Kitchen Cabinet Tariffs: Should You Paint or Replace?

Short answer: Imported kitchen cabinets and vanities carry a 25% tariff today. That rate was supposed to hit 50% on January 1, 2026, but the increase got pushed back a year. It now lands January 1, 2027. If you're weighing new cabinets against painting the ones you have, the math moved, and it moves again in January.

Last updated September 2026.

What actually happened

In September 2025, a Section 232 proclamation put tariffs on imported timber, lumber, and the things made from them. Kitchen cabinets and bathroom vanities came in at 25% starting October 14, 2025, with a jump to 50% written in for the first of the year.

That jump didn't happen. A proclamation signed December 31, 2025 deferred it twelve months while trade negotiations continue. So the rate held at 25% through 2026, and the 50% is now on the calendar for January 1, 2027.

Where your cabinets come from matters too. UK products cap at 10%. EU and Japanese goods cap at 15% all in. Canada and Mexico pay the full rate even under USMCA. Chinese cabinets stack this on top of duties that were already there, and the combined rate can pass 70%.

What that does to a real quote

Here's the part most articles get wrong in the other direction. A 25% duty applies to what the importer declared at the border, not to your installed price. Boxes, doors, freight, the dealer's margin, the countertop, the demo, and the labor all sit on top of that number and none of them are tariffed.

So a 25% duty doesn't make your kitchen 25% more expensive. It makes the cabinet line item meaningfully more expensive, and cabinets are usually the largest single line in a kitchen remodel. Call it real money, not catastrophe.

The catch is that the boxes were already the biggest number before any of this started.

Replace, reface, or paint

Here's how the three paths compare for a typical Central Oregon kitchen.

• New cabinets. $20,000 and up. Four to eight weeks. High tariff exposure, because imported boxes carry the duty.
• Refacing. Mid range. One to two weeks. Moderate exposure, since doors and veneer are often imported.
• Painting. $3,500 to $8,000. About a week. Low exposure, because it's local labor and domestic coatings.

We should say this plainly: Webfoot doesn't do refacing. We paint cabinets and we tone them. It's in the list because you're going to compare all three anyway, and you should have the honest version.

Painting is the least exposed of the three for a boring reason. You're buying labor and a few gallons of coating, and neither of those crossed an ocean.

When replacing is still the right call

Paint doesn't fix everything, and we'd rather tell you that now than after we've quoted it.

Replace your cabinets if the layout doesn't work, if you want to move the sink or the range, if the boxes are water damaged or swollen at the toe kick, or if the drawer boxes are failing. A tariff doesn't change any of that. A bad kitchen is still a bad kitchen in a new color, and we'll tell you so at the estimate.

Paint if the boxes are solid, the layout works, you like the door profile, and what's actually bothering you is a color that dates the room. That describes most of the kitchens we see.

Read the full walkthrough of what cabinet painting involves

About that January date

The 50% rate is scheduled, not guaranteed. It got deferred once already and it could get deferred again, or negotiated away, or arrive exactly as written. We don't know and neither does anyone selling you cabinets.

What we'd say is this: if you were planning to replace cabinets in 2027 and the number already felt tight, get the quote now rather than in February. And if you were leaning toward paint anyway, the tariff news is just one more reason the decision was already going that way.

What a painted kitchen actually costs here

Most Central Oregon kitchens land between $3,500 and $8,000. Kitchen size, cabinet condition, the number of doors and drawers, and whether you're going dramatically lighter all move the number.

See the full cost breakdown and what drives it

Common questions

Are kitchen cabinets more expensive in 2026 because of tariffs?

Yes. Imported cabinets and vanities carry a 25% Section 232 tariff that took effect October 14, 2025. The duty applies to the declared import value, not your installed price, so the effect on a full remodel quote is real but smaller than 25%.

Is the cabinet tariff 25% or 50%?

It's 25% right now. The increase to 50% was scheduled for January 1, 2026 and deferred a year on December 31, 2025. It's currently set for January 1, 2027. A lot of articles still say 50% because they were written before the deferral.

Do tariffs affect cabinet painting prices?

Barely. Painting is local labor plus domestic coatings. There's no imported box in the job, so there's no duty to pass along.

Is painting cabinets cheaper than replacing them?

In Central Oregon, painting runs $3,500 to $8,000 against $20,000 and up for new cabinetry. Same layout, same kitchen, about a week instead of over a month.

Will painted cabinets hold up?

Yes, when the prep and product are right. What fails is skipped degreasing, no primer, and wall paint instead of a cabinet coating. A sprayed, properly primed, cabinet grade finish holds up to years of dishwasher steam and sticky hands, and we warranty ours.

Should I buy cabinets before January 2027?

If you're replacing regardless, ordering before the scheduled increase is worth pricing out. Ask your dealer where the boxes are manufactured, because country of origin changes the rate. If you're still deciding between paint and replacement, the date is a reason to decide sooner, not a reason to replace.

Do you paint bathroom vanities too?

Yes. Vanities carry the same tariff as kitchen cabinets, and the same logic applies. Same process, same finish, and it's a common add on while we're already set up.

Not sure about color?

Sage, navy, warm neutrals, and charcoal are doing the most work in Central Oregon kitchens right now, and white is no longer the automatic answer.

See 10 cabinet colors winning over white

Want to keep the wood grain visible? Cabinet toning changes the tone without hiding the grain, and it's the right answer more often than people expect.

Let's look at your kitchen

We'll come look at your actual cabinets, tell you honestly whether painting is the right call, and give you an itemized estimate you can hold up against a replacement quote. No pressure, no charge. Pick the time that works best for your bid appointment and we'll save your spot.

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