Japan Tax Free Same Store Rule 2026: Do 2 Floors Count as 1?

Sometimes. The ¥5,000 minimum is per shop, and 2 floors count as 1 shop only when a single tax-free counter serves the whole building. In a mall where each tenant handles it at its own till, they do not. One shop is not the same as one building — Japan Tourism Agency (checked August 19, 2026).

Two ¥3,000 purchases in two different shops are two purchases below the minimum, not one above it.

How do I tell whether my receipts combine?

One question at the entrance settles it: where does the tax-free process happen?

• One tax-free counter for the whole building → receipts usually combine. Bring every receipt there.
• Each shop handles it at its own till → they do not combine, however close the shops are.
• A chain with several branches → different branches never combine, even inside the same station.

Ask before you start, not after. Once a sale is recorded against your passport, it cannot be re-grouped into a different total.

Why does a department store often count as one shop?

Because the registration sits with the building operator rather than with each concession. That is why the counter is on one specific floor, why you are sent there rather than being processed at the till, and why they ask for every receipt from that day.

A shopping mall is usually the opposite: each tenant is separately registered, so the tenant processes its own sale and nothing crosses between them.

What changed about the same-store rule on November 1, 2026?

The rule about shops is unchanged. What changed is what counts inside one shop.

Until October 31, 2026, general goods and consumables each had their own ¥5,000 threshold, so ¥3,000 of cosmetics and ¥3,000 of clothing missed on both counts even in the same shop. From November 1 the split is abolished and they add up to ¥6,000 — Japan Tourism Agency (checked August 19, 2026).

The sealed bag goes at the same time, so you can open and use what you bought while still in Japan.

What is unchanged about how shops are counted?

• Different shops never combine, in any building, on any day.
• The minimum is ¥5,000 before tax — ¥5,500 on the price tag.
• The 90-day rule to leave Japan runs from each purchase date.
• The refund is one eleventh of the tax-included price.

When does the same-store rule decide the outcome?

You are shopping across several floors

If the building has one counter, split your shopping freely — it all comes back together. If each shop processes its own, splitting ¥6,000 across two floors can leave you with two purchases that both miss the ¥5,000 line.

You are in a station building with familiar chains

Two branches of the same chain inside one station are still two shops. The name on the sign does not merge the receipts.

You have one shopping day on a short trip

Concentrating your buying at one registered shop is the single decision that most changes whether you qualify. The same ¥15,000 spread across five shops is five purchases that each have to clear ¥5,000 on their own.

You are buying one item close to the line

A single item at ¥5,280 on the tag is ¥4,800 before tax — under the minimum on its own. Being one purchase does not help; the threshold is on the pre-tax total at that shop that day. Add anything else from the same shop to reach ¥5,500 on the tags.

You are travelling with someone and paying together

The purchase is recorded against the passport presented at the till, and the customs terminal reads that same passport. If one person pays for goods registered to another person's passport, the payment and the record do not match.

How mismatches are handled has not been published as of August 19, 2026. Until it is, keeping each traveller's purchases on their own passport — and having that person present their own goods — avoids a question that has no published answer as of August 19, 2026.

It also affects the threshold. Two people each buying ¥3,000 at one shop are two purchases below ¥5,000. The same ¥6,000 on one passport qualifies.

Is there a maximum I can buy at one shop?

No upper limit. The ¥500,000 daily cap on consumables was abolished on November 1, 2026.

A purchase of ¥1,000,000 or more needs serial numbers or equivalent identifying details registered at the time of purchase. It does not block the sale; it adds a step at the till, so allow a few extra minutes for a high-value item.

What has not been published as of August 19, 2026 is whether a handling fee is deducted from the refund. Neither the Japan Tax-free Shop Association (checked August 19, 2026) nor the Japan Customs (checked August 19, 2026) site states a figure.

Questions people ask

Do two floors of the same department store count as one shop?

Usually yes, if the building has a single tax-free counter serving the whole store. If each shop processes at its own till, they do not combine.

Can I combine receipts from two shops in the same building?

Only when one tax-free counter serves the building. In a mall where each tenant handles its own, receipts do not combine.

Do two branches of the same chain combine?

No. Different branches are different shops, even inside the same station.

How do I check before I buy?

Ask where the tax-free process happens. One counter for the building means receipts combine; processing at each till means they do not.

Do cosmetics and clothing count together now?

Yes, from November 1, 2026. The general-goods and consumables split was abolished, so ¥3,000 of each reaches ¥6,000 together at one shop.

Is there a maximum I can buy at one shop?

No. The ¥500,000 daily cap on consumables was abolished. A purchase of ¥1,000,000 or more needs serial numbers registered at the till.

One item is ¥5,280 on the tag. Does that qualify on its own?

No. ¥5,280 including tax is ¥4,800 before tax, under the ¥5,000 line. Add anything else from the same shop that day to reach ¥5,500 on the tags.

Can my travelling companion and I combine our purchases?

Purchases are recorded against the passport presented at the till, so two people buying ¥3,000 each are two purchases below the minimum. What happens when the card name and passport name differ has not been published as of August 19, 2026.

Does the tax-free counter need every receipt from that day?

Where one counter serves the building, yes — bring them all, because that is how they combine toward ¥5,000.