US tariffs on construction and project cost
Structural steel, HVAC, and imported equipment show up as project cost, not as a customs line the owner watches weekly. The duty lands in the bid, then in the holdback.
Working register. Rates on the desk were last checked on 26 August 2026. They are not yet signed off against the governing proclamation or CBP entry practice. Do not treat a rate here as advice to classify, enter, or protest.
Where the duty actually sits
On a construction job the tariff is rarely a line the owner reviews on Monday. It is inside the steel package, the HVAC quote, or the imported equipment the estimator treated as a known cost. When the rate moves, the bid is already out.
That is why a 10-point change on equipment is a margin event on a fixed-price job. The customer does not reopen the contract because CBP changed an annex.
What moved for contractors
HVAC and some machinery rates moved on 8 June 2026. Structural metal remains a 232 conversation. The working register is the place to see which instrument you are under. This page does not classify a rooftop unit.
If your open bids assumed the pre-June book, the holdback is now covering a duty you did not price. That is a cash problem before it is a customs problem.
What to do this week
List open bids and unsigned change orders that include imported steel, HVAC, or equipment. Mark the assumed rate and the rate you would type into the calculator today. The gap is the exposure on work you have already promised.
Factual answers
- The supplier says the price is DDP. Am I still exposed?
- DDP is a commercial term. The importer of record on the CBP entry owns the duty, the protest, and any refund. If you are not on the entry, you still own the project cost when the supplier comes back for a surcharge.
- Do I need a new HS code for every HVAC unit?
- You need whoever files the entry to have a defensible classification. Mirabilys does not assign that code. We size what a rate change does to the job once you know the rate.
- Can I pass this through on a public bid?
- Only if the tender lets you. Many do not. That is why the calculator’s pass-through field exists. Model 0% and 40% before you assume the owner will reopen.
The register, the calculator, the certificate, the industries, and the mandate sit together. The old standalone calculator is not in this set.
The bid is the exposure
If the rate in the estimate is stale, the job is already leaking. Size it, then decide which bids still deserve a crew.