What is the EU duty-free allowance when I fly in?

EUR 430 worth of other goods per person, under Article 7(1) of Council Directive 2007/74/EC. The same article sets EUR 300 for travellers arriving by land, which is why driving across a land border is treated differently from flying. Tobacco and alcohol are handled by separate quantitative limits rather than by that value ceiling.

Why is the allowance lower if I drive than if I fly?

Recital (5) of the Directive gives the reason directly: "The ease of shopping abroad could cause problems for Member States which share land-borders with third countries with significantly lower prices." A land crossing is a repeatable day trip into a cheaper market; a flight is not. So the same purchase attracts a EUR 430 ceiling by air and a EUR 300 ceiling by car.

Can I mix types of alcohol or tobacco within the allowance?

Yes, and this is the rule most people miss. Article 9(2) lets you combine spirits and fortified wine provided the aggregate of the percentages used from each allowance does not exceed 100% — so half your spirits allowance plus half your fortified allowance is fine. Article 8(4) does the same across the four tobacco types. The 4 litres of still wine and 16 litres of beer in Article 9(3) sit outside that pool and are counted separately.

Are there still allowances for perfume, coffee and tea?

No. Recital (7) of the Directive states that "the limits for perfume, coffee and tea should be discontinued". Any page still listing a perfume or coffee allowance is quoting the pre-2008 regime. Those goods now fall under the general EUR 430 / EUR 300 value threshold like anything else.

Does this allowance apply to VAT refunds at the airport?

No, they are two different things. The allowance here is about duty and VAT on goods you IMPORT when you arrive. A tourist VAT refund is about reclaiming VAT you already paid on exports. This tool calculates the import allowance only.

Travel tool

EU Customs Allowance Calculator — Duty and VAT Free Limits

Work out exactly what you can bring into the EU duty and VAT free, using the real figures in Council Directive 2007/74/EC: EUR 430 by air or sea, EUR 300 by land, plus the tobacco and alcohol pools.

The EU traveller allowance is usually quoted as a single number. It is not one number, and the part that decides whether you owe duty is a rule almost nobody states:tobacco and alcohol are pooled, not stacked. Article 9(2) of Directive 2007/74/EC lets you combine categories as long as the aggregate of the percentages used from each allowance does not exceed 100%. This calculator applies that arithmetic rather than a flat list.

A correction, up front. Most guides still list allowances forperfume, coffee and tea. Those were discontinued — recital (7) of the Directive states the limits "should be discontinued". Anything telling you there is a perfume or coffee allowance is quoting the regime that ended in 2008. Those goods now count against the ordinary value threshold like everything else.

How are you arriving?Traveller's age band

Other goods (value)Total value of everything else you are bringing, in EUR

Article 7(3): the value of an individual item may not be split up to stay under the threshold. Personal luggage imported temporarily is excluded under Article 7(4).

Tobacco — the 100% pool (Article 8)

Each type is 100% of the tobacco allowance. Article 8(4) lets you mix them provided the aggregate percentage does not exceed 100%. Enter what you are carrying.

Applying the lower national limits?

Article 8(1) permits both sets and Article 8(2) lets Member States apply the lower one to travellers other than air travellers. Check your arrival country before relying on the higher figure.

Alcohol (Article 9)

Spirits over 22% vol, or undenatured ethyl 80%+ (litres, limit 1)Fortified or other alcohol up to 22% vol (litres, limit 2)Still wine (litres, limit 4 — outside the pool)Beer (litres, limit 16 — outside the pool)

Spirits and fortified wine share one 100% pool under Article 9(2). Wine and beer are separate allowances under Article 9(3) and do not draw on that pool.

The figures this tool applies

Every number below is from Council Directive 2007/74/EC, cited by article. Nothing here is estimated or aggregated from a travel site.

Good	Standard limit	Source
Other goods, air or sea	EUR 430 per person	Art. 7(1)
Other goods, land	EUR 300 per person	Art. 7(1)
Other goods, under 15	EUR 150 floor, up to EUR 175 in practice	Art. 7(2); zoll.de
Cigarettes	200 (or 40 under a lower national limit)	Art. 8(1)
Cigarillos, max 3 g each	100 (or 20)	Art. 8(1)
Cigars	50 (or 10)	Art. 8(1)
Smoking tobacco, incl. heated and water-pipe	250 g (or 50 g)	Art. 8(1)
Spirits over 22% vol, or undenatured 80%+	1 litre	Art. 9(1)(a)
Alcohol up to 22% vol	2 litres	Art. 9(1)(b)
Still wine	4 litres, outside the pool	Art. 9(3)
Beer	16 litres, outside the pool	Art. 9(3)
Perfume, coffee, tea	No allowance — discontinued	Recital (7)

When the allowance runs out: a first-hand account

The arithmetic on this page is abstract until someone is standing at a border with it. Matt Pietrek (Cocktail Wonk, 18 January 2017) crossed from Canada at the Peace Arch in Blaine, Washington carrying 6.25 litres of spirits between two people:

“As you may know, the duty-free limit after 48 hours is one liter per person. You’re three liters over,” the agent says. “Turn on your flashers and pull into that lane over there. Then go into the building for an additional inspection.” With that, he takes an orange card, scrawls “IRT x 3” on it, and sticks it on our windshield. Oh no! The orange placard of shame!

The instructive part is the settlement. Of the 6.25 litres, the officers counted four litres as duty-free, leaving 2.25 litres dutiable — not the three the agent first named. His own note on the card: “IRT” turned out to mean Internal Revenue Tax, and he assumed the “x 3” meant three litres. The announced figure and the charged figure were not the same number, which is worth knowing before you argue at the window.

That account is a US entry (one litre per person over 21, after 48 hours abroad), not an EU one — it is here because it shows how an allowance is actually applied at a desk, and the EU figures this tool calculates are a different regime. Dated and bylined, which is why it is quoted rather than paraphrased.

What this tool cannot tell you

Which tier your arrival country applies. Article 8(2) lets each Member State choose the lower tobacco limits for non-air travellers. The tool shows both; the country decides.
Your national under-15 figure. Article 7(2) sets a EUR 150 floor and leaves the rest to the Member State. Germany publishes EUR 175. Others may differ.
Cash declaration. That is a separate regime under Regulation (EU) 2018/1672 and is not modelled here.
Tourist VAT refunds. A different mechanism entirely — reclaiming VAT on exports, not an import allowance. Not modelled. Worth knowing anyway, because the two are constantly confused: the EU-wide ceiling for a retailer's tax-free-shopping minimum is EUR 175 under Article 147(1)(c) of Directive 2006/112/EC, and Member States may set it lower — Spain has no minimum, while Belgium's practical floor is EUR 125.01 per invoice and France's is EUR 100.01. The Netherlands went digital-only on 1 January 2026, and Great Britain has no scheme at all — the VAT Retail Export Scheme and airside tax-free shopping were withdrawn from 31 December 2020 (HMRC Revenue and Customs Brief 21), so there is nothing to claim on arrival in GB. None of that changes the import allowance above, but a page quoting a perfume allowance as a VAT-refund rule would be wrong twice.

Frequently asked questions

What is the EU duty-free allowance when I fly in?: EUR 430 worth of other goods per person, under Article 7(1) of Council Directive 2007/74/EC. The same article sets EUR 300 for travellers arriving by land, which is why driving across a land border is treated differently from flying. Tobacco and alcohol are handled by separate quantitative limits rather than by that value ceiling.
Why is the allowance lower if I drive than if I fly?: Recital (5) of the Directive gives the reason directly: "The ease of shopping abroad could cause problems for Member States which share land-borders with third countries with significantly lower prices." A land crossing is a repeatable day trip into a cheaper market; a flight is not. So the same purchase attracts a EUR 430 ceiling by air and a EUR 300 ceiling by car.
Can I mix types of alcohol or tobacco within the allowance?: Yes, and this is the rule most people miss. Article 9(2) lets you combine spirits and fortified wine provided the aggregate of the percentages used from each allowance does not exceed 100% — so half your spirits allowance plus half your fortified allowance is fine. Article 8(4) does the same across the four tobacco types. The 4 litres of still wine and 16 litres of beer in Article 9(3) sit outside that pool and are counted separately.
Are there still allowances for perfume, coffee and tea?: No. Recital (7) of the Directive states that "the limits for perfume, coffee and tea should be discontinued". Any page still listing a perfume or coffee allowance is quoting the pre-2008 regime. Those goods now fall under the general EUR 430 / EUR 300 value threshold like anything else.
Does this allowance apply to VAT refunds at the airport?: No, they are two different things. The allowance here is about duty and VAT on goods you IMPORT when you arrive. A tourist VAT refund is about reclaiming VAT you already paid on exports. This tool calculates the import allowance only.