Surtax Monitoring

How Surtax Checking Works

When you add a product to your portfolio, TariffTrail checks its 10-digit HS code and country of origin against every active Canadian surtax order. The result appears on the product detail page as a Surtax Status card showing either Surtaxed X% or Clear.

Each determination records the specific surtax registry version used (e.g., S2026-047), ensuring full traceability.

Active Surtax Orders Monitored

For detailed information on each order, see Active Surtax Orders.

Surtax Stacking

Some products fall within the scope of more than one surtax order. In this case, both surtaxes apply simultaneously. The most common stacking scenario involves US-origin steel and aluminum products that appear in both SOR/2025-66 and SOR/2025-148, resulting in a combined 50% surtax.

TariffTrail's rules engine automatically detects stacking and lists each matching order individually on the product detail page.

CUSMA Exemptions

Products that qualify for CUSMA preferential treatment under a valid certification of origin are exempt from the US surtax orders. If you have CUSMA Claimed set to Yes and the product qualifies, the surtax status shows Clear with a note about the CUSMA exemption.

CUSMA does not apply to Chinese-origin goods. The SOR/2024-187 surtax cannot be avoided through CUSMA.

Ad Hoc Surtax Checks

You can run a surtax check without adding a product to your portfolio using the Surtax Checker (Tariff Engine > Surtax Checker). Enter an HS code and country of origin to get an instant result. This is useful for evaluating new suppliers or product lines.

The Surtax Checker is also available as a free tool without an account.

Alerts

TariffTrail monitors for changes to surtax orders and scans your portfolio when updates occur. Alert types include:

Email notifications are available on Professional and Enterprise plans.

Data Pipeline

All surtax data in TariffTrail is sourced from official Government of Canada publications (Canada Gazette Part II, CBSA Customs Notices). Detected changes go through a mandatory human review process before publication -- surtax data is never auto-published.