The next time you plan a shopping trip to London or decide to redecorate with authentic Balinese furniture, the first thing you should do is review the latest news in customs. What you can and cannot take with across borders, and how much it will cost, may be a determining factor in your purchases made abroad.

Every time you enter a new country, or return to your own, you’ll need to clear customs. The primary mission of customs is to ensure that nothing harmful, potentially harmful, or illegal is brought into the country. With that in mind, every traveler will be asked if they have anything to declare. What they mean is: did you bring anything back with you that was purchased or received as a gift on your trip. If you are traveling into another country, customs officials will want to know if you are traveling with anything potentially dangerous or illegal. This could include plants, fruits and vegetables, meats, alcohol, automobiles, and animals. Traveling with these items can be prohibited or heavily restricted. For example: automobiles purchased in another country must meet the fuel-emission and safety requirements of U.S. vehicles in order to be imported in the United States. All items must be declared when crossing borders, and must comply with the country’s regulations or they will be confiscated.

Those items are the big ones. Customs officials will also want to know if you purchased anything else on your trip. They want to know about clothes, jewelry, electronics, furniture, or anything else that may be dutiable. When you purchase goods outside of your own country, you are subject to a duty fee upon returning with those items. The cost of the duty fee will vary depending on the item and its worth. Be careful when buying expensive jewelry or electronics from certain countries because they can be subject to a 100% duty fee at border crossing. This means that you would pay the full amount of the item at the time of purchase and again at border crossing. Check with the U.S. Customs and Border Protection website (http://www.customs.ustreas.gov/) if you plan on making any expensive purchases while traveling abroad.

The good news about duty fees is that each person is eligible for an exemption on goods costing up to a certain amount. The amount of the exemption is dependent upon the country you visited, but in most cases will be $800. For a U.S. insular possession (U.S. Virgin Islands, American Samoa or Guam), the duty-free exemption is $1600. This exemption can be used toward anything purchased while abroad except alcohol and certain tobacco products. These products are excluded from your personal exemption and charged a flat rate of duty instead.