Popping over to Calais or Dunkirk for the day? Here's exactly how much you can bring back without paying tax or duty, taken straight from GOV.UK.
Every allowance on this page comes from GOV.UK's guide to bringing goods into the UK for personal use, and the France section from the EU and French customs. I checked them all on 9 November 2026.
This isn't legal advice. Rules change, so check GOV.UK before you travel.
The basics
GOV.UK calls the amount you can bring in without paying UK tax or duty your "personal allowance". It applies to goods for your own use or to give as a gift, and you must transport them yourself. You can't combine your allowance with anyone else's.
The allowance applies wherever you bought the goods, whether that's a duty-free shop or a high street in France. Buying on board doesn't raise your allowance. French customs says British travellers leaving France can shop in the duty-free outlets on board ships with no limit on value or quantity per person, but it reminds you to check the allowances of the country you're going to.
Buying on board doesn't raise your allowance.
Allowances arriving in Great Britain
These are the allowances for arriving in England, Scotland or Wales from outside the UK, including from France and the rest of the EU.
Alcohol. You can bring in all of these:
| Type of alcohol | Allowance |
|---|---|
| Beer and cider | 42 litres |
| Wine (still or sparkling) | 18 litres |
And, on top of that, one of these (or a split between them):
| Type of alcohol | Allowance |
|---|---|
| Spirits and other drinks over 22% ABV | 4 litres |
| Drinks up to 22% ABV, such as port and sherry (not beer, cider or wine) | 9 litres |
GOV.UK's example of a split: 2 litres of spirits and 4.5 litres of fortified wine, each half of the allowance.
Tobacco. One of these, or a split between them:
- 200 cigarettes
- 100 cigarillos
- 50 cigars
- 250g tobacco
- 200 sticks of tobacco for electronic heated tobacco devices
So you could bring 100 cigarettes and 25 cigars, which is half of each.
Vaping. Up to 50ml of vaping liquid.
Everything else. Other goods worth up to £390. GOV.UK sets a lower limit of £270 if you arrive by private plane or boat.
Under 17s. There are no personal allowances for alcohol, tobacco or vaping products if you're under 17.
If you go over
Go over an allowance and you pay tax and duty on everything in that category, not just the extra. GOV.UK's example: 19 litres of wine means paying on all 19, because you've gone over the 18-litre wine allowance. The same goes for other goods: over £390 and you pay on the total value, not the value above the allowance.
You have to declare anything over your allowance. You can declare online from 5 days (120 hours) before you arrive, or at the border using the red channel or red-point phone. Your goods could be seized if you don't declare them. If you break the rules, GOV.UK says the vehicle you carried them in may be seized too, and you may be fined or prosecuted.
If you do have to declare goods bought in the EU, you can claim a zero rate of customs duty on items grown or made in the EU from EU ingredients or materials, bought in the EU and brought in from an EU country. You'll need evidence for each item: when the total is under £1,000, a label or packaging showing it was grown or made in the EU will do.
Northern Ireland is different
The rules for Northern Ireland depend on where you're coming from.
From the EU, you don't need to declare or pay tax or duty on goods as long as you carry them yourself, they're for your own use or a gift, and you paid tax and duty in the country where you bought them. There are no limits on alcohol and tobacco, but you're more likely to be asked questions if you have more than these amounts:
| Type of goods | Amount |
|---|---|
| Cigarettes | 800 |
| Cigars | 200 |
| Cigarillos | 400 |
| Tobacco | 1kg |
| Sticks of tobacco for electronic heated tobacco devices | 800 |
| Vaping products | 200 millilitres |
| Beer | 110 litres |
| Wine | 90 litres |
| Spirits | 10 litres |
| Fortified wine (such as sherry or port) | 20 litres |
From outside the EU, the Northern Ireland allowances are lower than Great Britain's: 16 litres of beer and cider, 4 litres of wine, plus 1 litre of spirits over 22% ABV or 2 litres of drinks up to 22% ABV. The tobacco allowance is the same as Great Britain's, and other goods are capped at £390.
Between Great Britain and Northern Ireland, a UK resident going from Great Britain to Northern Ireland doesn't need to declare goods they've already paid VAT and excise duty on in Great Britain. Going from Northern Ireland to Great Britain, you don't have to declare any goods.
Going the other way: bringing goods into France
Coming from the UK, you're entering the EU from outside it, so there are limits on what you can take into France too.
The EU's allowances when you enter from outside the EU:
- Alcohol: 4 litres of still wine and 16 litres of beer, plus either 1 litre of spirits over 22% or 2 litres of fortified or sparkling wine (or a split between them).
- Tobacco: 200 cigarettes, 100 cigarillos, 50 cigars or 250g of tobacco, or a mix that doesn't go over the total. A few EU countries use a lower limit, and France isn't on the EU's list of them.
- Under 17s: no duty-free allowance for alcohol or tobacco.
For other goods, the EU's headline figure is €430 for travellers by air and sea. But French customs puts it differently for ferries: the limit is €430 for air and sea travel and €300 for road travel, and if you drive off a ferry you count as a road traveller. So in a car, plan on €300. For anyone under 15 the limit is €150, however they travel.
Day trips to stock up
DFDS and Brittany Ferries both sell day trips to France. Compare Dover to Calais and Dover to Dunkirk, or see my guide to day trips to France for what to do while you're there. For deals on the crossing itself, see how to find a cheap ferry deal.
