Moving Inventory to a U.S. Warehouse for Temu: Importer of Record, Duty Costs, State Taxes and Company Setup

When a Chinese factory ships bulk inventory to a U.S. warehouse to sell on Temu semi-managed or as a local seller, it is running a real U.S. import and sales business. The order is: set up the U.S. entity, decide who is importer of record and post a customs bond, agree customs values with the factory, capitalize duties and freight into inventory, check state taxes where the warehouses are, and put the annual filings on a calendar.

Why this became common after 2025

The $800 de minimis exemption ended for goods from mainland China and Hong Kong on May 2, 2025, and Temu said the same day that U.S. orders would be handled by local sellers shipping from inside the U.S. De minimis was suspended for all countries from August 29, 2025, and OBBBA removes its statutory basis on July 1, 2027. With parcels no longer duty-free, shipping inventory in bulk to U.S. warehouses became how many sellers keep traffic and pricing control. Temu's Terms of Use say local warehouse products are sold by third-party merchandise partners and that title passes to the buyer on delivery to the domestic carrier inside the U.S. Once your goods are in a U.S. warehouse, you are the seller on the U.S. side.

Step 1: choose the U.S. entity

Most foreign owners running U.S. inventory use a C corporation. A U.S. C corporation files Form 1120 at the 21% federal rate and attaches Form 5472 if it is 25% or more foreign-owned; it gives the platform a W-9 with its own EIN. A single-member LLC owned by one foreign person is disregarded for tax, so the owner generally gives the platform a W-8, the LLC files pro forma Form 1120 with Form 5472 every year, and with U.S. inventory and U.S. sales the owner may also have to file Form 1040-NR. An LLC can also elect to be taxed as a corporation on Form 8832.

Owned by the factory or by the owner personally. If the Chinese company owns the U.S. company, it is a subsidiary and dividends go to the Chinese parent; if the owner holds it personally, dividends go to the individual. Dividends paid to a Chinese tax resident generally bear 10% withholding under the U.S.-China treaty. The ownership structure also affects Chinese tax and foreign exchange procedures, which should be reviewed with your Chinese accountant and counsel; for the outbound investment filing see our ODI guide.

Two dates for a new company. A foreign person who forms a U.S. company and holds 10% or more of the voting interest files BE-13 with the Bureau of Economic Analysis within 45 days. After the first year ends, Form 1120 and Form 5472 are due on time.

Step 2: decide the importer of record and post a bond

Your own U.S. company as importer. It files an importer identity record with CBP (Form 5106), and formal entries (generally over $2,500 in value) need a customs bond. A single-transaction bond covers one entry; a continuous bond lasts a year and is generally 10% of the duties paid in the prior year, with a $50,000 minimum. A customs broker files the entries and calculates the duty.

A forwarder as importer under DDP terms. Simpler, but the duties, entry liability and refund claims are in the forwarder's name, and you only see the forwarder's invoice, so you need clear duty documents for your inventory cost. Refunds of IEEPA duties, which stopped after the Supreme Court's February 2026 ruling, can only be claimed by the importer of record or its broker. That's one reason many sellers move to importing in their own company's name.

Step 3: customs value and related-party pricing

When the U.S. company buys from a related Chinese factory, customs and tax both have to be satisfied. Customs value is generally the transaction value. For tax, Section 1059A generally prevents the cost of inventory imported from a related party from exceeding its customs value, and Section 482 requires an arm's-length purchase price. If the price is too high, the U.S. company runs persistent losses and the IRS can adjust; if the declared value is too low, that's a customs risk. Purchase contracts, invoices, entry documents and payment records should match, and a foreign-owned company reports related-party purchases on Form 5472.

Step 4: put duties and freight into inventory cost

Duty is not deducted all in the year you pay it. Purchase price, inbound freight, duties, brokerage and delivery to the warehouse are inventory cost and become cost of goods sold when items sell. Goods still in the warehouse at year-end keep their cost on the balance sheet. Small businesses with average gross receipts of $32,000,000 or less can use simplified inventory methods, but you still need quantities and values by warehouse.

Example (hypothetical numbers, to show the method): one container of 8,000 units at a customs value of $5 each, $40,000; duty at an assumed 37.5% rate, $15,000; ocean freight, brokerage and delivery to the warehouse, $5,000. Inventory cost per unit = ($40,000 + $15,000 + $5,000) ÷ 8,000 = $7.50. If 6,000 units sell this year, cost of goods sold is $45,000; the other 2,000 units, $15,000, stay in year-end inventory and are deducted when they sell next year.

Step 5: see which states your warehouses are in

Inventory in a state is physical presence there. Whether it's your own leased space, a 3PL or a platform partner warehouse, inventory in a state can mean sales tax registration, state income tax or franchise tax there. 3PLs often split stock across states, which shows up on receiving and inventory reports. P.L. 86-272 generally does not protect sellers who store inventory in a state.

A few common states. Inventory in California that meets California's doing-business thresholds means the $800 annual minimum franchise tax and a California return. Inventory in Texas means a Texas franchise tax report; the no-tax-due threshold for 2026 and 2027 reports is $2,650,000, and an information report is still due below it. Temu collects sales tax from buyers at checkout, but off-platform sales and inventory-state registration rules are yours to check.

Step 6: put the annual filings on a calendar

Keep monthly books from Temu settlement reports, recording revenue gross and listing platform charges and penalties separately so the 1099-K reconciles. By April 15 of the following year, file Form 1120 with Form 5472 (a foreign-owned single-member LLC files pro forma 1120 with Form 5472 by fax or mail). State returns, annual reports and registered agent renewals follow each state's dates. Each missed Form 5472 starts at $25,000.

Learn more

The difference between fully managed, semi-managed and local selling, an entity-choice table and a platform comparison are in our Temu seller guide; the full approach for a Chinese parent with a U.S. subsidiary is in our U.S. subsidiary guide. If you're about to ship inventory to a U.S. warehouse, book a free 15-minute call or message us on WeChat at YCLUSA, and we'll walk through the entity, importer and state taxes with you first.