Traveling to Cuba from Miami with multiple cell phones? Find out how much you must pay at Customs.

Many residents abroad planning trips to Cuba frequently ask how mobile payments work at Customs in Cuban airports. 

You should know that a 2022 regulation expanded the importation of cell phones to the island. Since then, It is possible to carry up to five additional mobile phones per traveler in their luggage to Cuba.

La Cuban Customs confirmed to our page that entry is allowed A cell phone as a personal item free of charge, and five other cell phones that would have a reference value of $80.00 each.. 

However, Cubans visiting the island still have many questions about the currency in which these devices should be paid. The explanations provided by Customs regarding tariff collection are often very cumbersome.

Price of cell phones at Cuban Customs 2025

In this regard, Cuban Customs has clarified to one of our editors:

"If the passenger maintains the immigration category of permanent resident in Cuba and it is the first import made in the year, he pays the customs duties in CUPIf you are not a permanent resident, or even if you are a permanent resident, and this is your second import, the tariff for imports, for example, of telephones, is calculated at USD 80.00.

What does this mean? Practical example

Suppose a traveler who has lost his residency in Cuba wishes to take a iPhone 15 to the island.

1. iPhone 15 price on Amazon:
   • Today iPhone 15 (512 GB) is priced at approximately $ 800 USD on Amazon.
2. Calculation of the tariff at Cuban Customs:
   • Customs establishes that each imported mobile phone has a reference value of $80 USD, regardless of its actual market price.
   • If the traveler carries up to five additional phones (in addition to the one that enters free of charge as a personal effect), you must pay $80 each.
3. Total cost at Customs:
   • If the traveler brings just one 15 iPhone, this would pass as a personal effect and would not pay tariff.
   • If you bring two iPhone 15s, the second will be valued at $ 80 USD and must pay that amount.
   • If you bring six iPhone 15s in total, one is free and the other five pay $80 each, which gives a total of $400 USD in tariffs.
4. Total cost of imported phone:
   • If you buy a iPhone 15 on Amazon for $800 USD and pays $80 USD at Customs, the total cost of the device would be $ 880 USD.
   • If you carry the maximum allowed (five additional), the total cost would be $800 USD × 6 + $400 USD = $5,200 USD.