Duty on equipment coming back into US??

[Ron betcher]

Has anybody had any problems with customs coming backing into the US and having them charging duty on the equipment you already owned???

According to the customs web site:

"Clothing, jewelry, photography equipment, portable radios, and vehicles are considered personal effects and cannot be brought in duty-free as household effects. However, the amount of duty collected on them will be reduced according to the age of the item. "

http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/travel/leavingarrivinginUS/vacation/know_brochure/personal.xml

[Bob Salomon]

"Has anybody had any problems with customs coming backing into the US and having them charging duty on the equipment you already owned???"

You can easily registered the equipment you own with Customs prior to leaving the U.S.

[lee\c]

I did this several years ago. I just went to the Customs Office at DFW a week or two prior to leaving for Europe for 3 weeks. They looked at the stuff and filled out a paper for me to carry back into the US. Everything went off without a hitch.

leec

[Jason Greenberg Motamedi]

I travel internationally quite a bit, and have only once had this problem (with MF equipment, never 35mm or LF). If you are concerned about it you can register your equipment before you leave. Just get to the airport early, find the customs office, be prepared to fill out some forms, and show the equipment to the officer.

Alternatively, you can bring copies of the original reciepts with you, and show them to the Customs officer on the way in. According to the customs officer I spoke with (who was turning my bag inside-out), receipts aren't really acceptable, but he let me go by...

Another concern is being charged customs by the visiting country.