How landed cost is built up
Landed cost is the true all-in cost of getting a lot to your door: the goods, plus freight, insurance, import duty, VAT or GST, and any handling. The calculator follows the common CIF method, the same order most customs regimes use, so the tax build-up is transparent.
The steps are:
- Goods value = unit price times quantity.
- CIF value = goods + freight + insurance. This is the base most authorities assess duty on.
- Import duty = your duty rate applied to the CIF value.
- VAT or GST = your tax rate applied to the CIF value plus duty (the common taxable base). Your country may use a different base.
- Landed total = CIF + duty + tax + handling. Landed cost per unit = landed total divided by quantity.
Because the taxable base is set by each country, the tool is honest about its assumption: duty on CIF, tax on CIF-plus-duty. If your regime differs, adjust the rates or read the result as an approximation. Authoritative rates live with your customs broker and at official sources such as your national customs authority or the WTO tariff database.
Worked example
Import 100 units at 100 each: goods value 10,000. Freight 800, insurance 200, duty 5 percent, VAT 20 percent, handling 150.
CIF is 10,000 + 800 + 200 = 11,000. Duty at 5 percent of CIF is 550. VAT at 20 percent of (11,000 + 550) is 2,310. Landed total is 11,000 + 550 + 2,310 + 150 handling = 14,010, which is 140.10 per unit. That per-unit landed cost is the number to carry into a margin calculation: it is what the stock actually costs you, not the 100 sticker price.
Frequently asked questions
Where do I find my duty and VAT rates?
From your customs broker, or your country customs authority, or a tariff lookup such as the WTO tariff database. Rates depend on the product classification (HS code) and any trade agreement between the origin and destination, so confirm before importing.
Should I include VAT in my cost?
Only if you cannot reclaim it. Many VAT-registered businesses reclaim import VAT, making it a cash-flow item rather than a permanent cost. Duty is usually not reclaimable. The tool lists them separately so you can decide.
Can I feed this into the margin calculator?
Yes. Take the landed cost per unit here and use it as the unit buy cost in the wholesale margin calculator for a true-cost margin on the lot.
Is my data private?
Yes. The calculation is pure browser math. Nothing you type is uploaded, logged or stored, and it works offline once the page has loaded.
Source import lots from verified sellers
Aikon is the B2B wholesale electronics trading platform. Find export-ready lots from verified companies, with structured fields for region and condition, so your landed-cost planning starts from clean numbers. Free for verified companies.