This page is written for English-speaking travellers going to Japan.
Japan's tax refund changes on November 1, 2026
Until then, registered shops take the 10% consumption tax off at the till. From that date you pay the full price, a customs terminal confirms your purchases as you leave the country, and the tax comes back to you afterwards. The minimum spend stays at ¥5,000 excluding tax, at one shop, on one day.
Work out your refundWhat is confirmed, and what is not
We are not a refund operator and we are not part of the Japanese government. This is an independent reference. Where the government has not published something — the fee, the timing — we say so instead of guessing.
- ¥5,000Minimum before tax, per shop, per day
- Nov 1, 2026The new system starts
- 1 / 11Of the tax-included price comes back
- 90 daysTo leave Japan after the purchase
Start here
Where are you in the trip?
Five stages. Pick the one you are in.
Stage 1Before you goWhat changes on November 1, 2026, whether it applies to your trip, whether you qualify, and how much is actually at stake.Open stage 1
Stage 2In the shopThe threshold, what you have to show at the till, what counts, and what you may and may not do with the goods afterwards.Open stage 2
Stage 3Leaving JapanThe customs step on the way out: what the terminal does, what you may be asked to show, and how to pack so that it is quick.Open stage 3
Stage 4After you fly homeHow the money reaches you, what can be deducted from it, and what we are measuring from the first day the system runs.Open stage 4
Stage 5When it goes wrongYou opened the box, you walked past the terminal, you lost the receipt, or the money has not arrived.Open stage 5
What actually changes
The tax itself does not change, and neither does who can claim it. What changes is when the money leaves your hands. Today the shop simply does not charge you the tax. From November 1, 2026 the shop charges it, and you get it back after Japanese customs has confirmed that the goods left with you.
Tax comes off at the register
- In the shopYou pay¥9,091
- At the airportNothing to do
- Money back laterNothing comes back¥0
Tax comes back after you leave
- In the shopYou pay¥10,000
- At the airportCustoms confirms
- Money back laterRefunded to you¥909
| Until October 31, 2026 | From November 1, 2026 | |
|---|---|---|
| What you hand over at the till | ¥9,091 | ¥10,000 |
| What comes back later | Nothing — you never paid it | ¥909, before any fee |
| What you do at the till | Say you want it handled tax-free, and show your passport — unchanged | |
| What you do at the airport | Nothing | Let a terminal read your passport, and show the goods if asked |
| Consumables in a sealed bag | Required | Not required |
| Daily ceiling on consumables | ¥500,000 | Abolished |
| Minimum spend | ¥5,000 excluding tax at one shop on one day — unchanged | |
Two things get simpler at the same time. The split between general goods and consumables disappears, so the sealed bag that consumables had to travel in is no longer required. And the ¥500,000 per-day ceiling on consumables is abolished.
How much comes back
A tax-included price in Japan holds the tax inside it. At the standard 10% rate, the tax is one eleventh of what is on the price tag — not one tenth. A ¥10,000 tag holds ¥909.
What has not been published
Most English-language pages about this change will tell you how long the refund takes and what fee comes off it. As of August 24, 2026 the Japanese government has published neither. Six things that matter to you are still open, and we track them on one page rather than filling the gap with a guess.
- The start date
- The ¥5,000 threshold
- The 90-day deadline
- The customs step
- Sealed packaging dropped
- The daily cap dropped
- The handling fee
- How many days it takes
- Whether cash is paid out
- Where the terminals are
- Name mismatch rules
- The 8% food rate
How this site works
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Primary sources
The Japan Tourism Agency, the Japan Tax-free Shop Association and Japan Customs. Every number here traces to one of them.
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Invented numbers
If a figure has not been published, this site says so. It does not repeat a number it cannot trace.
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Trackers
No analytics, no advertising tags, no cookies set by this site. Nothing on the page loads from anyone else's server.
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Languages, written separately
English, Korean, Traditional and Simplified Chinese, Japanese, Thai, Vietnamese, Indonesian, French, German, Spanish and Italian. Each is written for its own readers, not translated from one original.
The arithmetic, done for you in the shop
The threshold is ¥5,000 before tax, per shop, per day, and receipts from different shops never combine. The Refund Japan app is being built to hold your list, tell you when a basket clears the threshold, keep receipts together and follow each refund until it lands.
Planned release: October 1, 2026. There is nothing to download yet and no waiting list — this site does not collect email addresses.
Where to go next
Shopping districtsJapan Tax-Free 2026: How Is ¥5,000 Counted Across Akihabara Chains and Small Shops?A day in Akihabara is read through 3 labels: 1 buyer, 1 shop, 1 trading date, with each shop measured on its own against ¥5,000 before tax. From November 1, 2026 everything 1 buyer pays 1 shop for on a single date forms one figure. What is treated as 1 shop — an annex, a floor let to another trader, 2 counters inside 1 operator — is not written into the published conditions as of August 19, 2026, so the question belongs at the till before paying.
What you are buyingJapan Tax-Free 2026: How Is the ¥5,000 Line Counted on a Bulk Buy of Diapers and Formula?Diapers and formula bought in quantity are counted as 1 total: everything 1 buyer pays 1 shop for on 1 trading date, measured against ¥5,000 before tax. From November 1, 2026 the 2 former categories are counted together, so packs, tins and the rest of the basket form a single figure. The unit doing the counting is the buyer in the passport, which makes a purchase for a baby the purchase of whichever adult paid for it.- What you are buyingJapan Tax-Free 2026: Do Beauty Devices Reach the ¥5,000 Refund Line?A dryer or facial device is general goods: the line is ¥5,000 before tax for 1 buyer, 1 shop, 1 trading date, and from November 1, 2026 spare heads join it.
- What you are buyingCosmetics in Japan 2026: What Changes for a Big Haul?Cosmetics gain the most from the November 1, 2026 change. The ¥500,000 daily cap goes, the sealed bag goes, and cosmetics are counted together with everything else bought in the same shop on the same day.
- What you are buyingJapan Tax-Free 2026: What Happens at the Customs Terminal?From November 1, 2026 the refund is settled at departure, not at the register. You read your passport at a terminal and get one of two outcomes. Here is what each one means and how to be ready for both.
How the rule changedJapan Tax Free 2026: Which Purchases Do Not Qualify?Most purchases that miss out are not blocked by what you bought. They miss the ¥5,000 minimum, split across two shops, or never clear customs. Here are the six boundaries, and what is still unannounced.