Bringing Power Tools and a Generator to Guatemala (2026): Voltage, Import Tax, Flights and Local Prices

← Part of the Moving from USA hub

In short: Guatemala runs 120 V at 60 Hz on type A and B sockets, the same IEC entry as the United States, so a US corded tool rated 120 V works as it is. A 240 V tool needs a 240 V circuit; EEGSA lists 120/240 V single-phase among its supply voltages and Energuate asks new applicants whether they need 120 V or 240 V, so check the house before you ship one. The drill, saw and generating-set lines carry 0% import duty on SIECA’s tariff (read 24 September 2026), which leaves the 12% IVA on value plus freight. For the flight, the FAA wants lithium batteries in the cabin and generators completely purged of fuel. Cemaco’s online store listed a 2,500 W generator from Q2,454 and an 18 V Makita hammer-drill kit at Q1,099 the same day.

This page answers the tool-specific questions. How to ship a box, the menaje de casa exemption and the general sell-or-ship arithmetic are on their own pages: ship a box from the USA, menaje de casa, what to sell and what to ship.

Voltage: 120 V tools are fine, 240 V tools need a 240 V circuit

The IEC’s World Plugs reference lists Guatemala: 120 V, 60 Hz, plug types A and B and the United States: 120 V, 60 Hz, A and B. A tool or charger bought in the US for 120 V plugs straight in. Travellers from the UK (230 V, 50 Hz, type G on the same IEC list), Europe or Australia need to read each tool’s rating plate; our power adapters and voltage guide walks through that device by device.

The 240 V case. EEGSA lists the low-voltage supplies it provides as:

Source: EEGSA norm MT 2.60.03 for low-voltage service connections, in the CNEE document set we captured on 13 August 2026.

EEGSA’s own checklist for new connections and voltage changes asks the applicant to tick the service voltage: 120 V, 120/208 V, 120/240 V, 240/480 V or 277/480 V. Energuate tells new-service applicants to state whether they need 120 V or 240 V, and lists a voltage-change procedure among its services. So a 240 V table saw, compressor or welder is only usable where the house has a 240 V supply. Neither distributor’s pages we read (23 September 2026) say which houses already have a 240 V supply. Check the meter box or ask the landlord before shipping a 240 V machine. The connection process itself is on getting electricity and water connected.

Import tax: 0% duty, 12% IVA

Every tool and generator line we looked up in SIECA’s Central American tariff on 24 September 2026 showed DAI 0. SIECA’s tool returns only each line’s own (leaf) description, shown here in Spanish as served; the English is our gloss:

IVA is always due. The Ley del IVA charges 12% (Art. 10) and, on imports, applies it to the CIF price plus the import duties (Art. 13, numeral 1). With 0% duty, the tax is 12% of CIF, meaning the goods plus freight and insurance. Worked example: a tool worth US$300 that costs US$50 to ship has a CIF of US$350; 12% of that is US$42.

How the tax is collected depends on how the tool arrives. A courier box up to US$1,000 of customs value goes through the courier’s simplified declaration and still pays DAI and IVA; our import calculator runs the numbers. A container of household goods may qualify for menaje de casa, which waives duty, not IVA. On tools and generators the duty is already zero, so menaje saves nothing on them.

In your luggage. RECAUCA Article 578 defines traveller’s baggage as goods for personal use or for practising your profession or trade during the trip, with no commercial purpose. Its clause g) lists “Herramientas, útiles, e instrumentos manuales del oficio o profesión del viajero, siempre que no constituyan equipos completos para talleres, oficinas, laboratorios, u otros similares”, the hand tools of your trade, as what to sell and what to ship puts it. The article does not mention power tools or generators, and we found no SAT guidance that says how a customs officer classes a cordless drill. On top of baggage, CAUCA Article 114 gives a traveller up to the equivalent of US$500 of other goods tax-free (conditions on what to sell and what to ship).

The flight: batteries in the cabin, no fuel in the engine

The FAA’s PackSafe pages (US rules, read 24 September 2026) set these limits for flights from the United States:

• Battery power tools: “The safest and most recommended way to travel with a power tool is to remove the battery and pack it in your carry-on baggage while checking the tool.” A tool with its battery in can be checked only if it is completely off and protected from accidental activation, and within the watt-hour limits.
• Battery size: lithium-ion batteries up to 100 Wh each; with the airline’s approval, up to two spares of 101 to 160 Wh.
• Spare batteries: carry-on only, never checked, each one protected against short circuits (original packaging, taped terminals or its own bag).
• Generators, chainsaws and other engines: “No amount of fuel may remain in the engine, including residual vapors.” Equipment totally purged of fuel and vapors may be checked, but “Even if completely purged, some airlines may refuse to allow engine powered equipment in baggage.”
• Corded tools are not restricted as hazardous materials if no other hazardous material is present.

Check your airline’s own page too; the FAA notes that many airlines may have stricter battery limits.

What the same tools cost in Guatemala

Prices on Cemaco’s online store (cemaco.com, Guatemala), read 24 September 2026, in quetzales with the US-dollar equivalent at Banguat’s reference rate for that day, Q7.63682 per US$1:

These are the store’s listed prices on one day. They show the brands on the shelf (Makita, Milwaukee, Bosch, Truper, Pretul), not a market average. To decide whether shipping pays, use the formula on what to sell and what to ship: freight plus 12% IVA against the local price, minus what the tool would sell for before you leave.

Two things to weigh. If your cordless tools share a battery platform you already own, the batteries count too: they are tax-free on duty but must fly in the cabin. For a generator, start from the outages you expect: outage patterns by distributor are on our power outages page, and if the aim is keeping a laptop and router running, compare a battery backup on UPS and inverters for a home office. How a generator may be tied into a house’s wiring is not covered in the EEGSA and CNEE documents we read; that is a job for a qualified electrician.

Related pages

• Power adapters and voltage in Guatemala
• Getting electricity and water connected
• What to sell and what to ship
• Ship a box from the USA to Guatemala
• Menaje de casa
• Bringing a laptop, TV and electronics
• Import calculator
• Power outages in Guatemala

Sources

• IEC World Plugs: Guatemala, United States and United Kingdom entries (read 13 August 2026).
• EEGSA, norm MT 2.60.03 on low-voltage service connections (supply voltages), in the CNEE document set read 13 August 2026; EEGSA checklist for new connections and voltage changes (read 23 September 2026).
• Energuate, new services (read 23 September 2026).
• SIECA, Arancel Centroamericano de Importación (leaf descriptions only): lines 8467.11, 8467.19, 8467.21, 8467.22, 8467.29, 8467.81, 8467.89, 8502.11, 8502.12, 8502.13, 8502.20, 8502.31, 8502.39, 8507.60, 8414.80, 8515.31, 8515.39 (read 24 September 2026).
• Ley del Impuesto al Valor Agregado, Decreto 27-92, Arts. 10 and 13 (SAT consolidated text, read 22 September 2026).
• RECAUCA IV, Art. 578; CAUCA IV, Art. 114 (SAT copies).
• FAA PackSafe: power tools, lithium batteries, engine-powered equipment (read 24 September 2026).
• Cemaco online store search results for taladro, generador, sierra circular and rotomartillo (read 24 September 2026).
• Banco de Guatemala, reference exchange rate: Q7.63682 on 24/09/2026.