Furniture HS Codes Explained: Chapter 94 Headings by Product and Material

Chapter 94 has six headings, and for furniture importers three of them matter: 9401, 9403 and 9404. Choose the heading first, then the subheading. A sofa bed is a seat (9401), a bed frame is other furniture (9403), and the mattress on it is bedding (9404), even when all three ship in one carton.

Two frequent errors: classifying a bed with an integrated sprung base entirely in 9403, when the sprung support element belongs in 9404.10, and putting a salon or barber chair in 9401, when its rotating, reclining and elevating movements make it 9402.10. When in doubt, describe the item’s function in plain words on the invoice and let the broker decide.

Heading 9403 splits first by material (metal, wood, plastics, bamboo, rattan, other) and, for metal and wooden furniture, by the room it is designed for: office, kitchen, bedroom or other. A solid oak bed is 9403.50; the same oak as a dining table is 9403.60; a steel bed is 9403.20; a fitted kitchen carcass is 9403.40.

Three points cause most disputes. First, ‘of a kind used in’ means designed for that room, judged by the product and how it is marketed, not by where a buyer puts it; a wardrobe is bedroom furniture even in a hallway. Second, a stone-top dining table on a wooden or metal base is classified by essential character, and customs authorities in different countries have decided such cases both ways, so ask for a ruling on high-value stone tables. Third, Chapter 94 Note 3 says that sheets or slabs of glass, marble or other stone presented separately are not ‘parts’, so a marble top shipped on its own falls in Chapter 68 or 70, not in 9403.99. Kitchen units and vanities also attract specific measures in the US; see the duty notes below and the pages on kitchen cabinetry and bathroom vanities for how those products are specified.

The table gives the most likely six-digit code for products that Foshan and Dongguan export in volume. It is a starting point for your invoice and your broker’s classification, not a ruling.

For outdoor and office products the material logic is the same but the specifications differ; the outdoor furniture guide and the office furniture guide cover materials and standards, while this page stays with classification.

The HS code appears on the commercial invoice (per line), the packing list, the export declaration your supplier files in China, and the import entry your broker files at destination. The six digits should agree across all four; the national digits and the duty are added by your broker. Base duty on most furniture is low, but for goods of Chinese origin the 2026 picture is dominated by additional measures, above all in the United States.

• United States (HTS Revision 19, 2026): the general rate is free for 9401.61, 9401.69, 9401.71, 9401.79, 9401.80, for 9403.10 through 9403.89 and for parts of 9403.91; mattresses are 3% (9404.21 and cotton 9404.29.10) or 6% (other 9404.29.90). On top of that, Chinese-origin furniture on Section 301 List 3 has carried an additional 25% since 2019; a further 12.5% Section 301 duty on products of China took effect on 24 July 2026, replacing the expired Section 122 surcharge (goods already under Section 232 are exempt from this 12.5%); and Section 232 duties of 25% apply to upholstered wooden furniture, kitchen cabinets and vanities since 14 October 2025, with scheduled increases to 30% and 50% postponed to 1 January 2027 by a proclamation of 31 December 2025. Rates change; confirm the stack for each line at the time of entry.
• European Union (Combined Nomenclature 2026): conventional duty is 0% on most seats (9401.61 to 9401.80) and on wooden office, bedroom, dining and living room furniture, metal furniture and plastic furniture; 2.7% on wooden kitchen furniture (9403 40) and on parts (9401 90, 9403 90); 3.7% on mattresses and bedding (9404); 5.6% on bamboo and rattan seats and furniture (9401 52, 53, 59 and 9403 82, 83, 89). Import VAT of 17–27% by member state is charged on top. Check TARIC for anti-dumping measures on specific lines.
• United Kingdom (UK Global Tariff): 0% on most 9401 and 9403 lines, 2% on wooden kitchen furniture and on furniture parts, 4% on bamboo, rattan and other-material furniture, plus 20% import VAT.
• Australia, the Gulf states and other markets set their own rates; check the national tariff, and note that the six-digit code also drives quarantine and wood-packaging requirements at those borders.

Duty is assessed on the customs value, which in the US is broadly the price paid excluding international freight and in the EU and UK is the CIF value (goods plus freight and insurance to the border). Under-declaring value, or splitting an upholstered sofa into ‘frame’ and ‘cover’ lines to change the code, is fraud, and brokers will refuse it. Correct material description is legitimate and worth money: a 9401.79 aluminium chair and a 9401.71 padded version may look identical on a showroom floor but are different tariff lines with different measures. The step-by-step import guide covers the full document set, and the wholesale guide shows how duties change a landed-cost example for a US-bound container.

We are not a customs broker, and nothing on this page is a ruling. The limits are worth stating plainly:

• We suggest, your broker decides. We put an indicative code and packed volume on every line so it can be checked early. The declaration is your broker’s call and their liability.
• We do not chase a lower duty by re-describing goods. Calling an upholstered chair something else to dodge a Section 301 line is fraud, and it is your import, not ours.
• Rates move faster than any page. Section 301 and Section 232 layers have changed several times since 2025. Treat the numbers here as a starting point and confirm at booking.
• No binding rulings. If a line is genuinely ambiguous and the value is large, ask your customs authority for a ruling before you ship.

What we can do is make the codes checkable early: see inspection and shipping for what travels with the container, or send a list through Start Your Project.