Find the Correct 2026 Drone Tariff Rate

For covered complete drones imported into the United States, the base Section 232 tariff is 25% when maximum take-off weight is 25 kg or less and 100% when it is more than 25 kg. A covered drone with thermal imaging is also in the 100% group, even at or below 25 kg. These are percentages of customs value, not charges per kilogram.

Enter the drone’s MTOW, thermal status and customs value to calculate the base rate and additional duty.

The duties generally apply to goods entered for consumption, or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption, at or after 12:01 a.m. Eastern on September 3, 2026. The presidential proclamation establishes the rates and exceptions. The Federal Register annexes identify the covered HTSUS provisions.

2026 Drone Tariff Table

This lookup shows the base Section 232 rate for covered complete unmanned aircraft systems before partner-country treatment or an approved onshoring exemption.

Maximum take-off weight	Thermal imaging	Base rate	General effective date
Not more than 250 g	No	25%	September 3, 2026
More than 250 g, not more than 7 kg	No	25%	September 3, 2026
More than 7 kg, not more than 25 kg	No	25%	September 3, 2026
25 kg or less	Yes	100%	September 3, 2026
More than 25 kg, not more than 150 kg	Either	100%	September 3, 2026
More than 150 kg	Either	100%	September 3, 2026

The boundary is exact. A non-thermal aircraft at exactly 25 kg receives the 25% base rate; one above 25 kg receives the 100% rate. Classification uses maximum take-off weight, or MTOW, rather than empty weight or shipping weight.

The smaller weight bands remain relevant to classification even though all three non-thermal bands through 25 kg have the same Section 232 rate. Annex II lists remote-controlled subheadings 8806.21.00 through 8806.23.00 and non-remote-controlled subheadings 8806.91.00 through 8806.93.00. Annex I applies the 100% treatment to aircraft with thermal imaging in those bands. Aircraft above 25 kg appear under 8806.24.00, 8806.29.00, 8806.94.00 or 8806.99.00.

Some Listed Products Have a Delayed Start Date

A limited effective-date exception applies to covered products associated with companies on specified Blue UAS or FCC lists as of September 2, 2026. For qualifying companies and products, the applicable start date is delayed until 180 days after the August 13 proclamation: February 9, 2027.

The Secretary of Commerce is to identify qualifying companies and products to Customs and Border Protection. A company name or product description alone is not enough to apply the delay unless the product is identified through that process.

A Weight-Only Table Produces Wrong Results

A public dataset containing only weight_min, weight_max and rate will assign the wrong rate to a lightweight thermal drone. Store thermal-imaging status and inclusive boundaries as separate rule dimensions.

Rule	MTOW range	Thermal imaging	Base rate
UAS-LIGHT	0–25 kg, inclusive	No	0.25
UAS-THERMAL	0–25 kg, inclusive	Yes	1.00
UAS-HEAVY	More than 25 kg	Either	1.00

For these base rules, store general_effective_from as 2026-09-03. Preserve the exact lower and upper boundary logic rather than rounding MTOW before matching a row.

An importer-facing dataset should also include customs_value_usd, section_232_duty_usd, country_of_origin, partner_treatment_status, certification_reference, effective_date_exception, htsus_subheading, entry_date, product_type, source_url, source_checked_date and notes.

Keep entry_date separate from order, invoice and arrival dates. The proclamation applies according to entry for consumption or withdrawal from warehouse for consumption.

For a covered complete drone without special treatment, the spreadsheet rule is: set Base_rate to 1.00 when Thermal_imaging is Yes or MTOW_kg is greater than 25; otherwise set it to 0.25. Calculate the additional Section 232 duty by multiplying Customs_value_usd by Base_rate.

For example, the additional duty on a covered $2,000 non-thermal drone at exactly 25 kg is $500. At 25.1 kg, or with thermal imaging, it is $2,000. These amounts exclude ordinary customs duties and any other applicable duties, taxes, fees or charges, which continue to apply.

Partner Treatment Must Be Stored Separately

The proclamation and implementing HTSUS language provide conditional treatment for products of specified partners.

For qualifying products of Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and EU member countries, the combined Column 1 and applicable Section 232 treatment totals 15% when the Column 1 rate is below 15%.

For qualifying UK products, HTSUS heading 9903.08.23 adds 10% to the duty in the applicable subheading. The annex does not express the UK provision as a 10% combined-rate cap.

Country of origin alone does not establish eligibility. Substantially all critical components and technology must come from the United States or a named partner, importer certification is required, and Commerce establishes the qualification process. Store the resulting status and certification reference instead of inferring eligibility from the origin field. The White House fact sheet summarizes the policy, but the proclamation and HTSUS language control the calculation.

Components Follow a Different Timeline

Complete drones, docking stations and components should not share an undifferentiated weight table. Annex I places listed parts for UAS above 25 kg in the 100% group from September 3, 2026, but excludes parts for systems used in retail delivery, agriculture or sales to the Department of War.

Listed Annex III parts not covered by that heavier-UAS rule receive a 25% rate beginning February 9, 2027. Covered docking stations are in the 100% group.

A published data page should therefore allow filtering by product_type: complete UAS, docking station or component. Show an effective date on every row, label the dataset “checked September 30, 2026,” retain the controlling source links and do not describe the calculated Section 232 amount as a complete landed-cost estimate.