What is the shopping allowance for Paraguay?

US$500 per person for anyone entering Brazil by land or river, renewed every 30 days. Arriving by air carries a different, larger allowance.

Can a family pool their allowances?

No. It is individual and non-transferable. A couple does not have US$1,000 to spend together on a single US$900 item: one item is assessed against the allowance of whoever carries it.

How often does the allowance renew?

Every 30 days, counted by period rather than by trip. If you spent US$400 today, you have US$100 of headroom for the next 30 days.

What does not count towards the allowance?

Personal effects: the clothes you are wearing, toiletries, the phone that was already yours. What counts is new merchandise bought to bring back. Some goods cannot enter at all, such as e-cigarettes.

Paraguay shopping allowance: US$500, every 30 days, per person

Paraguay shopping allowance: US$500 and Brazil's customs rules

A per-person limit, a 30-day cycle, and the tax on anything above it

The allowance is US$500 per person entering Brazil by land, renewed every 30 days. Anything above the limit is taxed at 50% of the excess.

Foto: Flaviohmg / CC BY-SA 4.0 (Wikimedia Commons)

Direct answer: The allowance is US$500 per person, for anyone entering Brazil by land or river, and it renews every 30 days. Anything above the limit is taxed at 50% of the excess, declared through the e-DBV on Brazil's Receita Federal website. The allowance is individual and non-transferable: it cannot be pooled between members of the same family.

Almost everyone crossing the Friendship Bridge hears some garbled version of this rule. It is worth understanding the mechanics, because they decide whether the shopping trip paid off or turned into a loss on the way back.

How the allowance works

US$500 per person, every 30 days. It is not per trip, it is per period: if you crossed and spent US$400 today, you have US$100 of headroom for the next 30 days, not a fresh allowance next week.

The limit applies to entry by land or river, which covers anyone returning over the bridge by car, by bus or on foot. Arriving by air carries a different, larger allowance: they are separate regimes, and mixing them up is the most common mistake.

The count runs by period, across all land borders. Shopping in Paraguay and then in Argentina does not give you two allowances.

What happens if you go over

The excess is taxed at 50% of the amount above US$500. It is not a fine or a seizure: it is a tax, and the goods stay with you once it is paid.

The declaration is made through the e-DBV (Electronic Traveller Goods Declaration) on the Receita Federal website, before you reach the inspection point. Declaring voluntarily is very different from being caught without declaring: the second case brings a fine and the risk of losing the goods.

The allowance is individual

Everyone has their own, including children. What does not exist is pooling: a couple does not have "US$1,000 to spend together" on a single US$900 item. If it is one item and it costs more than one person's allowance, it is assessed against the allowance of whoever is carrying it.

Keep your receipts. Without proof, customs decides what the item is worth, and their valuation rarely works in your favour.

What does not count

Personal effects — the clothes you are wearing, toiletries, the phone that was already yours — do not count. What counts is new merchandise bought to bring back.

There are also goods that cannot enter at all, regardless of value or allowance. The most common case at the Friendship Bridge is the e-cigarette: see can you bring a vape from Paraguay?.

Before you cross

Check the bridge queue now and how to get from Foz to Ciudad del Este.

Sources: Receita Federal (traveller goods allowance, land entry) · Foz do Iguaçu Tourism Secretariat · verified 11/09/2026

What is the shopping allowance for Paraguay?: US$500 per person for anyone entering Brazil by land or river, renewed every 30 days. Arriving by air carries a different, larger allowance.
What happens if I exceed the allowance?: The excess is taxed at 50% of the amount above US$500. It is not a fine or a seizure: it is a tax, and the goods stay with you once paid, declared through the e-DBV before inspection.
Can a family pool their allowances?: No. It is individual and non-transferable. A couple does not have US$1,000 to spend together on a single US$900 item: one item is assessed against the allowance of whoever carries it.
How often does the allowance renew?: Every 30 days, counted by period rather than by trip. If you spent US$400 today, you have US$100 of headroom for the next 30 days.
What does not count towards the allowance?: Personal effects: the clothes you are wearing, toiletries, the phone that was already yours. What counts is new merchandise bought to bring back. Some goods cannot enter at all, such as e-cigarettes.

Saiba de tudo antes de todo mundo

Câmbio, clima e o que importa nos três países, no seu e-mail, todo dia. Gratuito, sem spam.

✓ Marco Três fact-check

Content verified by the newsroom based on an official source: Receita Federal · Secretaria de Turismo de Foz do Iguaçu. Last checked: 6/14/2026. Found something inaccurate? We fix it fast. How we work.

Spotted something wrong? Tell us.

AI-automated curation with editorial supervision, your correction or suggestion helps keep things right.