This page is written for English-speaking travellers going to Japan.
RefundJapan: Japan's tax refund changes on November 1, 2026
From November 1, 2026 you pay the full price in the shop, including Japan's 10% consumption tax, and the tax comes back to you after a customs terminal confirms your purchases as you leave the country. The minimum spend stays at ¥5,000 excluding tax, at one shop, on one day, and you must leave Japan within 90 days of each purchase (Japan Tourism Agency, for travellers, checked October 25, 2026). Until October 31, 2026, registered shops still take the tax off at the till.
Get the free appWork out your refund
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 number of days, the 8% food rate — 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
The five questions people ask most
Answered from the Japan Tourism Agency, Japan Customs and the shops' and refund operators' own announcements, checked October 25, 2026.
What changes on November 1, 2026?
From November 1, 2026 shops in Japan charge the full tax-included price, and the 10% consumption tax comes back to you only after a customs terminal confirms, as you leave Japan, that the goods are leaving with you. There is no transition period: the purchase date decides, so anything bought on or before October 31, 2026 is still handled tax-free at the till.
The minimum is unchanged at ¥5,000 excluding tax at one shop on one day, and you must leave within 90 days of each purchase. The split between general goods and consumables, the ¥500,000 daily ceiling on consumables and the sealed bag are all abolished, and items of ¥1,000,000 or more excluding tax need their serial number registered (Japan Tourism Agency, for travellers, checked October 25, 2026).
The November 1, 2026 rule change, explained →
Is there a handling fee?
The Japanese government takes no fee and does not set one: each shop or refund operator decides, so some shops refund in full and others deduct a fee without publishing the rate (Japan Tourism Agency, FAQ for tax-free shops, Q17, checked October 25, 2026). Don Quijote (PPIH) has announced that its refunds carry no fee, but taking the money in cash at the airport means the cash operator's fee applies (PPIH announcement of October 5, 2026, checked October 25, 2026).
The most that can come back is one eleventh of the tax-included price — ¥1,000 on an ¥11,000 item. Cash at the airport comes out lower again: Cash Japan deducts 10% of the refund amount, not of the price, so that ¥1,000 becomes ¥900 when the shop charges nothing (Cash Japan terms, checked October 25, 2026).
What do I do at the airport?
On the day you leave Japan, within 90 days of buying, a customs terminal reads your passport: Green means you walk on, Red means you show the goods, so keep tax-free purchases in your carry-on until this step is done (Japan Customs, for foreign travellers, checked October 25, 2026). Japan Customs published a map of the 78 places where the check is done — 41 airports and 37 seaports — on October 23, 2026 (Japan Customs map, checked October 25, 2026).
At Narita, Haneda, Kansai, Chubu, Fukuoka, New Chitose and Naha the step can also be done through Visit Japan Web (Japan Customs, Visit Japan Web, checked October 25, 2026). How many terminals each place has has not been published.
Can I get the refund in cash?
At some airports, yes, with a fee deducted, and only if the refund operator of the shop where you bought takes part. Cash Japan, a subsidiary of Global Blue Japan, will pay yen in cash at Chubu, Fukuoka, Kansai, Kobe, Narita and New Chitose, starting in turn from November 1, 2026, after deducting 10% of the refund amount (Cash Japan announcement of October 19, 2026, checked October 25, 2026).
Self Tax Refund, run by Japan Airport Terminal and Glory, will pay yen in cash at Haneda, Narita and Naha, minus fees (Haneda Airport announcement of October 21, 2026, checked October 25, 2026). Otherwise the refund goes to the method you registered at the shop, which differs from shop to shop, and the government sets no number of days for it to arrive.
Is there one tax refund app that works at every shop?
No single app collects the refund from every shop. Japan's tax-free rules change in November 2026, and every shop uses its own refund operator. RefundJapan, the app from this site, keeps all your tax-free shopping in one place whichever operator it is, guides you from the shop to the airport and the refund, and answers common rule questions inside the app at any time. The refund itself still comes from each shop's operator.
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.
The six open points, as of October 25, 2026
Most English-language pages about this change will tell you how long the refund takes and what fee comes off it. As of October 25, 2026 the Japanese government sets neither: the fee is set by each shop or refund operator, not by the government, and the number of days depends on the operator. Japan Customs has published where the terminals are, some airports will hand over cash with a fee deducted, and the 8% food rate is still not published. We track all six on one page rather than filling the gaps 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 — set by each shop or refund operator, not the government
- How many days it takes — no government rule; varies by operator
- Cash — offered at some airports, with a fee deducted
- The terminals — locations on Japan Customs' map; number not published
- Name mismatch — no government rule; some shops require your own name
- The 8% food rate — still not published
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.
0
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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Ads
No advertising, and we do not sell data. Visits are counted with Google Analytics; the privacy page says what it collects.
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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.
Your tax-free shopping, in one app
- Before you buy: keep a list of what you want
- After you buy: photograph the receipt and check each shop’s conditions (¥5,000 per shop per day, 90 days) and your refund outlook
- At the airport: customs check, check-in and security in the right order, with what to bring
The iPhone version is in preparation.
In English, Japanese, Korean, Simplified and Traditional Chinese. The refund comes from the shop or its refund operator; the app never holds your money. Not an official app of the Government of Japan.
Where to go next
Common problemsLeft Japan Without the Customs Check: Is the Refund Gone?From November 1, 2026 the refund depends on a customs check at departure. Left Japan without it? What the official sources say, and what they leave open.
What we measuredFukuoka Airport Tax Refund Kiosk: We Tried It on Nov 1On November 1, 2026, the Fukuoka Airport tax refund kiosks were on floor 3 of the international terminal, 43 minutes from Tenjin Station.- Common problemsLost One Item Before You Fly: Is the Whole Refund Gone?From November 1, 2026 customs checks goods one receipt at a time. Lose one item and the whole receipt is not refunded. What lost or broken items mean.
- What we measuredJapan Tax Refund: Why ¥563 Became ¥383 on Nov 1, 2026On November 1, 2026, a JPY 180 card transfer fee turned a JPY 563 expected refund into JPY 383 on an Ocean Tax Refund screen. Full breakdown inside.
- What we measuredJapan Tax Refund Registration: 3 Hassles We Hit on Nov 1On November 1, 2026, Japan tax refund registration at 2 Fukuoka stores brought 3 hassles: separate accounts, card names, and waiting until the airport.
The moneyJapan Tax-Free from Nov 2026: Refund to Card, App or Cash?From November 1, 2026, the tax comes back after the customs check by a method your shop sets. No app such as PayPay or Alipay is officially named yet.