Items worth bringing from home opposed to buying in DR

WillieWeb wrote:

I imported all my major appliances.... via a mudanza- door to door delivery

Frre ship to mudanza.... arrives taxes paid at your door
Available along the east coast

Taxes paid? How much do you pay in taxes? What about import duty?

planner wrote:

It's all covered in the fee the shipper charges.  For most appliances you can do the same or better here now. 

I would bring good quality knives.

So you pay the taxes, they are just built into what is paid to the shipper rather than being paid to Aduanas once they arrive.

Yeah...we've decided to buy all of ours here.

Agree on knives! And bring extra charging cables for all your electronics! The salt air and humidity have ruined so many of our lightning chargers!

Don't bring books - they do not do well here. I've got almost 3000 books in my Kindle library, so we only brought a couple of dozen cookbooks and other reference books. The pages and covers get soft and mold and mildew don't take long to set in.

planner wrote:

Also bring extras of high end skin care and cosmetics.  Almost impossible to find and will be expensive.

Yes - and reserve space in your refrigerator or your bedroom (if you use the AC in there). Heat and humidity can break down ingredients, so best to keep them as cool and dry as possible!

ddmcghee wrote:

WillieWeb wrote:

I imported all my major appliances.... via a mudanza- door to door delivery

Frre ship to mudanza.... arrives taxes paid at your door
Available along the east coast

Taxes paid? How much do you pay in taxes? What about import duty?

It's been a while but as I remember A fridge was about $400.... shipped/delivered & taxed
TV's = the same - flat rate by the inch... and cheaper than doing yourself

Not the full Aduana charge .....

ddmcghee wrote:

WillieWeb wrote:

I imported all my major appliances.... via a mudanza- door to door delivery

Frre ship to mudanza.... arrives taxes paid at your door
Available along the east coast

Taxes paid? How much do you pay in taxes? What about import duty?

It's been a while but as I remember A fridge was about $400.... shipped/delivered & taxed
$400 for a NEW fridge--- $300 for used (mine was scratch'n'dent.... therefore deemed used
TV's = the same - flat rate by the inch... and cheaper than doing yourself

Not the full Aduana charge .....

bkoepsell wrote:

Why not TV's

If you're referring to the OP comment "I know TVs are out of the question", I think that meant in luggage. You wouldn't be able to securely carry a decent size television in checked luggage.

Some people have brought them in within the original box or a box made for shipping TVs. I know American Airlines states that boxes aren't allowed as checked baggage to the Caribbean.

Whatwhy9696 wrote:

customs charges for tvs are crazy, best to buy local!

If you import with residency and exoneration, that isn't an issue!

bkoepsell wrote:

What about shipping the TV's

What about shipping them? Logistics? Taxes? Shipping fees?

If you import outside of your container of personal items allowed with residency, you will pay taxes and import duty, which will likely make it cost prohibitive.

bkoepsell wrote:

We are looking at a shipping container and using a shipping company from door to door for our furniture, large appliances and tv's along with other items once we have a retirement visa. But what about scooters and atv's can we bring them? And if so is their a age restriction on them as they are on vehicles? I have heard that the furniture packages that the builder offers run around $35,000 and I can ship all we need for $4000.00.

Just to clarify - once you have your RESIDENCY VISA, you have 60 days to enter the country and complete your application for temporary residency. You are then allowed to legally remain in the country (and come and go) while your application is being processed. Once your application is approved, you will receive your TEMPORARY RESIDENCIA (think of it like a green card) and CEDULA (national ID). You must have your Residencia, not just the visa before you can get the exoneration on your container.

WillieWeb wrote:

I think each person qualifies.... each resident

If you want to be sure.... plan your residencies a couple of weeks apart.
Two separate entries

I think it depends on how you get residency. I'm not collecting a pension yet, so I was an "add-on" with Dave's residency qualification and we applied as a couple.  I think if you each qualify for residency individually, you could probably each get your own exoneration - but you'd need to confirm that and start the process that way.

renikg wrote:

Hi there Planner,
Could  you please explain to me what’s the difference between with and without residences,when you want to import your household from the country you live to DR.
We have a property but we are not a residents.
Thank you rayna

The primary difference is that as a new resident, you can bring in a container of household items duty free. If you bring those items in without residency, you will have to pay tax and import duty based on the assessed value of your belongings.

We received our initial residency last September and imported our container in November. We received full exoneration (no taxes or duty) on our household items, and received a discount on the import duty for our vehicle.

We have also heard, though it's impossible to prove, that without residency, both the assessed value of your items and the level of scrutiny are increased. I understand this to mean that Aduanas (Customs) understands that if you are coming here as a resident, you need to furnish your home, but if you are here on a tourist card, why do you need to import a bunch of stuff unless you are planning to sell it.

..... and received a discount on the import duty for our vehicle.

I am curious about that discount on vehicles, how much is it ? The Dominican Customs website mentions the discount but does not say how much . I wrote to the customs but they never answered ...
I saw many to be expats think they will receive a 100% discount ...

Thanks