Ghana Motorcycle Duties 2026: Tema Cost Calculator Guide

Bringing a motorcycle into Ghana in 2026 means budgeting for more than just ocean freight. The real cost driver at Tema Port is how Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) calculates duties and taxes on HS 8711 motorcycles, using a layered structure of import duty, VAT, levies, and fees.

This article breaks that structure into a clear “calculator” you can apply to your own bike, then shows how to combine it with live shipping quotes from West Coast Shipping’s international motorcycle shipping rates page. It is a focused companion to the main guide Motorcycle Import to Ghana 2026: Duties, Customs & Shipping, which covers the full Tema workflow from shipping and clearance to DVLA registration.

1. How Ghana Classifies Motorcycles Under HS 8711

GRA’s Vehicle Importation schedule places most motorcycles under HS 8711 – “Motor Cycle/Bikes”. For this HS line, the table lists the following headline rates:

• Import Duty: 20%

• VAT: 12.50% (as shown on the current GRA vehicle table)

• NHIL (National Health Insurance Levy): 2.50%

• GETFund Levy: 2.50%

• AU Levy: 0.20%

• ECOWAS Levy: 0.50%

• EXIM Levy: 0.75%

• Special Import Levy: 2%

• Examination Fee: 1% of CIF

These percentages are applied on a duty‑inclusive value, not just on the raw CIF price, which is why landed taxes often feel higher than the headline duty figure.

The main Ghana motorcycle import guide relies on the same HS 8711 basis and uses it as the starting point for all Tema cost estimates.

2. CIF, Duty‑Inclusive Value, and Why Percentages Compound

To use Ghana’s structure correctly, you need two key concepts: CIF and duty‑inclusive value.

• CIF (Cost + freight + required cover) is customs’ starting point, equal to the bike’s purchase cost plus overseas freight and any mandatory cover for the voyage.

• Duty‑inclusive value is CIF plus import duty, often called the “taxable base” for VAT, NHIL, GETFund, and some levies.

In practice, your mental calculator works like this:

1. Compute Import Duty as a percentage of CIF (20% for HS 8711 motorcycles in the current GRA vehicle table).

2. Add duty to CIF to get the duty‑inclusive value.

3. Apply VAT, NHIL, GETFund, and other levies on that duty‑inclusive value (or on CIF in the case of the 1% exam fee).

This layered approach is why the total tax burden often reaches well above the simple 20% duty number once everything is included—a pattern West Coast Shipping also notes for vehicles in its global tax and duty overviews.

3. VAT in 2026: 12.5% vs 15% for Motorcycles

There is an important nuance around VAT that matters for a 2026 calculator:

• The GRA vehicle table for motorcycles still shows VAT 12.5% alongside NHIL 2.5% and GETFund 2.5%.

• Broader Ghana tax guidance notes that the standard VAT rate has been increased to 15% for many imports, calculated on CIF + duty + certain fees.

To keep estimates realistic without over‑stating certainty:

VAT 12.5% is what appears on the current motor‑vehicle table for HS 8711, but Ghana’s headline VAT rate is now 15% in more recent tax reforms. Always have your broker confirm the effective VAT rate and base at the time you declare your motorcycle in ICUMS.

The main Ghana motorcycle import article takes the same cautious approach and treats VAT as a variable that must be checked in ICUMS rather than assumed.

4. Building a Practical Tema Duty Calculator for Motorcycles

With these elements in place, you can build a step‑by‑step calculator structure for Tema Port. Percentages may change with each budget, but the logic remains stable.

Step 1 – Start with CIF

Gather the components that form your CIF:

• Purchase price on your invoice or bill of sale.

• Overseas freight to Tema, taken from West Coast Shipping’s live quote or email from the international motorcycle shipping rates calculator.

• Any mandatory cover that Ghana Customs requires to be declared as part of CIF.

The main Ghana motorcycle guide recommends using the same CIF figure your clearing agent enters into ICUMS, so every later step matches customs’ numbers.

Step 2 – Apply 20% Import Duty (HS 8711)

For standard motorcycles under HS 8711, the GRA vehicle table lists 20% import duty. The formula is:

Import Duty = CIF Value × 20%

This mirrors the 20% band that West Coast Shipping already uses when explaining Ghana’s duty tiers for larger‑engine vehicles.

Step 3 – Calculate the Duty‑Inclusive Value

Add duty to CIF:

Duty-Inclusive Value = CIF Value + Import DutyStep 4 – Apply VAT, NHIL, GETFund and Other Levies

Using the duty‑inclusive value, you then apply:

• VAT: 12.5% from the GRA motorcycle table (or 15% if updated in law—confirm on the day of import).

• NHIL: 2.5%.

• GETFund: 2.5%.

• AU Levy, ECOWAS Levy, EXIM Levy, Special Import Levy at their current percentages from the latest GRA schedule.

An online vehicle duty calculator for Ghana uses the same structure for cars, treating VAT, NHIL, and GETFund as all calculated on the duty‑inclusive value; the Ghana motorcycle import guide simply swaps in the HS 8711 numbers.

Step 5 – Add the 1% Examination Fee and Any Other Charges

GRA’s vehicle schedule shows a 1% examination fee on CIF for vehicles, including motorcycles. Additional processing, port, and security fees also appear on real Tema clearance invoices, which West Coast Shipping covers in its Ghana car and duty‑free relocation content.

Your calculator therefore ends with:

Total Taxes and Levies = Import Duty + VAT + NHIL + GETFund + Other Levies + Examination Fee

Landed Cost (before destination handling) = CIF Value + Total Taxes and Levies

The main Motorcycle Import to Ghana 2026 guide uses this same stack, then adds Tema terminal, trucking, unloading, and agent fees to reach a true landed cost.

5. Worked Example: $5,000 CIF Motorcycle (Illustrative Only)

To see the structure in action, consider a used motorcycle with CIF = $5,000 at Tema. This example is illustrative only and does not attempt to include every levy from the latest GRA table.

1. Import Duty (20% of CIF)

   • Duty = 0.20 × $5,000 = $1,000.

   • Duty‑inclusive value = $5,000 + $1,000 = $6,000.

2. VAT (12.5% on duty‑inclusive value)

   • VAT = 0.125 × $6,000 = $750.

3. NHIL (2.5%)

   • NHIL = 0.025 × $6,000 = $150.

4. ECOWAS Levy (0.5%)

   • ECOWAS = 0.005 × $6,000 = $30.

5. Examination Fee (1% of CIF)

   • Exam fee = 0.01 × $5,000 = $50.

Illustrative total taxes and fees in this simplified example:

$1,000 + $750 + $150 + $30 + $50 = $1,980

Illustrative landed cost before Tema handling and DVLA:

$5,000 (CIF) + $1,980 (taxes) = $6,980

As the main Ghana motorcycle import guide stresses, a complete 2026 calculation must also include GETFund 2.5%, AU 0.2%, EXIM 0.75%, Special Import Levy 2%, and any other current charges the GRA schedule lists for HS 8711; those will push the true tax burden higher than this simplified illustration.

6. Age Limits, Overage Penalties, and HS 8711 Motorcycles

Ghana’s vehicle import framework introduces overage penalties for units beyond a 10‑year age threshold, applied as a percentage of CIF on top of normal duty. The wording of these rules is centred on cars and light vehicles, but it does not clearly exempt motorcycles.

To handle age correctly in your calculator:

• Treat anything over 10 years as at risk of an overage penalty in ICUMS.

• Have your broker check how the current overage table applies to HS 8711 specifically, using your model year and engine size.

The main Ghana motorcycle import article takes the same approach, warning that older bikes can face both heightened scrutiny and additional charges even where enforcement seems flexible in everyday practice.

7. Combining Duty Calculations with Real Shipping Quotes

A Tema duty calculator on its own only tells half the story. To know whether an import makes sense, you also need a realistic freight and handling cost.

The international motorcycle shipping rates page explains that the cost to ship a motorcycle overseas is around $600 to $4,250 per bike, depending on route, method, and consolidation. It also:

• Explains what the base ocean rate usually includes (loading at WCS warehouses, export documentation, container freight).

• Describes typical destination charges such as terminal handling, trucking to the overseas warehouse, unloading, and customs clearance.

• Emphasizes using the built‑in motorcycle shipping calculator for live lane‑specific quotes instead of relying on static rate sheets.

The main Ghana motorcycle import article follows this pattern: it uses the calculator to pull a current estimate for a California–Tema or East Coast–Tema lane, then feeds that ocean‑freight component into the CIF used for duty calculations.

When you combine both parts, your workflow looks like this:

1. Get a live motorcycle quote to Tema from CA, NY/NJ, or FL using the international motorcycle shipping rates page.

2. Add freight to your purchase price (and any required cover) to get CIF.

3. Run CIF through the Tema duty steps above, using HS 8711 rates and current VAT/levy percentages from your broker’s ICUMS output.

4. Add port handling, local agent fees, and DVLA registration costs drawn from the main Ghana motorcycle guide.

That final number is the closest thing to a complete cost calculator you can have without direct access to ICUMS yourself.

8. Next Steps: Turn the Calculator into a Real Quote

To move from theory to a real shipment:

• Start on the international motorcycle shipping rates page and run your origin ZIP, bike details, and destination (Tema) through West Coast Shipping’s calculator for a live freight estimate.

• Keep the main reference guide Motorcycle Import to Ghana 2026: Duties, Customs & Shipping open while you talk with your clearing agent so you can cross‑check HS 8711 duty bands, levies, and overage rules against their ICUMS calculations.

Once CIF, duty, and Tema handling are all on the table, you will know exactly how much room is left for margin—and whether that Ghana‑bound motorcycle deal truly works in 2026.

Build Your Motorcycle Shipping Quote to Ghana

Use the button below to open West Coast Shipping’s motorcycle calculator, select your U.S. port and shipment setup, and generate a Tema-specific shipping quote.
You can then combine that freight cost with the HS 8711 duty and tax framework explained in this article to estimate your full import cost.