iHerb Ireland 2026: Customs Charges, Delivery and the New €2 Fee From 1 November
iHerb delivers to Ireland, but it is not in Ireland. Every order flies in from the United States, which puts it inside the EU's new import rules. One charge started in July. A second one starts on 1 November 2026. Here is what that means for your basket, and the simpler way to get the same brands.
(ships from the US)
(ships from Dublin)
Same US brands. Already in Ireland. Nothing added at checkout or at the door.
✓ See the US brands we stock in Dublin →A red tick means the charge or step applies to that order. An empty green box means it does not. iHerb column based on iHerb's Ireland shipping page and customs duty help article as read on 8 October 2026.[7][8] Charges per Irish Revenue.[1][2]
iHerb has no Irish warehouse. Its Ireland shipping page states: "All iHerb orders are currently dispatched from the United States."[8]
That makes every iHerb order to Ireland an import. Since 1 July 2026 it is subject to a €3 EU customs duty per distinct item on consignments of €150 or less.[5][6]
From 1 November 2026 a €2 Union Handling Fee per distinct item is added, at any order value. Irish Revenue confirmed it on 29 September 2026. The fee is never refundable.[1][4]
What iHerb covers today: iHerb says it reimburses customs duties "through a discretionary discount applied at checkout" on orders over €10, and pre-collects all duties and taxes at checkout.[8] It publishes no end date for that discount.
What is not confirmed: as of 8 October 2026, neither iHerb page says whether iHerb will absorb the €2 fee or pass it on.[7][8]
The alternative: Probiotic.ie holds the same US brands in stock in Dublin. Goods already in Ireland when ordered are outside both charges.[1]
No, iHerb is not in Ireland. It ships Irish orders from the United States, so they are subject to the EU's €3 customs duty per item and, from 1 November 2026, a €2 handling fee per item. iHerb currently offsets the €3 with its own discretionary discount on orders over €10. It has not said whether it will cover the €2. If you would sooner not depend on that, the same brands are available from stock in Dublin with no import charges at all.
- Is iHerb in Ireland?
- The two EU charges on iHerb orders
- What iHerb covers today, and what it has not confirmed
- What the charges add up to
- Why the final price is hard to pin down
- Returns and refunds
- The same brands, already in Dublin
- Supplements in Ireland: VAT and regulation
- Frequently asked questions
Is iHerb in Ireland?
No. iHerb delivers to Ireland, but it has no Irish shop, no Irish warehouse and no EU warehouse. Its Ireland shipping page says all orders are currently dispatched from the United States. The logistics centres it lists are in the US, South Korea, Hong Kong and Saudi Arabia.[8]
For years that did not matter much. Parcels worth €150 or less came into Ireland free of customs duty. You paid the product price, delivery and Irish VAT, and that was it.
That changed on 1 July 2026, and it changes again on 1 November 2026.
- Ships from: the United States, by air.[8]
- Irish or EU warehouse: none listed.[8]
- Carriers named for Ireland: Global Air, GLS and An Post.[8]
- Delivery time: no fixed figure. iHerb shows an estimate at checkout and warns of possible air freight delays.[8]
- Customs status: every order is an import from outside the EU.
- VAT: iHerb is IOSS registered and says product prices already include applicable VAT.[8]
The two EU charges on iHerb orders to Ireland
There are now two separate EU charges on online orders shipped to Ireland from outside the EU. Both are counted per distinct item, not per parcel.
| Charge | Amount | Since | Applies to | Refundable? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| EU customs duty | €3 per item | 1 July 2026 | Orders of €150 or less | Not on change-of-mind returns |
| EU Union Handling Fee | €2 per item | 1 November 2026 | All order values | Never, even if faulty |
| Both together | €5 per item | From 1 November 2026 | Orders of €150 or less |
Source: Irish Revenue.[1][2][5] The €3 duty is set by Council Regulation (EU) 2026/382.[6]
"Per item" does not mean per bottle. Three bottles of the same product are one item. Three different products can be three items. Revenue's own example: a €10 parcel with a pen, a notebook and a key ring attracts €9 duty plus €6 handling fee. That is €15 of charges on €10 of goods.[3]
The business that brings the parcel in pays the handling fee first. Revenue is clear that it may pass it on to the consumer, either at checkout or before delivery.[1][4]
For the full rules, including VAT, Great Britain and Northern Ireland, see our complete guide to EU customs charges in Ireland.
What iHerb covers today, and what it has not confirmed
To be fair to iHerb: right now, most Irish customers are not paying the €3 duty on top of their order. iHerb has chosen to cover it. Here is exactly what it says, in its own words.
- "We reimburse any applicable customs duties through a discretionary discount applied at checkout if your order exceeds €10."[8]
- "All duties, taxes and import fees are pre-collected at checkout", and "no further customer payments are required upon delivery."[8]
- The duty is charged per customs product category, to "a maximum of €3 per different customs product category". iHerb's own example is up to €9 on an order spanning three categories.[7][8]
- The duty may still show as a line on your invoice, and some orders may show it while others do not.[7]
So far, so good. Now the three things you should know before you rely on it.
- The discount is discretionary. That is iHerb's word. It is a commercial decision, not an entitlement, and iHerb publishes no date for how long it will run.[7][8]
- It was built for the €3 duty. iHerb's help article describes the €3 as "entirely separate from any national or EU-wide handling fees". It does not mention the €2 Union Handling Fee or 1 November 2026.[7]
- Nobody outside iHerb knows what happens on 1 November. iHerb may absorb the €2 per item, pass it on in full, or build it into prices. We cannot confirm which, and we will update this page when iHerb says.
Covering €3 per item on every order into the EU is expensive. From 1 November the bill per item rises to €5. A retailer can keep paying that, raise its prices to fund it, or stop. All three are possible. If you order from the US, check the charges line at checkout every time from 1 November, not just once.
Skip the question entirely.
NOW Foods, Swanson, Healthy Origins, Doctor's Best and more, already in stock in Dublin. No import, so no duty, no handling fee and nothing that depends on anyone's discount.
What the charges add up to on an iHerb order
From 1 November 2026, an order of €150 or less is subject to €5 in EU charges for each distinct customs item. What you pay out of that depends on how much iHerb chooses to cover.
Since iHerb has not said, the table below shows all three possibilities.
| Distinct items in the order | Charges the order is subject to | If iHerb covers both | If iHerb covers the €3 only | If iHerb covers neither |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 (for example 3 bottles of one product) | €5 | €0 | €2 | €5 |
| 3 | €15 | €0 | €6 | €15 |
| 5 | €25 | €0 | €10 | €25 |
| Any Probiotic.ie order | €0 | €0 | €0 | €0 |
€3 duty plus €2 Union Handling Fee per distinct item, per Irish Revenue.[1][3] Figures exclude the goods, delivery and VAT. The three right-hand columns are scenarios, not predictions. iHerb has not announced which applies.
If you order four or five different products every couple of months, the gap between the middle column and the last one is real money over a year. And you will not know which column you are in until you reach checkout.
Why the final price of an iHerb order is hard to pin down
The number of charges depends on customs categories, and those are not the categories you see on the website. iHerb says so itself: customs product categories differ from its own product categories.[7]
That leaves a few moving parts on every US order:
- How many customs items you have. You cannot tell from the basket.
- Whether the discount still applies on the day you order, and to which charges.
- The €150 line. iHerb warns that orders close to the limit "may be assessed Duties and Taxes" because exchange rates can move before customs clearance.[8]
- Free delivery terms. iHerb labels its current free delivery threshold for Ireland "limited time only".[8]
- Time. A transatlantic flight and customs clearance sit between you and the parcel.
None of this makes iHerb a bad shop. It has a huge range. It does mean the price you see is the product of several things iHerb or customs can change.
An order from stock in Ireland has none of those moving parts. The price on the page is the price.
Returns and refunds on iHerb orders
The €2 Union Handling Fee is never refunded, even if the goods are faulty or you send them back. That is Revenue's rule, not the retailer's.[1][4]
On the €3 duty, iHerb says a full order refund includes 100% of any duty you actually paid, and a partial return is prorated across the items in that customs category.[7] If iHerb's discount covered the duty, there is nothing to refund.
Revenue does not refund consumers directly. Any refund comes through the seller or the carrier that handled the import.[9]
Check iHerb's current returns terms for who pays the postage back before you order. With an Irish retailer, a return goes to an Irish address under Irish and EU consumer law, and there are no import charges to lose.
The same brands, already in Dublin
Probiotic.ie is an independent Irish supplement shop. We hold US brands in stock in Ireland and dispatch from Dublin. Because the goods are already here when you order, the €3 duty and the €2 handling fee do not apply. Revenue confirms no duty or fee applies to goods based in Ireland when ordered.[1]
- The same brands. NOW Foods, Swanson, Healthy Origins, Doctor's Best, Life Extension, Jarrow Formulas, Garden of Life, Nordic Naturals. Original, sealed manufacturer product.
- One price. Irish VAT is included. Nothing is added at checkout for customs, and nothing is collected at the door.
- No customs clearance. Tracked delivery within Ireland, usually the next working day after dispatch with DPD. See delivery information.
- Irish returns. Irish address, Irish consumer rights.
- Real people. An Irish team you can email. Read our independent Trustpilot reviews.
Shop by brand:
Is it always cheaper than iHerb? No, and we will not pretend otherwise. Sometimes our shelf price is higher, sometimes lower. iHerb also carries far more lines than any Irish shop. Compare the final delivered total on the day. What we offer is a fixed price, no import process, and no dependence on a discount someone else controls.
If we do not stock what you usually buy, tell us. We add lines regularly.
Order today. It ships from Dublin.
No €3 duty. No €2 handling fee on 1 November or any other date. No customs. The price you see is the price you pay.
Supplements in Ireland: VAT and regulation
Products that qualify as food supplements for human oral consumption attract Ireland's 13.5% reduced VAT rate.[10] Food supplements sold in Ireland are regulated as foods, with the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) as the competent authority.[11] They are not medicines.
Ordering supplements from iHerb for personal use is legal in Ireland. The customs charges in this guide are not specific to supplements and apply to any online order shipped from outside the EU.
Frequently asked questions: iHerb Ireland
Is iHerb in Ireland?
No. iHerb delivers to Ireland but has no Irish shop or warehouse. Its Ireland shipping page states that all iHerb orders are currently dispatched from the United States. That makes every iHerb order to Ireland an import from outside the EU, which is why EU customs charges apply to it.
Will I pay customs charges on iHerb orders to Ireland?
iHerb orders to Ireland are subject to the EU's €3 customs duty per item on consignments of €150 or less. As of 8 October 2026, iHerb says it reimburses the duty through a discretionary discount applied at checkout on orders over €10, and that all duties, taxes and import fees are pre-collected at checkout. So most shoppers do not currently pay the €3 on top. The discount is iHerb's own decision, and iHerb has not published how long it will continue.
Does the €2 EU handling fee from 1 November 2026 apply to iHerb orders?
Yes, the fee applies to the order. From 1 November 2026 a €2 Union Handling Fee applies to each distinct item in an online order shipped to a consumer in Ireland from outside the EU, at any order value. The seller or delivery business pays it first and may pass it on to the customer. As of 8 October 2026, iHerb's Irish shipping page and its customs duty help article do not say whether iHerb will absorb the fee or pass it on, so we cannot confirm either way.
How much could the charges add to an iHerb order?
The charges are counted per distinct customs item, not per bottle. From 1 November 2026 the two EU charges total €5 per distinct item on a consignment of €150 or less: €3 duty plus €2 fee. An order with three different customs categories would be subject to €15, and five to €25. What you actually pay depends on how much of that iHerb covers at checkout on the day you order.
Does iHerb ship to Ireland from an EU warehouse?
Not according to iHerb. Its Ireland shipping page states that all iHerb orders are currently dispatched from the United States, and the logistics centres it lists are in the US, South Korea, Hong Kong and Saudi Arabia. None is in the EU. If that changes, goods held inside the EU when ordered would fall outside both charges.
How long does iHerb delivery to Ireland take?
iHerb does not publish a fixed delivery time for Ireland. Its shipping page says estimated delivery times are shown at checkout and warns that air freight delays are possible. Orders travel by air from the United States and clear customs before delivery by carriers such as GLS or An Post. Orders from stock held in Ireland skip customs entirely.
If I return an iHerb order, do I get the customs charges back?
iHerb's help article says a full order refund includes 100% of any customs duty the customer actually paid, with partial returns prorated. The €2 Union Handling Fee is different: Revenue states it is never refundable, even where goods are returned or faulty. Revenue also does not refund consumers directly, so any refund comes through the seller or the carrier.
Can I avoid the charges by splitting an iHerb order?
No. The €3 duty and the €2 fee are charged per distinct item, not per parcel, so splitting an order into smaller parcels does not reduce the number of items. Buying several units of one identical product does keep the count to one item. The charges only disappear where the goods are already inside the EU when ordered.
What happens if my iHerb order is over €150?
The flat €3 duty stops applying and ordinary customs duty is calculated on the goods instead. The €2 Union Handling Fee still applies per item from 1 November 2026, because it has no value threshold. iHerb's shipping page also warns that orders close to the limit may be assessed duties and taxes because exchange rates can move between the order date and customs clearance.
Is there an Irish alternative to iHerb?
Yes. Probiotic.ie is an independent Irish retailer that stocks US brands including NOW Foods, Swanson, Healthy Origins and Doctor's Best and dispatches from Dublin. Because the goods are already in Ireland when ordered, the €3 customs duty and the €2 Union Handling Fee do not apply, and the price on the product page is the final price. Probiotic.ie is not affiliated with iHerb.
- iHerb has no Irish or EU warehouse. Its Ireland shipping page states that all iHerb orders are currently dispatched from the United States.
- iHerb orders to Ireland are imports from outside the EU and are subject to a €3 EU customs duty per distinct item on consignments of €150 or less, since 1 July 2026 (Council Regulation (EU) 2026/382).
- From 1 November 2026, a €2 EU Union Handling Fee per distinct item also applies at any order value (Irish Revenue, 29 September 2026).
- Together the two charges are €5 per distinct item on consignments of €150 or less. Identical units count as one item.
- As of 8 October 2026, iHerb states it reimburses customs duties through a discretionary discount at checkout on orders over €10, with no published end date.
- As of 8 October 2026, iHerb has not stated whether it will absorb or pass on the €2 Union Handling Fee.
- The Union Handling Fee is never refundable, even where goods are returned or faulty.
- Goods already based in Ireland when ordered are not subject to the €3 duty or the €2 fee.
- Probiotic.ie is an independent Irish retailer, not affiliated with iHerb, stocking NOW Foods, Swanson, Healthy Origins and Doctor's Best in Dublin.
More from Probiotic.ie
| Date | Update |
|---|---|
| 2 June 2026 | Original publication. |
| 2 July 2026 | Updated after the €3 customs duty took effect. |
| 8 October 2026 | Added the €2 Union Handling Fee from 1 November 2026. Added iHerb's published position that it currently offsets the €3 duty with a discretionary discount and pre-collects charges at checkout. Removed earlier statements that iHerb customers pay VAT on the duty or an An Post handling fee, which do not match iHerb's published checkout process. |
- Read iHerb's Ireland shipping page and its help article on the €3 EU customs duty on 8 October 2026, and quoted them directly.
- Checked the €3 duty and €2 Union Handling Fee against Irish Revenue's guidance and its press release of 29 September 2026.
- Stated only what iHerb has published. Where iHerb has said nothing, we say it is unconfirmed.
- Labelled the cost table columns as scenarios, not predictions.
- Left out product prices, which change. Compare final totals on the day you order.
- Made no health claims for any product.
References
- Irish Revenue. Press release advising online shoppers of the EU Union Handling Fee applying from 1 November 2026. 29 September 2026. revenue.ie
- Irish Revenue. Union Handling Fee (UHF), 1 November 2026. Customs guidance for individuals. revenue.ie
- Irish Revenue. Union Handling Fee: how the fee applies (worked examples). revenue.ie
- Irish Revenue. Union Handling Fee: what does this mean for consumers? revenue.ie
- Irish Revenue. Removal of the De Minimis Relief for Low Value Consignments: Frequently Asked Questions. revenue.ie
- Council of the European Union. Council Regulation (EU) 2026/382 of 11 February 2026 amending Regulation (EC) No 1186/2009 as regards the elimination of the threshold-based customs duty relief. Official Journal of the European Union, L series, 18 February 2026. eur-lex.europa.eu
- iHerb. Understanding the €3 EU Customs Duty on Orders. iHerb Help Centre. Accessed 8 October 2026. information.iherb.com
- iHerb. Shipping information for Ireland. Accessed 8 October 2026. ie.iherb.com
- Irish Revenue. Buying online for personal use: claiming a refund of Customs Duty and VAT. revenue.ie
- Irish Revenue. Tax and Duty Manual: VAT treatment of food supplement products. revenue.ie
- Food Safety Authority of Ireland. Food Supplements. fsai.ie