Balikbayan Box from Singapore 2026: Prices, Pickup, Customs, Delivery

The short answer. A box to Metro Manila costs S$75 to S$155 at Jolly-B, and jumbo boxes to the provinces run up to S$280 with other forwarders. Sea cargo takes 4 to 10 weeks. Customs lets you send 3 boxes a year tax-free, up to PHP 150,000 in total, to family.

Forwarders price by box, not by weight. The further south the box goes, the more you pay: Metro Manila is cheapest, then Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao.

Prices at Jolly-B (rate board from 1 July 2026)

Jolly-B is the only forwarder that posts its full 2026 Singapore rates online. These are the Metro Manila prices. Provincial rates cost more, so ask for your province's row before you pay.

Source: Jolly-B rate board, checked 4 October 2026.

Prices at other forwarders

LBC, Forex and Atlas do not publish Singapore prices online. These ranges come from our May 2026 price check. Call before you book.

We found no Singapore page for Macro Cargo or Elite Cargo. If a workmate recommends one, ask for a printed rate card and a DTI accreditation number first.

Is it worth it? A S$180 box holding 25 kg works out to about S$7 a kilo. Excess baggage costs S$25 to S$40 a kilo. That gap is why kababayans fill every corner.

Where to book and how pickup works

Most forwarders deliver the empty box to your door and collect it when it is full, so you do not need to carry one home from Orchard.

• LBC: free pickup, with a S$5 deposit that comes off your bill.
• Jolly-B: free delivery and pickup of empty boxes, tape included.
• Smaller forwarders: some charge S$20 to S$40 for pickup in outlying estates. Ask when you book.

If you prefer to walk in, Lucky Plaza at 304 Orchard Road has the counters on levels 3 and 4.

SpeedBox also has a CBD counter at The Arcade, 11 Collyer Quay. Our Lucky Plaza guide shows you the way around.

The driver gives you a receipt with a box number. Keep it. You need it to track the box and to make a claim.

Ships leave once or twice a week. A box collected on a Saturday may wait a week in the warehouse before it sails, and SpeedBox counts transit time from the sailing date.

The customs rules: what makes a box tax-free

The Bureau of Customs gives the tax-free privilege when your box meets four rules.

1. PHP 150,000 a year. Everything you send in one calendar year must total PHP 150,000 or less. If you go over, customs charges duty only on the excess.

2. Three boxes a year. You get three tax-free shipments per calendar year. A box worth PHP 10,000 or less does not count toward the three, so a small birthday padala is free.

3. You must be a Filipino working or living abroad. OFWs with a valid passport and Filipinos living overseas qualify. Your passport and Singapore work pass prove it.

4. Family only. The receiver must be a relative: parents, siblings, aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews or first cousins. A box to a friend or a buyer pays tax.

Keep the contents personal. Clothes, canned goods, chocolates, shoes, toiletries and toys all pass. Twenty bottles of the same perfume looks like stock for a sari-sari store, and customs will tax or seize it.

Limits per box without FDA clearance

Customs seizes anything over these limits.

Never pack

• Firearms and ammunition
• Illegal drugs
• Cash
• Fake branded goods
• Fresh meat, fruit, vegetables, plants or seeds
• Aerosol cans and loose lithium batteries

Alcohol over one litre and cigarettes over 200 sticks need declaring and pay duty.

The form you must include

Every tax-free box needs the Bureau of Customs Information Sheet. Your forwarder has it, or download it from the Bureau of Customs balikbayan page. List what is inside at a fair value and attach a copy of your passport photo page. Customs can seize a box whose contents do not match the sheet, so an honest PHP 40,000 declaration clears faster than a fake PHP 8,000 one.

How to pack so nothing breaks or goes missing

Your box crosses the sea, a Manila warehouse, a truck and maybe a ferry before it reaches the barangay.

• Put heavy items at the bottom (cans, rice, books) and fragile ones on top.
• Wrap glass and gadgets in clothes. Towels work as free bubble wrap.
• Double-bag every liquid. One burst shampoo bottle ruins the whole box.
• Fill every gap with socks or sachets. If the box rattles, things will break.
• Do not overfill. A bulging lid splits under the boxes stacked on top.
• Take photos of the open box and your packing list before you seal it.
• Tape every seam twice, then wrap tape around the box both ways. Skip masking tape; it peels in the humidity.
• Write the receiver's name, address and two phone numbers on three sides, plus your Singapore number.

If a box arrives re-taped and lighter than it left, someone opened it. Your photos and the packing list inside are your proof.

How long delivery takes

LBC gives you a tracking number you can check online. For Jolly-B, SpeedBox and Metrobox, call or message their Facebook page. Most forwarders text the receiver a day or two before delivery.

Add a week for anywhere past Cebu or Davao, and more during the ber months, when OFWs everywhere ship at once. Typhoons that close ports add delays too.

Air cargo arrives in 7 to 10 days but costs several times more per kilo. Use it for a phone, not for corned beef.

Christmas deadlines

For the box to arrive by 25 December, hand it over by early October for Metro Manila and by late September for Visayas, Mindanao and far provinces. Your forwarder's own cutoff date is the one that counts.

Read Send Your Balikbayan Box Now So It Reaches Home for Christmas for this year's dates and what to do if you missed them.

Lost or damaged box: how to claim

At delivery. Tell your family not to refuse the box and not to sign the receipt as complete if something looks wrong. They should open it in front of the driver, list what is missing or broken, take photos, and ask the driver to write a damage note on the delivery slip.

In Singapore. File a written claim with your forwarder within the deadline on your receipt. Attach the receipt, the Information Sheet, your photos from before sealing and your family's photos from delivery. Most forwarders cover S$200 to S$500 of declared value. You can buy extra cover for about 1 to 2 percent of the value when you book.

If the forwarder ignores you. Email the DTI Fair Trade Enforcement Bureau at fteb@dti.gov.ph. DTI can fine an accredited forwarder PHP 50,000, order it to stop operating, or cancel its accreditation. That only works if the company is on DTI's accredited list, so check before you ship.