# What is the harbor maintenance fee, and when does it apply?

Source: https://landedcosthq.com/blog/2026-11-12-harbor-maintenance-fee/

Cross-border operations guide · November 12, 2026


**Short answer:** The harbor maintenance fee is 0.125 percent of the value of commercial cargo loaded or unloaded at a US port, and it applies to ocean shipments only. It is collected by CBP with the entry, it applies whether the duty is zero or not, and it is separate from the merchandise processing fee. A shipment that moves by air never pays it, and a shipment that moves by ocean always does.

## A fee, not a duty

The harbor maintenance fee is not a tariff. It is a user fee, created to fund the maintenance of US harbors, and it is charged on the value of commercial cargo that moves through a port. The rate is 0.125 percent of the cargo value, and it is collected by CBP at the time of entry, on the same summary as the duty.

The distinction matters because the fee does not follow the duty. A product with a zero MFN rate still pays the HMF, because the fee is on the cargo value, not on the tariff. A product that qualifies for a free trade agreement still pays the HMF, for the same reason. The fee is the cost of using the port, and every ocean shipment uses the port.

The fee applies to imports, to domestic cargo moving between US ports, and to passengers, but for the importer the case is simple: if the goods arrive by ocean, the fee applies. If they arrive by air, it does not. The mode of transport decides the fee, and the mode is decided before the shipment moves.

## How it is calculated, and what it is calculated on

The fee is 0.125 percent of the value of the cargo, and the value is the value for the entry, which is the transaction value in most cases. A $100,000 shipment pays $125. A $1,000,000 shipment pays $1,250. The fee is small on a single shipment and large across a year of shipments, which is why it belongs in the landed-cost model as a line, not as a rounding error.

The fee is reported on the entry summary, and it is paid with the duty and the merchandise processing fee. The MPF is 0.3464 percent of the customs value on a formal entry, and the HMF is 0.125 percent on ocean shipments, so a formal ocean entry carries both, and the two together are 0.4714 percent of the value before the duty itself is counted.

The fee is not in the supplier's quote, because the supplier does not pay it. The importer does, and the importer who prices from the quote alone discovers the fee at the entry, when the invoice has already been sent to the customer.

## The model line, and the air freight comparison

Add the HMF as a line in the landed-cost model, with the rate as an input and the mode of transport as the condition. A shipment by ocean carries the line. A shipment by air does not. The model that applies the fee to every shipment overstates the air cost, and the model that applies it to none understates the ocean cost.

The comparison between air and ocean has to include the fee, because the fee is part of the ocean cost and not part of the air cost. An ocean shipment that looks cheaper by $500 on freight can be cheaper by only $375 once the HMF and the MPF are counted, and the difference can decide the mode.

And check the entry summary when it comes back. The HMF line should be there, at 0.125 percent of the value, and if it is not, the entry is wrong, and the correction is cheaper now than at liquidation. [Demurrage and detention are the port fees that eat margin after the goods arrive, and the HMF is the port fee that eats margin before they are even unloaded](https://landedcosthq.com/blog/2026-11-10-demurrage-detention-port-fees/).

## Frequently asked questions

### What is the harbor maintenance fee?

A user fee of 0.125 percent of the value of commercial cargo loaded or unloaded at a US port, collected by CBP with the entry. It funds harbor maintenance and applies to ocean shipments only.

### Does the HMF apply if the duty is zero?

Yes. The fee is on the cargo value, not on the tariff, so a product with a zero MFN rate or a free trade agreement still pays it. Every ocean shipment uses the port, and every ocean shipment pays.

### How is the HMF different from the merchandise processing fee?

The MPF is 0.3464 percent of the customs value on a formal entry, and it applies to every formal entry. The HMF is 0.125 percent and applies only to ocean shipments. A formal ocean entry carries both.

### Should I include the HMF in my landed-cost model?

Yes, as a line with the rate as an input and the mode of transport as the condition. An ocean shipment carries it, an air shipment does not, and the fee belongs in the comparison between the two modes.