HS Code Lookup USA: Find the 10-Digit HTS Line and Its Duty Rate

Last updated October 29, 2026·Data as-of: HTS 2026-10-19 / Section 301 2026-10-16 / AD-CVD 2026-10-16

What an HS code lookup actually returns in the US

A lookup that stops at six digits tells you what the product is. A lookup that goes to ten digits tells you what it costs. Those are different questions and they are answered by different parts of the same schedule: the first six digits are the international subheading that every WTO member shares, digits seven and eight are the US legal rate line, and digits nine and ten are statistical suffixes that CBP uses for trade statistics and that some additional-duty programs also reference. Two importers can hold the same six-digit code, declare the same value and pay different duty, because they landed on different eight-digit lines.

The practical consequence is that a lookup tool is only as good as the granularity it exposes. If it returns a six-digit description, you still have 11,414 candidate rate lines to resolve. The table below is the rate distribution of the whole snapshot — 23,193 lines — bucketed by the general (MFN) rate, which is the rate that applies when no preference program and no additional duty is in play.

Rate distribution across every line in the shipped HTS snapshot.

Source: USITC HTS REST export, general (Column 1) rate column — https://hts.usitc.gov/reststop/exportList?from=0100&to=9999&format=JSON&styles=false (fetched 2026-10-19).

Two readings matter here. First, the modal line in the US schedule is duty-free: 8,504 of 23,193 lines carry a general rate of Free, which is why a lookup that only reports “duty” without a number is unhelpful but not necessarily wrong. Second, the ad valorem tail is short and steep — the highest general rate in the snapshot is 350% — so a rate that looks surprising on a lookup result is usually not the general rate at all; it is the general rate plus an additional-duty heading.^*

Running the lookup in four steps

The sequence below is the one that survives an audit, because each step produces a value you can show a broker, a supplier or a customs auditor. Skipping step three is the single most common cause of an under-declared entry.

1. Describe the product in tariff language, not marketing language. Composition, function and the degree of manufacture decide the heading; brand names do not appear in the schedule.
2. Resolve to the eight-digit legal line. The first six digits are shared internationally; digits seven and eight are where the US rate is set. Our HTS browser lists every line with its general, special and Column 2 rates.
3. Check the eight-digit code against the additional-duty headings. Section 301 China actions, anti-dumping and countervailing orders, and Section 232 measures all attach at or near the eight-digit level. A code that is clean on the general rate can still owe 25% on top.
4. Only then compute landed cost. Duty is one line of the invoice; the entry fees and the origin-based programs decide the rest.

Step three is where the money is. The 14 Section 301 action headings in our Section 99 snapshot enumerate 10,445 eight-digit lines out of 11,414 in the schedule, and the action rates recorded across those rows are 7.5%, 25%, 35%, 50%, 70%, 100%. The chapter table below shows where the enumeration is densest, which is also a usable prior: if your product is a machine, an electrical good or a plastic article, assume the code needs the step-three check before you quote a price.^*

Chapters with the largest number of eight-digit lines enumerated under a Section 301 China action heading.

Source: Section 99 Chapter 99 action rows joined to the HTS schedule by eight-digit code — https://hts.usitc.gov/reststop/file?release=currentRelease&filename=Chapter%2099 (fetched 2026-10-16).

Three worked lookups

The examples below are not illustrations — they are rows read straight out of the shipped snapshot, one duty-free line and two dutiable lines from the steel chapters, each checked against the Section 301 enumeration. This is what a complete lookup result looks like: a ten-digit line, its general rate, and whether an additional-duty heading attaches.

Lookup results for three steel lines, including the additional-duty check that a six-digit lookup cannot answer.

Source: USITC HTS export joined to the Section 99 action rows by eight-digit code — https://hts.usitc.gov/reststop/exportList?from=0100&to=9999&format=JSON&styles=false (fetched 2026-10-19).

The steel chapters are a useful stress test because they are large and mostly free: 1,348 lines across chapters 72 and 73 collapse to 512 distinct eight-digit codes, and 1,164 of those lines carry a Free general rate. An importer who looks up the six-digit subheading, sees Free and stops will quote a landed cost that is short by the whole additional-duty amount. That is the failure mode the four-step sequence above exists to prevent, and it is measurable rather than theoretical: the action rows are in the same dataset as the rates.

Four lookup mistakes that cost money

Stopping at six digits. The most expensive habit in classification, because the six-digit code feels authoritative and is quoted by suppliers. It cannot tell you the US rate.

Treating a Free rate as no duty. A Free general rate leaves the additional-duty programs untouched. Section 301, AD/CVD and Section 232 all apply independently of the MFN column.

Ignoring the statistical suffix. Digits nine and ten do not change the rate, but they change the entry summary and, for some programs, the reporting obligation. A code that is right at eight digits and wrong at ten still files as a misclassification.

Using an old schedule. Rates change on proclamation dates, and an additional-duty heading can be added or suspended between two shipments of the same goods. Every table on this page carries its fetch date; the HTS snapshot behind it was pulled 2026-10-19 and the Section 99 action rows 2026-10-16. A lookup without a date is a guess.^*

What to do with the code once you have it

A resolved ten-digit line plus an additional-duty check is enough to price a shipment. The next two steps are arithmetic: apply the general rate to the customs value, then add any action rate from the heading you matched, then add the entry fees. Our duty calculator does that stack, the HTS number lookup resolves a code you already know, and the datasets page documents where each column comes from. If the goods are steel or aluminium, check the Section 232 angle before the 301 angle; if the supplier is on a restricted-party list, admissibility comes before classification entirely (UFLPA entity list).

For the rate side of the same question, the Section 301 guide walks the action headings in order, and the HS code finding guide covers the classification reasoning that gets you to the heading in the first place.