Refund JapanThis page is written for English-speaking travellers going to Japan.
Before you go
What changes on November 1, 2026, whether it applies to your trip, whether you qualify, and how much is actually at stake.
Covers: What changes · whether the new rules apply to your dates · who qualifies · how much comes back · how this compares with VAT refunds you may have claimed elsewhere
Start here
- Read nextWhich system applies to your trip
- Read nextTax-free and duty-free are not the same thing
- Read nextIf you have claimed VAT back before
Whether the new rules apply to your trip
The switch happens on November 1, 2026, and there is no transition period. What decides which system you are under is the date of the purchase, not the date you fly. Buy something on October 31, 2026 and the shop takes the tax off at the till in the old way. Buy the same thing the next morning and you pay the full price and claim it back.
That means a single trip can straddle both systems, and a purchase made under the old rules does not turn into a refund because you happen to fly out in November.
Work out which system applies to your dates
Whether you qualify
Eligibility follows the passport. It is for non-residents — broadly, foreign travellers who have been in Japan for less than six months. Nothing about that changes on November 1.
Consumption tax is Japan's national sales tax. The standard rate is 10%, and a reduced rate of 8% applies to most food and drink. If your own country has VAT or GST, this is the same kind of tax.
What it is worth to you
A Japanese price tag normally shows the tax-included price. At the standard rate the tax inside it is one eleventh of the tag, so a ¥10,000 tag holds ¥909. One tenth is the common mistake and it overstates the refund by about ten per cent.
The floor is ¥5,000 excluding tax — ¥5,500 on the price tag — at one shop, on one day. Receipts from two shops cannot be added together to clear it.
Put your own amount into the calculator
If you have done this in Europe
Travellers who have claimed VAT back in the EU tend to arrive with a set of expectations: a form stamped at a customs desk, a queue, a commercial refund company, and a cut taken out of the money. Some of that carries over to Japan and some of it does not.
What carries over from a European VAT refund, and what does not
Common questions at this stage
Is this the same as duty-free shopping?
No. Duty-free shops sit past passport control at an airport and sell without customs duty and other charges. Tax-free shopping happens in ordinary shops in town and concerns the 10% consumption tax. The two get used interchangeably in English and they are not the same thing.
I arrive in October and leave in November. Which rules apply?
Both, potentially. Each purchase follows the rules in force on the day it was made. Anything bought up to October 31, 2026 is handled at the till in the old way; anything bought from November 1 goes through the refund route.
Do I have to register anything before I fly to Japan?
Nothing on this site's reading of the published material. What the shop needs from you happens at the till, and it starts with your passport. What you have to do at departure is covered in stage 3.
Does the refund apply to food and drink?
Food and drink are normally taxed at the reduced 8% rate. How the reduced rate is treated under the refund method has not been published. We are tracking it.
Articles in this stage
How the rule changed 2
How the rule changedDo Meals and Hotel Nights Count Toward Japan Tax Free 2026?The refund rests on goods leaving Japan with you. A meal you ate and a night you slept do not leave, so they sit outside the system and outside the ¥5,000 minimum. Here is what that means for a trip budget.- How the rule changedDoes the 8% Food Rate Change What Comes Back in 2026?Food and drink carry 8%, not 10%. That the rate is 8% is settled; how it is treated for tax-free purchases is unannounced as of August 19, 2026. Here is what you can and cannot plan around.
Who qualifies 2
Who qualifiesDoes a Toddler Passport Count for Tax Free in Japan 2026?Tax free is judged per buyer, and the buyer is whoever presented the passport. A child can be that buyer, but their passport is then needed at the till and at the customs terminal. Here is what that means.- Who qualifiesYou Have a Japan Residence Card: Can You Still Buy Tax Free?Tax free is for non-residents, broadly people in Japan for less than six months. A residence card points the other way. Here is what the published rule says, and what it does not say about your situation.