HTS Updates: How Often the Tariff Schedule Changes

HTS updates used to be something importers checked once a year. In 2025 and 2026, the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States changed every few weeks, mostly because of new additional duties written into Chapter 99. A code and rate you looked up last month may already be out of date, and a duty estimate that ignores the current revision can be wrong by double digits.

This guide is for importers, brokers and e-commerce teams who need to keep classifications and duty estimates current. It shows how often the HTS has changed, what drives the changes, how to tell which revision applies, and how to track changes against your own product codes. Figures come from USITC's release list as checked in October 2026.

Key takeaways

• USITC publishes a basic edition each year and numbered revisions whenever the schedule changes.
• The pace has risen sharply: 10 revisions in 2024, 32 in 2025 and 20 in 2026 by 28 September.
• The current release in October 2026 is 2026 HTS Revision 20, effective 28 September 2026.
• Most revisions change Chapter 99 duties, not product lines. Product codes change mainly with HS amendments; HS 2028 takes effect on 1 January 2028.
• Duty follows the effective date of the measure, which can precede the revision that prints it.

How often the HTS changes: the numbers

USITC's public release list records every edition and revision with its release start date. Counting them gives a clear picture:

The 2026 revisions have arrived at irregular intervals, often in clusters around trade actions:

Four revisions were released between 21 July and 3 August 2026 alone, the weeks around the end of the Section 122 surcharge and the start of new Section 301 duties on 24 July.

What drives HTS changes

Changes come from several legal sources, each published through its own channel.

• Trade actions. Section 301 and Section 232 actions, safeguards and similar measures add or modify 9903 headings in Chapter 99. These have driven most recent revisions. Our guide to HTS Chapter 99 explains how those headings work.
• Presidential proclamations. Proclamations implement HS amendments, trade agreement changes and some duty measures.
• Legislation. Laws such as temporary duty suspensions in subchapter II of Chapter 99 change rates for listed goods.
• Trade agreements. Staged duty reductions and rules of origin under agreements such as USMCA are reflected in the Special column and in later subchapters of Chapter 99.
• Statistical changes. New or revised 10-digit statistical suffixes change the reporting number without changing the legal 8-digit line.
• HS amendments. The World Customs Organization updates the international Harmonized System every 5 to 6 years. These are the changes most likely to split, merge or delete product codes.

HS 2028: the next big change to product codes

The WCO has confirmed that HS 2028, the eighth edition of the Harmonized System, enters into force on 1 January 2028, after a review cycle the WCO describes as six years of technical work. When the US implements it, some six-digit codes in the schedule will change, and every national line below them will follow. Expect to remap part of your catalogue, using correlation tables, during 2027. For background on how the six digits work, see what is an HS code.

Revision date versus effective date

A revision is USITC's publication of the schedule. The legal effect of a change comes from the underlying measure, and the dates do not always line up.

In July 2026, the US Trade Representative's notice of Section 301 actions on forced labor import prohibitions applied additional duties to goods entered on or after 12:01 a.m. eastern time on 24 July 2026. The notice was published in the Federal Register on 28 July 2026 (91 FR 47318), and the corresponding Chapter 99 headings appear in later revisions. An importer who waited for the revision to update rates would have under-estimated duty on four days of entries.

Two habits avoid this:

1. Follow the Federal Register and CBP notices for measures that affect your goods, not only the HTS.
2. Record both dates in your classification file: the HTS revision you read, and the effective date of any measure you applied.

How to track HTS updates against your codes

USITC notes that each edition of the HTS includes a change record listing major changes since the previous edition. That is a start, but it does not tell you which of your products are affected. A practical routine:

1. Keep a list of active codes. Every SKU you import, with its 10-digit code, origin and the revision it was last checked against.
2. Check the release list on a schedule. Weekly is reasonable in the current climate; daily for high-volume importers.
3. Compare, do not reread. For each new revision, compare your codes against the new release: has any code been deleted, split or had its description or rate changed?
4. Re-run Chapter 99 checks by origin. Most changes now affect additional duties for specific countries.
5. Update and log. Change codes in your systems before the next entry and record why.

When a code changes, the classification behind it may need to be redone, not just renumbered. The method in how to find HTS code numbers applies. A code that has silently become invalid is also a compliance risk; our customs classification compliance checklist covers how to build review into your process.

Where to see which revision you are reading

USITC makes the revision visible in three places, and it is worth checking at least one every time you classify:

• The release list. USITC's public release list shows each edition and revision with its release start date and status, with one release marked current.
• The chapter files. Every page of the PDF chapters and general notes carries a header naming the revision, for example "Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States Revision 20 (2026)".
• The search site. The HTS search at hts.usitc.gov serves the current release by default.

Quote that revision name in your classification record. If you cannot say which revision a code came from, you cannot show later that it was right when you used it.

What happens to entries already filed

A new revision does not reopen past entries by itself, but errors found after the fact still need handling.

• Before liquidation, an entry can often be corrected through CBP's entry correction procedures. Under 19 U.S.C. 1504, an entry not liquidated within 1 year of entry, unless extended or suspended, is deemed liquidated at the rate and amount the importer asserted.
• After liquidation, an importer that overpaid can protest within 180 days under 19 U.S.C. 1514.
• Underpayments caused by a code or rate that was out of date can lead to a demand for the unpaid duty and, if negligent, a penalty; see customs misclassification penalties.

The practical point is timing: the sooner a change is caught, the cheaper it is to fix.

Common mistakes

• Using a downloaded copy of the schedule for months. With revisions every few weeks, a static copy goes stale fast.
• Updating rates but not codes. Statistical suffix changes can invalidate a 10-digit number even when the duty is unchanged.
• Ignoring the effective date. Duty follows the measure, not the publication.
• Not recording the revision. Without it, you cannot show later which schedule your decision relied on.

Watching the schedule for you

HTS Pilot loads US data directly from USITC and, through its scheduler, checks periodically for a new USITC release, loads it, compares it with the previous version and raises alerts on the SKUs in your catalogue whose codes are affected. It also checks existing catalogue codes as valid, not specific enough, expired, nonexistent or changed, and every lookup stores the HTS version and effective date it used. Proposed codes and alerts are aids for reference, not official classification decisions.

Summary

HTS updates are now frequent: 32 revisions in 2025 and 20 in 2026 by the end of September. Most change Chapter 99 duties, while HS 2028 will change product codes from 1 January 2028. Track the release list and the Federal Register, compare each revision against your active codes, and record the revision and effective dates behind every decision.

Frequently asked questions

How often is the HTS updated?

USITC publishes a basic edition each year and then numbered revisions whenever the schedule is modified. The pace varies with trade policy. USITC's release list shows 10 revisions of the 2024 HTS, 32 of the 2025 HTS, and 20 of the 2026 HTS by 28 September 2026, when Revision 20 became the current release.

What is the current HTS revision?

As of early October 2026, the current release is the 2026 HTS Revision 20, with a release start date of 28 September 2026 on the USITC release list. Revisions can follow each other within days, so check the release list or the HTS search site on the date you classify or file, and record the revision in your file.

Do HTS updates change my product codes?

Usually not, but sometimes. Most recent revisions modify Chapter 99 additional duties or rates rather than product lines. Codes are split, merged or deleted mainly when the international HS changes, which the WCO does every 5 to 6 years, and occasionally through US statistical changes. HS 2028 enters into force on 1 January 2028 and will change many codes.

Which date matters, the revision date or the effective date?

The effective date of the legal measure matters for duty, not the date USITC publishes a revision. In July 2026, for example, Section 301 duties applied to goods entered from 24 July, while the Federal Register notice was published on 28 July. Read the effective dates in the Federal Register and in the Chapter 99 notes, not just the revision date.

Sources

The official texts and pages this article relies on. Check them for the current version before you act.

1. HTS release list (REST service) - USITC hts.usitc.gov
2. FAQs about tariff classification and the HTS - U.S. International Trade Commission usitc.gov
3. HS Nomenclature 2028 edition - World Customs Organization wcoomd.org
4. Notice of Actions in Section 301 Investigations related to forced labor import prohibitions, 91 FR 47318 - Federal Register federalregister.gov
5. What is the Harmonized System (HS)? - World Customs Organization wcoomd.org

This article is general information, not legal advice and not a classification decision. Tariff texts, rates and rulings change: check the current official sources, and ask the customs authority for a binding ruling where the answer matters.