in 1997 i think we were allowed six bottles duty free liquor in P.R. to take home. Now I THINK I read 4 ior 6 this time.
2016 reference: If you are bringing in alcohol, you are allowed only one liter of alcohol per person under the personal exemption rules. You can bring in 200 cigarettes (or 100 cigars) per person under the personal exemption. Beyond that, you will be charged duty taxes on those items — even though the value is still less than $800.
it’s a good idea to save receipts.
So how much in alcohol or cigarettes can you bring back in? There are no federal limits on how much you can bring, within reason. The rules call for the allowance for enough goods for “personal use.”
set of special rules apply for places like airports and cruise ships, they are able to sell goods in these stores without having to pay import taxes (or duty) on them first. Most consumers never see this tax or even know it exists — but when goods like alcohol or cigarettes are imported to a country, most governments charge a duty on its value. In addition, many jurisdictions have heavy taxes on things like alcohol or cigarettes, no matter where they are from. Depending on where you live, this can be a tax at the federal, state, and city level. Of course, all that tax is then passed on to the final consumer in the form of a higher price.
Duty Free Doesn’t Mean Tax Free (Despite the Signs)
What this doesn’t mean, however, is that you are done with the taxman… or that you can simply buy barrels of booze and cigarettes to last you a year. Once you get back home from your cruise, then you have to go through customs.
At customs, you must declare everything of value that you are bringing back to the United States — including things you bought in duty-free shops.
In most cases (there are all sorts of caveats), you are allowed up to $800 per person in goods before being charged duties on the amount. Duty amounts vary based on what the item(s) you are bringing and the amount of goods you are bringing in. However, for most items, they run 3% for the first $1,000 over the $800 allowance.