Clothing and Footwear: 20% Duty, and the Exceptions
By George · updated 2026-09-30 · worked examples checked against the Bahamas Tariff Act (schedule version 2026-2027)
Clothing is the most predictable category in the Bahamas tariff. What you end up paying depends more on the fees than on the duty rate.
One rate for most of it
Adult clothing is 20% duty:
- T-shirts, tops and knitted shirts (6109.1000)
- Trousers, jeans, shorts and menswear (6203.4200)
- Dresses, skirts and womenswear (6204.4200)
- Sweaters, hoodies and cardigans (6110.2000)
- Footwear of all kinds (6403.9900)
You don't need to look up each garment. For adult clothing or shoes, assume 20% and you'll almost always be right.
The main exception: baby clothing is duty-free
Baby clothing and accessories (6111.2090) are duty-free, and so are diapers (9619.0010). This is a deliberate exemption and it covers a lot; in the baby gear guide nearly the whole category comes out at 0%.
Where the cost comes from
20% doesn't sound like much, but small clothing orders end up much higher once the fees are added:
- $40 t-shirt: $8 duty, $10 processing and $5.80 VAT, so $23.80 in charges, 59.5% of the price.
- $80 jeans: $16 duty, $10 processing and $10.60 VAT, so $36.60, or 45.8%.
- $120 sneakers: $24 duty, $10 processing and $15.40 VAT, so $49.40, or 41.2%.
The duty rate is the same each time. The $10 processing minimum is what pushes the percentage up, and it does so more the cheaper the item is. On the t-shirt, the fee is more than the $8 of duty.
Why clothing is the best case for combining orders
Clothing orders tend to be several small items, which is exactly what the per-entry minimum penalises. Four separate $50 clothing orders cost $108 in import charges, and the same $200 in one entry costs $75. That's $33 saved just by shipping once instead of four times.
If you buy clothes online regularly, batching them into one forwarder shipment a month will usually save more than a sale does. Consolidating orders has the details.
Returns
Clothing gets returned more than anything else bought online, and import charges are paid on what enters the country, not on what you keep. If you order five items and keep two, you've still paid duty, processing and VAT on all five, so getting the size right matters more here than in the US.
Browse clothing and shoes lookups, or the full schedule for chapter 61 (knitted clothing), chapter 62 (woven clothing) and chapter 64 (footwear).