de minimis

[duh min-uh-mis, dey]

1. pertaining to minimal or trivial things; small, minor, or insignificant; negligible.

   De minimis gifts to employees are not subject to taxation.

Word History and Origins

Origin of de minimis¹

First recorded in 1945–50

Example Sentences

The "de minimis" loophole allows overseas retailers to send goods to the UK worth up to £135 without incurring customs duty.

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Temu, PDD’s overseas business, and rival Shein have been hit hard by the end of the de minimis exemption—a tariff loophole that previously allowed low-value goods to enter the U.S. duty-free and significantly benefited these cross-border e-commerce sites.

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It appears that the abolition of the de minimis exemption for the shipment of low-value goods to the U.S. has not had the debilitating effect many analysts had forecast.

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Packages imported to the U.S. were duty-free if they were valued below a so-called de minimis threshold of $800, but the new policy from the end of August saw that de minimis threshold scrapped, meaning all shipments became subject to duties.

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Palantir’s $6.4 billion cash on hand with a de minimis share buyback is also starting to attract attention from retail investors looking for capital returns, the analysts say.

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When To Use

What does de minimis mean?

De minimis means so small or inconsequential as to not be worthy of attention.De minimis is typically used in a legal context in regard to things that are not important or significant enough to be bound by rules or regulations. It is often used in phrases like de minimis rule or de minimis exemption. Like many other technical legal terms, de minimis comes from Latin.Example: Amounts that low are considered de minimis, so they don’t need to be reported as taxable income.