--- title: "What Should You Compare Before Judging Japan Tax-Free in 2026?" description: "People judge Japan against a counter they once used somewhere else. Four axes make the comparison mean something: the floor, the timing, the share and the clock. Japan’s four are filled in here, and one of them changes on November 1, 2026." lang: en canonical: https://refund-japan.com/articles/comparing-countries published: 2026-09-05 updated: 2026-09-05 publisher: "Refund Japan" --- # What Should You Compare Before Judging Japan Tax-Free in 2026? > People judge Japan against a counter they once used somewhere else. Four axes make the comparison mean something: the floor, the timing, the share and the clock. Japan’s four are filled in here, and one of them changes on November 1, 2026. Last checked: 2026-09-05 Four axes decide whether a comparison means anything: how much you have to spend, when and where the money comes back, what share comes back, and how many days you have. On the Japanese side all four are settled, and one of them changes on November 1, 2026 — [Japan Tourism Agency](https://www.mlit.go.jp/kankocho/tax-free/page01_000001_00019.html) (checked August 19, 2026). Figures for any other country are set by that country's own authorities and move on their own schedule, so this page does not state them. What it hands you is the frame, with Japan's column filled in. ## Why do these comparisons go wrong? Because two people compare different things and both are describing something real. One remembers a counter that handed money over at an airport, another remembers a form and a wait, a third remembers a share of the price. Those are three separate axes, and a system can look easy on one while being strict on another. Lining the axes up first turns an argument into a checklist. Ask the same four questions of every system, Japan included, and the answers stop contradicting each other. ## Which four axes should you line up? - **The floor** — how much a purchase has to reach before it qualifies at all. - **The timing and the place** — whether the tax leaves the price at the register, or comes back after a check when you depart. - **The share** — how much of what you actually paid returns to you. - **The clock** — how long a purchase stays valid for the procedure. The four sections below answer one axis each for Japan. Fill in the same four for whatever system you are holding Japan against, using that country's own authority as the source. ## How much do you have to spend in Japan? The threshold is ¥5,000 before tax, counted per buyer, per shop, per day. On a tax-included price tag the same purchase reads ¥5,500 — [Japan Tourism Agency](https://www.mlit.go.jp/kankocho/tax-free/page01_000001_00019.html) (checked August 19, 2026). Receipts from different shops never combine, and receipts from different days never combine either. What is being measured is not the trip total but a single shop on a single day. Two conditions sit alongside the floor. A purchase of ¥1,000,000 or more needs a serial number or similar registered at the shop, and the buyer has to be a non-resident. ## When and where does the money come back? From November 1, 2026 the shopper pays the tax-included price at the register, a customs check happens on departure from Japan, and the refund follows that check — [Japan Tourism Agency](https://www.mlit.go.jp/kankocho/tax-free/page01_000001_00019.html) (checked August 19, 2026). Up to October 31, 2026 the tax is taken off at the register instead. The check itself is a terminal that reads the passport. A green result lets the traveller walk through, and a red result means the goods are shown — [Japan Customs](https://www.customs.go.jp/) (checked August 19, 2026). This is the axis where memories diverge most, because one word covers both a deduction at the till and a payment made after you leave. Naming the moment ends most of the disagreement. ## What share of the price comes back? One eleventh of the tax-included price. Written as a fraction of what the shopper actually handed over, rather than as a discount off a shelf price, it stays comparable across systems — [Japan Tourism Agency](https://www.mlit.go.jp/kankocho/tax-free/page01_000001_00019.html) (checked August 19, 2026). Whether anything is taken out of that eleventh before it reaches the traveller is a separate question, and it is answered further down rather than guessed at here. ## How many days do you have? 90 days from the purchase date. Inside that window the goods have to leave Japan with the buyer, and the customs check happens at departure — [Japan Customs](https://www.customs.go.jp/) (checked August 19, 2026). The clock runs per purchase, not per trip. A receipt from the first week of a long stay expires on its own schedule, and a later visit does not restart it. ## What changes on November 1, 2026? - **The general goods and consumables split is abolished**, so one shop on one day becomes one total. - **The sealed bag is gone**, so a purchase can be used during the trip. - **The tax comes back after the customs check** rather than at the register. - **Separate shipment stays abolished**, as it has been since the end of March 2025. - **The former daily ceiling on consumables is abolished.** Of the four axes, only timing moves. The floor, the share and the clock read the same on either side of that date, which is worth knowing before you rebuild a plan around the change. ## What stays the same? - **The minimum is ¥5,000 before tax** — ¥5,500 on a tax-included tag. - **Purchases at different shops are never added together.** - **The passport is presented at the till, when the purchase is recorded.** - **The goods leave Japan with the buyer.** - **Only non-residents qualify**, which is the foreign traveller staying under six months. ## When does this come up? ### Someone tells you another country hands the money over at the airport That is the timing axis alone, and it says nothing about the floor, the share or the clock. Ask for the other three before agreeing the two systems are far apart. ### A friend quotes a share they got back somewhere else Ask what the share was taken from. A fraction of the price paid and a fraction of a pre-tax price are different quantities, and Japan's figure is one eleventh of the tax-included price. ### You are reading a thread that mixes several countries Sort the replies by axis before believing any of them. Most threads argue because each reply answers a different one of the four. ### You are deciding where to do most of your shopping Fill in all four axes per country from official sources, then decide. A single strong axis is not the same as a system that suits your trip. ### You are told a purchase is too small to bother with In Japan that is answered by the floor, per buyer, per shop, per day. Whether the same reasoning holds anywhere else depends on that country's own floor. ### You are comparing against a system you used years ago Systems are revised, and the one you remember may sit on different values now. The dated source for the Japanese side is linked in each section above. ### You are buying one expensive item A purchase of ¥1,000,000 or more needs a serial number or similar registered at the shop in Japan. Any registration step elsewhere is set by that country. ### You are travelling with family Japan counts per passport at the register, so the floor applies to each buyer separately. How another country counts a household is its own question. ### You are planning a trip that crosses November 1, 2026 The purchase date decides which Japanese method applies to that receipt. Only the timing axis differs between the two sides of the date. ### You are shopping on your last day in Japan The passport still goes to the register and the goods still travel with you. The clock is generous, but the timing axis is not shortened by a late purchase. ### You are told the money arrives later How many days the Japanese refund takes is unannounced as of August 19, 2026. A comparison that turns on speed cannot be closed for Japan yet. ### You want one number you can plan around For Japan, the planning number is one eleventh of the tax-included price on qualifying purchases. It is the share axis, and it does not answer the other three. ### You are reading a page that gives one figure for every country Check the date next to each figure and the authority behind it. Values set by separate governments do not stay aligned, which is why they are not listed here. ## What is unannounced as of August 19, 2026? Six points on the Japanese side are unannounced as of August 19, 2026: whether a handling fee is deducted, how many days the refund takes, where the terminals are placed, whether cash remains available, how a mismatch between the passport and the card name is handled, and how the reduced rate is treated. Answers would appear via [the Japan Tax-free Shop Association](https://zenmenkyo.jp/refund/) (checked August 19, 2026) or [the Japan Tourism Agency](https://www.mlit.go.jp/kankocho/tax-free/page01_000001_00019.html) (checked August 19, 2026). Two of those, the fee and the number of days, sit directly on the axes above, so a comparison resting on either cannot be finished for Japan as of August 19, 2026. The floor, the share and the clock are unaffected by them. ## What do people ask most? ### Which four axes should I write down? The floor, the timing and place, the share, and the clock. ### What is Japan's floor? ¥5,000 before tax, per buyer, per shop, per day. ### What does that look like on a price tag? A tax-included tag reads ¥5,500 at that point. ### When does Japan pay? After the customs check at departure, for purchases made from November 1, 2026. ### What happened before that date? The tax was taken off at the register. ### What share does Japan return? One eleventh of the tax-included price. ### How long is Japan's clock? 90 days from the purchase date. ### Can I compare Japan with my own country on this page? The Japanese column is filled in here. The other column comes from that country's own authority. ### Why are other countries' figures not listed? Each country sets and revises its own, so a figure copied here would go out of date without any signal. ### Is Japan's share reduced by a fee? Whether a handling fee is deducted is unannounced as of August 19, 2026. ### Does the November 1, 2026 change move the floor? No. The floor is ¥5,000 before tax on both sides of that date. ### Do purchases at different shops add up? No. Each shop counts on its own, one day at a time. ### Can I post the goods home instead of carrying them? No. Separate shipment was abolished at the end of March 2025. ### Who qualifies in Japan? Non-residents, meaning foreign travellers staying under six months. ### Where do I check the Japanese column? The Japan Tourism Agency and Japan Customs. ## Sources - [Japan Tourism Agency](https://www.mlit.go.jp/kankocho/tax-free/page01_000001_00019.html) — checked August 19, 2026 - [Japan Customs](https://www.customs.go.jp/) — checked August 19, 2026 - [the Japan Tax-free Shop Association](https://zenmenkyo.jp/refund/) — checked August 19, 2026