How to Import Furniture into the U.S.: A Guide to HTS Codes and Customs Duties

The United States is one of the world’s largest importers of residential, office, and commercial furniture. With major ocean freight lanes routing directly into the Eastern Seaboard, clearing your cargo swiftly requires deep technical and regulatory precision.

Whether your shipments are landing in Florida via the Port of Miami and Port Everglades, or routing through primary regional shipping hubs like the Port of Savannah, the Port of Virginia, or the Port of Charleston, navigating the complex trade compliance landscape is vital to protecting your bottom line.

Classifying and clearing furniture through U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) requires strict data accuracy. A simple mistake in a Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) code can trigger massive anti-dumping duties, costly container holds, or strict Customs audits.

Understanding HTS Chapter 94 for Furniture Classifications

Almost all imported furniture products are governed by Chapter 94 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule. Determining your exact import duty rate depends heavily on three things: the core materials used (wood, metal, plastic), the intended environment (office, kitchen, bedroom), and whether the items are upholstered.

The most common 4-digit and 6-digit HTS headings for furniture imports include:

HTS Heading 9401: Seats and chairs (whether or not convertible into beds), including upholstered chairs with wooden or metal frames.
- Subheading 9401.61: Upholstered seats with wooden frames.
- Subheading 9401.71: Upholstered seats with metal frames.
HTS Heading 9403: Other furniture items and their structural parts.
- Subheading 9403.30: Wooden furniture of a kind used in offices.
- Subheading 9403.40: Wooden furniture of a kind used in kitchens (including cabinets and vanities).
- Subheading 9403.50: Wooden furniture of a kind used in bedrooms (such as bed frames and dressers).
- Subheading 9403.20: Other metal furniture (such as shelving and industrial tables).

Navigating Major Tariff Upgrades: Section 301 & Section 232

Calculating the true “landed cost” of your furniture requires tracking overlapping federal tariff policies. Depending on where your furniture is manufactured, your shipment may face steep additional duties when entering any East Coast port of entry:

Section 301 Tariffs (China Origin)

Furniture originating from China continues to face heavy trade remedies. Furthermore, wooden bedroom furniture manufactured in China is heavily penalized with Anti-Dumping Duties (ADD) that can easily double or triple your financial exposure at the port.

Section 232 Tariffs on Wood & Upholstered Furniture

Recent federal trade enforcement layers an additional 25% duty on specific upholstered wooden furniture, wooden kitchen cabinets, and vanities under HTS Chapter 94. It also levies a 10% additional duty on incoming softwood timber and lumber. Because these duties stack on top of your base HTS rates, misclassifying an upholstered item as standard furniture can result in severe immediate fines.

Partner Government Agency (PGA) Requirements for Wood Furniture

CBP does not review furniture documentation alone. If your imported furniture features solid wood, plywood, or composite substrates, you must clear compliance with secondary federal partner agencies before your container can clear the terminal gates at the Port of Miami, Port of Savannah, or any other U.S. port:

The Lacey Act (USDA APHIS): For any furniture containing plant or wood material, you must electronically file a PPQ 505 Lacey Act Declaration. You are legally required to declare the exact scientific genus and species of the wood, its monetary value, and the specific country where the timber was harvested.
TSCA Title VI Certification (EPA): If your furniture features composite wood materials—such as MDF, particleboard, or hardwood plywood—it must strictly comply with Environmental Protection Agency formaldehyde emission standards. Your items must carry visible, permanent compliance labels at the time of import, and your customs broker must file a TSCA certification in the ACE system.
Pest Control Treatments: Untreated raw wood is flatly refused entry to prevent ecological infestations. Solid wood furniture and wood packaging materials (WPM) must undergo approved heat treatments or fumigation and bear the official IPPC stamp.

Nationwide Customs Brokerage Across the East Coast

Our team coordinates seamless entry and document preparation across the nation’s busiest container gateways to keep your distribution chain moving without a hitch:

Florida Corridors: Processing deep-draft container cargo arriving through the Port of Miami and Port Everglades to satisfy local South Florida distribution requirements.
The Southeast and Mid-Atlantic Freight Gateways: Managing multi-port logistics workflows for furniture shipments entering through the high-volume terminals of the Port of Savannah, the Port of Virginia, and the Port of Charleston.

Maximize Savings and Avoid Port Delays

Protect your furniture supply chain by letting our experienced customs brokerage team manage your filings before your cargo ships. We help high-volume commercial importers structure their logistics securely:

Filing 24-Hour ISF: Securing your Importer Security Filing before your vessel leaves the foreign dock to avoid an automatic $5,000 CBP penalty.
Requesting Binding Rulings: When product designs blur the lines between HTS subheadings, we can assist in obtaining an official, legally binding classification ruling from CBP to permanently lock in your lowest legal duty rate.
Managing FTZ and Bonded Storage: Utilizing Foreign Trade Zones (FTZs) or bonded warehouses near major ports to legally defer duty payments until your inventory is ready for domestic distribution.