HTS codes, explained

HS stands for Harmonized System. It is an international product classification maintained by the World Customs Organization and used by more than 200 countries and territories. An HS code is 6 digits, and those first 6 digits mean the same thing everywhere: a product classified under a given 6-digit HS number in one country carries that same number in another. This shared root is what lets customs authorities around the world speak the same language about what is being traded.

HTS stands for the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States. It is the US implementation of the HS, published and maintained by the United States International Trade Commission (USITC) and administered at the border by US Customs and Border Protection. An HTS code is 10 digits. It begins with the 6-digit international HS number and then adds 4 more digits that are specific to the United States, used to set the tariff and to collect trade statistics.

The relationship is simple: the HTS code is the HS code plus more detail. The first 6 digits are the international HS subheading, shared worldwide. The last 4 digits are the US-specific portion. So when someone gives you a 6-digit code, that is the HS code and it works internationally. When you import into the United States, you need the full 10-digit HTS code. Other countries build their own longer codes on the same 6-digit HS base, which is why a supplier abroad may quote a code that matches yours for the first 6 digits but differs after that.

A 10-digit HTS code is built from four levels, read left to right. Take a furniture example, 9403.60.80.40:

The first 2 digits are the chapter. Here, 94 is the chapter for furniture. The first 4 digits are the heading: 9403 is the heading for other furniture and parts. The first 6 digits are the international HS subheading: 9403.60 covers other wooden furniture, and those 6 digits are the same worldwide. The 8-digit level, 9403.60.80, is the US tariff subheading (other). The full 10-digit code, 9403.60.80.40, is the line for dining tables, where the final digits are a statistical suffix used for trade data. Reading a code this way tells you how specific it is: the more digits that match your product, the more precisely it is classified.

Work from the product down. Decide which chapter covers your goods, then narrow to the heading and subheading whose description best fits, using the official Harmonized Tariff Schedule at hts.usitc.gov. Always read the section and chapter notes: they set rules that decide how borderline or composite products are classified, and they often override what a plain-language description seems to say.

Verify before you rely on a code. Descriptions can look similar across headings, and the correct classification can hinge on material, use, or how the product is presented. When a product is high-volume or the classification is genuinely unclear, you can request a binding ruling from US Customs and Border Protection, which gives you a decision you can rely on. Cargizon can hold the HTS code you settle on against each item so it travels with your purchase orders and shipments, but the authoritative source for the code and its current duty rate is always the USITC schedule.

The HTS code is how US customs knows what you are importing. It determines the duty rate that applies, whether trade programs or additional tariffs are involved, and which agencies and requirements may apply to the goods. Getting it wrong has real cost: an incorrect code can mean overpaying duty, underpaying and facing penalties and back charges, or delays while an entry is corrected. It also feeds your landed-cost picture, since duty is part of what a shipment truly costs.

This guide is about classification only. It does not quote duty rates, because rates change and depend on the country of origin and applicable trade programs. For the current rate on any code, check the official USITC Harmonized Tariff Schedule at hts.usitc.gov.