The harbor maintenance fee is a port use charge of 0.125% of the value of commercial cargo loaded on or unloaded from a commercial vessel at a covered US port, set by 19 CFR 24.24 with no minimum and no maximum. For importers, it is owed on goods unloaded from a ship and entered formally, admitted to a foreign trade zone or placed in a bonded warehouse, and it is collected on the entry summary next to duty. The statute behind it, 26 U.S.C. 4461, calls it a tax on port use, which is why the same charge also goes by the name harbor maintenance tax.
HMF looks trivial at an eighth of a percent, but it has no cap, so it grows with every dollar of entered value, and it has more exceptions than most importers expect. This guide covers the rate, the ports and shipments that pay it, the exemptions and the separate quarterly regime for foreign trade zones, how it is reported on the entry summary, and the 1998 Supreme Court decision that ended it for exports. Its place in the entry sequence is mapped in our guide to customs clearance procedures. Rules verified against the eCFR and CBP forms as of November 13, 2026.
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What HMF Is and the 0.125% Rate (19 CFR 24.24)
HMF is 0.125% of the value of the cargo under 19 CFR 24.24(a), and for imports that value is the CBP appraised value under 19 U.S.C. 1401a, the same basis used for duty, under 24.24(e)(2)(i). The importer becomes liable at the moment the cargo is unloaded from the vessel, not when the entry is filed. A $120,000 ocean entry pays $150.00 in HMF; a $1 million entry pays $1,250.00, and nothing limits it above that.
The absence of a cap is the main difference from the other federal fee on entries. The merchandise processing fee is 0.3464% but held between $34.58 and $670.86 per entry in fiscal year 2027, so on a very large ocean entry HMF can exceed MPF. On a $600,000 entry, for example, HMF is $750.00 against capped MPF of $670.86. Both belong in any cost model built per shipment, as set out in our guide to landed cost calculation.
The fee is not limited to imported goods. The same section charges domestic cargo moving between US ports by vessel, payable by the shipper, and passengers carried for hire, payable by the vessel operator. For an importer, the relevant liability is the import vessel movement described in 24.24(e)(2).
Which Ports and Shipments Pay It
HMF applies only at a port within the regulation’s definition: a channel or harbor in the customs territory of the United States that is not an inland waterway, is open to public navigation and has received Federal funds for construction, maintenance or operation since 1977, under 24.24(b)(1). The regulation lists the covered ports by code, including New York and Newark (1001 and 1003), Los Angeles (2704) and Long Beach (2709), Houston (5301), Savannah (1703), Miami (5201), Seattle (3001) and Tacoma (3002), along with Great Lakes ports such as Chicago (3901) and Cleveland (4101). The list also carves out specific locations, for example Juneau Harbor and Dutch Harbor in Alaska.
Because the trigger is loading or unloading a commercial vessel, cargo that arrives by air, truck or rail does not pay HMF. Goods that reach a Canadian or Mexican seaport by vessel and then cross into the United States by truck or rail do not pay it either, because no vessel is unloaded at a covered US port. Cargo unloaded at a covered port and then moved in bond to an inland port for entry is still unloaded at that covered port, so the liability attaches there.
Import liability covers cargo destined for consumption, warehousing or foreign trade zone admission, and CBP collects it on all formal entries, including warehouse entries and temporary importation under bond entries, under 24.24(e)(2)(i). Shipments that qualify for informal entry under 19 CFR 143.21 are not assessed, under the de minimis rule in 24.24(d)(3)(i). Two further special rules limit double charging: the mere movement of cargo within one port is not assessed, and cargo charged on loading is not charged again on unloading from the same vessel. Ocean gateways with heavy import volume, such as those served by our New York customs broker team, sit entirely inside the fee’s scope.
Exemptions and FTZ Admissions
The exemptions in 19 CFR 24.24(c) are defined by the cargo and the movement, not by origin. They cover bunker fuel, ship’s stores, sea stores and vessel equipment; fish and other aquatic life caught and not previously landed; passenger and vehicle ferries operating within the United States or to Canada and Mexico; specified movements between the US mainland and Alaska, Hawaii and US possessions; vessels whose fuel is subject to the Inland Waterway Fuel Tax; cargo entering in bond for transportation and direct exportation to a foreign country, subject to conditions for Canada and Mexico; cargo or vessels of the US Government; and humanitarian or development cargo owned or financed by nonprofits and certified by CBP.
The list contains no trade agreement exemption. USMCA and the other FTAs that remove MPF on originating goods do not remove HMF, so an ocean entry of originating goods can show zero duty, zero MPF and a full 0.125% HMF.
Foreign trade zones are handled differently. When imported cargo is unloaded at a covered port and admitted to a zone, the applicant for admission is liable at unloading, but pays quarterly rather than entry by entry, under 24.24(e)(2)(iii), by filing the Harbor Maintenance Fee Quarterly Summary Report, CBP Form 349, through pay.gov or by mail. The fee is owed on all shipments unloaded and admitted to the zone, including direct deliveries received under the zone operator’s bond. How zones work more broadly is covered in our foreign trade zone guide.
Two de minimis rules apply to quarterly payers: no quarterly payment is required when the total value of shipments for the quarter does not exceed $10,000, under 24.24(d)(4), and domestic shipments of $1,000 or less are not assessed.
How HMF Is Reported on the Entry Summary
On a formal entry, the importer pays HMF with the other duties, taxes and fees and shows the amount on CBP Form 7501 or its electronic equivalent, under 24.24(e)(2)(ii). CBP’s Form 7501 instructions (revision 02/26) assign HMF class code 501. Unlike every other fee, which must be reported at line level, HMF may be shown either on each line or once at the bottom of column 33 on the first page. The block-by-block layout is covered in our guide to the CBP Form 7501 entry summary.
A small-amount rule applies at the summary level. When HMF is the only payment due on an entry summary, the instructions say HMF of $3 or less is not collected, and the regulation provides that where HMF is the only charge and exceeds $3, payment must accompany the entry documents.
Corrections follow the duty rules. Supplemental payments and refunds of HMF paid on imported cargo use the procedures for ordinary duties, under 24.24(e)(4)(i). Quarterly-paid HMF is corrected with an Amended Quarterly Summary Report, CBP Form 350, filed with the original Form 349, and a refund request must reach CBP within one year of payment, or within one year of withdrawal from the zone for zone merchandise later exported under 19 U.S.C. 1309. HMF lines are worth including when an importer reviews its entries, because a value error carries into HMF as well as duty; this is part of customs audit support.
| Movement | Liable party | When liability arises | How it is paid |
|---|---|---|---|
| Import, formal entry (consumption, warehouse, TIB) | Importer | Unloading at a covered port | With duty on CBP Form 7501, class code 501 |
| Import, FTZ admission | Applicant for admission | Unloading at a covered port | Quarterly on CBP Form 349 |
| Import, informal entry | Not assessed | n/a | n/a (de minimis, 24.24(d)(3)(i)) |
| Domestic vessel movement | Shipper | Unloading | Quarterly on CBP Form 349 |
| Passengers for hire | Vessel operator | Boarding or disembarking | Quarterly on CBP Form 349 |
| Export loading | Not collectible | n/a | Held unconstitutional as applied to exports (1998) |
HMF on Exports and the Refund History
The Supreme Court ended HMF on exports in United States v. United States Shoe Corp., 523 U.S. 360, decided unanimously on March 31, 1998. The Court held that the charge was a tax rather than a user fee, and that it therefore violated the Export Clause of the Constitution, which bars taxes on exports, “as applied to exports”. The holding did not reach imports, domestic shipments or passengers, which is why HMF is still collected on those today.
The regulation still carries the refund machinery that followed. 19 CFR 24.24(e)(4)(iv) sets out how exporters claimed back export payments: CBP compiled a payment report and a refund certification for each exporter, the exporter had 120 days to sign and return it or to request a revised certification with supporting documents, and denied amounts could be protested within 180 days. The procedure distinguishes payments made before July 1, 1990, which needed the exporter’s own proof of payment, from later payments, for which CBP relied on its own records.
For exporters today the point is simpler: the Export Clause, not a regulatory exemption, is the reason no HMF appears on export shipments. Duties that the country of export levies on its own outbound goods are a separate question, covered in our guide to who pays export duties.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the harbor maintenance fee?
The harbor maintenance fee is a federal charge of 0.125% of the value of commercial cargo loaded on or unloaded from a commercial vessel at a covered US port, under 19 CFR 24.24 and 26 U.S.C. 4461. Importers pay it on ocean shipments entered formally or admitted to a foreign trade zone. It has no minimum and no maximum.
How is the harbor maintenance fee calculated?
Multiply the CBP appraised value of the cargo, the same value used for duty, by 0.125%. A $120,000 ocean entry pays $150.00 and a $1 million entry pays $1,250.00, because there is no cap.
Does the harbor maintenance fee apply to air freight?
No. HMF applies only when cargo is loaded on or unloaded from a commercial vessel at a covered port, so air, truck and rail shipments do not pay it. Ocean cargo unloaded at a covered port pays it even if it then moves inland in bond for entry.
Is HMF exempt for USMCA or FTA goods?
No. The exemptions in 19 CFR 24.24(c) are based on the type of cargo and movement, and none is based on a trade agreement. Originating goods that are exempt from duty and from the merchandise processing fee still pay HMF when they arrive by vessel at a covered port.
Who pays the harbor maintenance fee?
For imports, the importer pays it with the entry summary. For goods admitted to a foreign trade zone, the applicant for admission pays quarterly on CBP Form 349. Domestic shippers and passenger vessel operators also pay quarterly.
Is the harbor maintenance fee charged on exports?
No. In United States v. United States Shoe Corp. (1998), the Supreme Court held the charge unconstitutional under the Export Clause as applied to exports. It is still collected on imports, domestic shipments and passengers.
Do informal entries pay HMF?
No. Under 19 CFR 24.24(d)(3)(i), imported shipments that qualify for informal entry under 19 CFR 143.21 are not assessed HMF. The fee is collected on formal entries, including warehouse and temporary importation under bond entries, and on FTZ admissions.
