulation are not the current adjusted limits.

The cap applies at the entry level. Do not independently apply a minimum or maximum to every product line and then total them. Start with the supported entry charge, then allocate it to the merchandise for the store's cost records.

Identify when HMF belongs on the shipment

The HMF regulation sets a 0.125% fee on covered commercial cargo loaded on or unloaded from a commercial vessel at a covered port, with exceptions. Air freight is not ocean cargo merely because its arrival airport is called a port of entry.

For the $60,000 example, $60,000 × 0.00125 equals $75. Keep the basis and route beside the calculation. If a broker invoice includes HMF on a shipment you understood to be entirely by air, ask for the underlying explanation rather than accepting the familiar abbreviation automatically.

Ask how the courier shipment was entered

A small courier parcel does not automatically use the formal-entry percentage and minimum. Informal entries have a different fee structure, and express-consignment arrangements and exemptions can affect the government charges. A courier may also charge its own clearance or disbursement fee.

Ask for the entry type and a breakdown separating government fees from the courier's services. Then compare the government amount with the relevant rule. The customs-brokerage guide explains which questions belong with the filing party.

Allocate the actual fees across the goods

Value is a sensible allocation basis for these value-related acquisition charges. Use the actual entry fee, including any cap or minimum, and spread it across the included lines by value. Keep the worksheet when the entry covers more than one PO so the full charge is not entered repeatedly.

Say the $60,000 example contains $40,000 of sofas and $20,000 of chairs. Allocating $207.84 of MPF by value gives $138.56 to the sofas and $69.28 to the chairs. The same split assigns $50 and $25 of HMF. Each pair adds back to the original fee.

Use the allocation guide when freight needs a different basis. A sofa can use most of the space without carrying the same share of the shipment's value.

Keep the charges separate in OrderPilot

Add MPF and HMF as named purchasing charges on the PO and use Value allocation. Review the landed-cost preview before saving. Attach the entry summary and broker invoice so accounting can trace each amount to its source. With QuickBooks connected, use the store's approved duty or other-charge mappings. Reconcile the supported posting rather than entering the broker's total again as a second acquisition cost. The carton labels may all say “chair”; the cost record can afford to be more descriptive.

Review fee refunds on their own basis

MPF and HMF are not IEEPA duties. A tariff recovery does not automatically refund either fee. Ask the broker whether the particular fee was correctly assessed and whether any separate correction or refund basis exists for the entry.

For the next broker invoice, match the entry value, fiscal-year limits, route, and fee breakdown. Then carry the verified amounts into the landed-cost record, where the small charges remain part of what the furniture cost to acquire.

Sources

1. 19 CFR § 24.23: Fees for processing merchandise — Code of Federal Regulations, Cornell Legal Information Institute.
2. 19 CFR § 24.24: Harbor maintenance fee — Code of Federal Regulations, Cornell Legal Information Institute.
3. Fiscal 2026 customs user fees, CBP Dec. 25-10 — U.S. Customs and Border Protection, July 23, 2025; effective October 1, 2025.