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THE FOUR CHARGES
1. IVA (Spanish VAT) – 21%
Set by law. Charged on the value of the goods plus postage, plus the EU charges below. It applies to all purchases, however small.
2. EU customs duty – €3
In force since 1 July 2026 for parcels from outside the EU worth €150 or less. It is charged per type of product, not per parcel or per unit. For example, five T-shirts count as one type (€3), but three T-shirts and a watch are two types (€6). Correos applies it to purchases (“distance sales”). It is temporary, until 1 July 2028.
3. EU handling fee – €2
In force since 1 November 2026 on online purchases from outside the EU. Like the €3 duty, Correos charges it per product type. Unlike the duty, it applies whatever the value, including purchases over €150. It is permanent.
4. The delivery company’s own fee
This is the part that varies. Correos, DHL, UPS, Evri and others each charge their own fee for handling customs, and IVA is added to it. As one example, a 2024 consumer arbitration case in La Rioja involved a Correos customs fee of €5.88. The Spanish consumer office (Consumo Responde) confirms carriers may charge these “gestión o despacho” costs before delivering.
Note: these charges only apply to parcels from outside the EU, which now includes the UK. Parcels sent between EU countries, such as Ireland to Spain, have no customs charges at all.
GIFTS ARE TREATED DIFFERENTLY
A genuine gift from one private person to another, worth €45 or less, is exempt from both IVA and customs duty, according to the Agencia Tributaria. A customs declaration is still needed.
The €3 duty and €2 fee are aimed at online purchases. However, the delivery company may still charge its own handling fee on a gift.
This is the main reason people in our groups report such different costs for similar parcels.
WORKED EXAMPLE: THE £10 CALENDAR
A £10 calendar is roughly €11.50. If it was bought online and sent by post, the bill would look roughly like this:
EU customs duty: €3
EU handling fee: €2
IVA at 21% on the goods, postage and EU charges: about €3.50 or more, depending on postage
Carrier’s handling fee plus IVA on it: the remainder, roughly €7–10
Total: around €16–18.50, which matches what our member paid. This breakdown is an estimate from the published charges, not from the actual receipt.
WHAT WE’RE NOT SURE ABOUT
The rules are new, and not everything is spelled out yet. Here is what we couldn’t confirm:
Gifts and the new EU charges. Correos applies the €3 duty to purchases, but its page doesn’t say how gifts are treated. The €2 fee is an EU-wide rule. Guidance from the Irish tax authority says it doesn’t apply to gifts between private individuals, and the same EU rule should apply in Spain, but we haven’t seen a Spanish source confirm it.
Per item or per parcel. Official sources (Correos, Irish Revenue) say the €2 fee is charged per type of item. Some courier and news reports describe it as per parcel.
Carrier fees. The €5.88 Correos fee is from a 2024 case. We couldn’t find Correos’s current published amount, and couriers set their own.
If you’ve had a parcel recently, sharing your receipt breakdown in the group would help everyone.
TIPS
For people sending gifts from the UK:
Tick “Gift” on the customs form only if it really is a gift between private individuals.
Describe the contents clearly and give a realistic value.
Keep gifts at or under €45 in total value per parcel.
For people buying online from UK shops:
Check whether the price already includes IVA and EU charges at checkout. If it does, the carrier should not charge them again.
Expect to pay at least €5 in EU charges per product type, plus IVA and the carrier’s fee.
Several different types of item in one parcel means several €3 and €2 charges.
When you pay:
Ask for the breakdown. Correos issues an invoice for its own fee and a separate proof of payment for the duty, fee and taxes, so you can see what each part was.
SOURCES
Correos – Arancel para envíos de bajo valor en la UE:
https://www.correos.es/es/es/atencion-al-cliente/informacion-aduanera/arancel-para-envios-de-bajo-valor-en-la-ue
Correos – DUA Simplificado (envíos ≤ 150 €):
https://www.correos.es/es/es/particulares/recibir/tramitacion-aduanera-en-la-importacion/importacion-en-peninsula-y-baleares/dua-simplificado
Consumo Responde – Compras a distancia desde fuera de la UE de menos de 150 €:
https://www.consumoresponde.es/art%C3%ADculos/compras_distancia_desde_fuera_de_la_union_europea_de_menos_de_150_eu
Agencia Tributaria – Compras por Internet y envíos entre particulares:
https://sede.agenciatributaria.gob.es/Sede/aduanas/comercio-electronico-pipe-envios-particulares/compras-internet-envios-particulares/envios-valor-hasta-150-euros.html
Agencia Tributaria – Manual de la declaración H7 (gifts up to €45, code C08):
https://sede.agenciatributaria.gob.es/static_files/Sede/Procedimiento_ayuda/DB20/Modelo_H7.pdf
Irish tax authority (Revenue) – guidance on the EU-wide €2 handling fee:
https://www.revenue.ie/en/customs/individuals/union-handling-fee/index.aspx
Junta Arbitral de Consumo de La Rioja – Correos customs fee case (2024):
https://www.dsca.gob.es/sites/default/files/consumo_masinfo/InformesJAC/CJA_83_2024_JAC_LaRioja.pdf
This article is general information, not legal or tax advice. Rules and carrier fees can change, so check with the carrier or the Agencia Tributaria for your own parcel.
