CBP 4457, What do you list?

[thomas201]

Most of my cross border travel has been by plane, and I am a US Citizen. For business and pleasure (hunting and firearms) I often filled out the CBP 4457 so that personal items can be brought back to the USA without paying duty. For firearms, it is a necessity, no need to explain import and export of firearms. Don't go there unless you want to make a business out of it. Also, for expensive items that can be bought abroad. You know, watches, purses, electronics, stuff like that.

Crossing in a camper is new to me. I am not worried about the camper, I have the normal paperwork for that, but are there items that might fall under the rules? Customs doesn't seem to care about smart phones, computers, etc. The TV's are so cheap who cares, but am I missing something? Anybody get dinged for duty on something they bought in the US, but just did not have the paperwork covered?

I am gun shy (my pun) because on my first trip out of the US, and into Canada I found out the hard way. Canada required no paperwork to get the gun into Canada (40 years ago folks), but many thanks to the Canadian customs man that asked me if I had the paperwork to get the gun back home. He told me as of right now the gun was forever doomed to stay in Canada. Then he laughed told me to turn around go back to the US side, and who to see to get it all set right. They all got a good chuckle at the look on my face, but they fixed it for me. Lesson learned.

So can anyone teach me an easy lesson?

[wilber1]

A few years back when returning to Canada, I had a particular CBSA agent take exception to my golf clubs and how could I prove where I bought them, even though they were four years old and looked it. Never had that problem before. She said I should register them. A few days later, I took my clubs back to the same crossing and said to a different agent that I wanted to register them. He gives me a weird look and says, " we can't register items that don't have serial numbers", which made perfect sense to me. Since then, those same clubs have been across the border dozens of times.

[Orion]

Unless your hiding something, they dont care what you own.

No they do not, but they don't have to prove that you bought the item in another country, you have to prove that you bought it in your own country.
I don't think that they bother much any more other than guns drugs and cases of booze, but they can still do this.
It's different with an RV as you would expect to have a fridge , stove and all kinds of equipment in there.
I filled out the Canadian equivalent to this many years ago and put on my big camera kit and binoculars, I havent updated it though.

[nevadanick]

They only asked about fruit going into Alaska and not even that going into Washington. Unless your hiding something, they dont care what you own. Canada customs asked if anything was to be left in Canada of which we had none to leave. Crossing the borders was the easiest i have ever encountered in close to 40 years. Look them in the eye, answer the questions they ask and be honest.