Balikbayan box packing list — budget, tax-free limit and the list Customs asks for

Balikbayan box · packing list · tax-free limit

What goes in the box, what it costs — and how much tax-free room is left this year

Boxes, freight and what you pack. You get the total, a weekly amount until your cut-off date, how much of the ₱150,000 yearly limit you use, and the packing list that the Bureau of Customs Information Sheet asks for.

Forwarder cut-off date Ask your forwarder — boxes for Christmas leave early Boxes Empty box, per box, ₱ Example — or 0 if the forwarder gives it Freight / door-to-door, per box, ₱ Example — from your forwarder Food and groceries (value), ₱ Clothes and shoes (value), ₱ Toiletries and vitamins (value), ₱ Toys and gifts (value), ₱ Gadgets and appliances (value), ₱ Value of boxes already sent this year, ₱ Counts toward the ₱150,000 a year Boxes already sent this year (tax-free) Up to 3 times a year Already set aside, ₱

1. Fill in the packing list item by item — it is the list the Information Sheet asks for.
2. Ask your forwarder for the cut-off date and the Information Sheet form; attach a copy of your passport page.
3. Keep receipts for what you pack, if you have them.

Customs Administrative Order No. 01-2018 (Bureau of Customs, under R.A. 10863): Filipinos abroad may send balikbayan boxes duty- and tax-free up to 3 times in a calendar year; contents are personal and household effects only, not in commercial quantities; the total value per sender in a calendar year must not exceed ₱150,000 (the law lets the Department of Finance adjust this amount — check the current figure); a box is up to 200,000 cubic centimetres. The sender signs an Information Sheet that serves as the packing list. Freight and box prices are examples.