Furnishing a Home in The Bahamas: Duty from 0% to 60%
By George · updated 2026-08-24 · checked against the 2026 Bahamas tariff schedule
Household goods contain the highest duty rate an ordinary shopper is likely to encounter, and it is on the single item almost every household has to buy.
The rates
- LED lamps and light fittings (9405.1100) — 0%
- Furniture: tables, desks, shelving, cabinets (9403.2090) — 25%
- Chairs, sofas and seats (9401.7190) — 25%
- Comforters, quilts and duvets (9404.2990 family) — 45%
- Mattresses (9404.2990) — 60%
Mattresses at 60%
A $1,100 mattress attracts $660 of duty. Add $11 processing and $177.10 VAT and total import charges are $848.10 — 77.1% of the item price. The mattress lands at $1,948.10.
There is no clever route around this. It is the rate, it applies to the value declared, and mattresses are bulky enough that freight adds meaningfully on top. Before importing one, price it locally: at a 77% landed premium plus freight, a Nassau retailer only has to be within about 80% of the US price to win, and on mattresses they frequently are.
The same logic applies, less severely, to bedding: a $180 comforter set carries $118.10 in charges (65.6%) and lands at $298.10.
Furniture at 25%
Furniture is gentler. A $450 sofa attracts $112.50 duty, $10 processing and $57.25 VAT — $179.75 of charges, 39.9%, landing at $629.75.
But furniture is where freight dominates rather than duty. A sofa is light for its volume, and forwarders bill by volumetric weight, so the shipping quote often exceeds the duty. Get the freight number first and put it into the calculator — remember that freight is taxed as part of the landed cost, so $200 of freight costs you more than $200.
Lighting is the bright spot
LED lamps and light fittings are duty-free, as are fans (8414.5100). Re-lighting a house is one of the few home-improvement projects the tariff schedule is actively kind to.
How to plan a whole-house purchase
Sort your list by duty rate, not by price:
- Import freely: LED lighting, fans, and anything else at 0%.
- Import if the US price gap is wide: furniture at 25% — check the freight quote first, since it usually matters more than the duty.
- Price locally first: mattresses at 60% and bedding at 45%. These are the items where a local retailer most often wins outright.
See home goods lookups or the full chapter 94 (furniture and lighting).