How does tax-free shopping work in Japan, before and after 1 November 2026?
Bring the passport itself, not a photo. Until 31 October 2026 the shop takes the consumption tax off at the till, and food, drink and cosmetics go in a sealed bag. From 1 November you pay the full price, tax included, then scan your passport at a customs kiosk in the departure lobby, before check-in, with every item on you. The refund comes afterwards, from the shop.
The ritual, in order
From the shop to the plane, in the order it happens
Carry the passport itself
Not a photo, not a photocopy, not the hotel's scan, not the picture in your phone. The staff member scans the passport at the shop, under the old rules and the new ones, and a residence card or a driving licence will not do instead. If yours is locked in a hotel safe, today is not the day.
Say it before they ring anything up
免税でお願いします — menzei de onegai shimasu, tax-free please. The shop has to record the sale as tax-free against your passport at the time, and asking after it has gone through usually cannot be undone.
Know which rules your receipt falls under
It goes by the day you buy, not the day you fly. Bought up to 31 October 2026: the tax comes off at the till, and food, drink and cosmetics are taped into a sealed bag. Bought from 00:00 on 1 November: you pay the full tax-inclusive price, there is no sealed bag, and food and clothes count together towards the ¥5,000 before tax minimum at one shop on one day.
Till or counter, and the department store fee
Drugstores and electronics chains normally do it at a dedicated till. Department stores send you, with the receipt, the passport and the card you paid with, to a tax-free counter on a set floor, and take a handling fee — 1.55 per cent at Takashimaya, for example — so you get back about 8.5 per cent rather than 10. Keep every receipt: the record itself is electronic and tied to your passport.
Keep everything unused, and leave within 90 days
From 1 November, customs checks receipt by receipt. Eat one snack from a receipt, or leave one item at the hotel, and nothing on that receipt is refunded. Keep the packaging on. You must leave Japan within 90 days of the purchase: bought on 1 November, the last day is 30 January.
Customs kiosk first, check-in second
At the departure airport, before you check in a single bag, find the customs tax-free kiosk in the international departure lobby and scan your passport with every tax-free item on you. Green means done. Red means you show the goods at the customs desk beside it. Then check in. A bag already in the hold cannot be checked, and an inspection that runs into boarding means no refund, so leave real time for it.
What they will ask you
Four lines you will hear at the tax-free desk
The staff at a tax-free counter deal with visitors all day and will keep it short. These four cover it.
| You’ll hear | It means | Say |
|---|---|---|
| パスポートはお持ちですか？Pasupōto wa o-mochi desu ka? | Do you have your passport with you? | はいHai — yes |
| お支払いは？O-shiharai wa? | How are you paying? | カードでKādo de — by card |
| 空港で手続きしてください。Kūkō de tetsuzuki shite kudasai. | Please do the procedure at the airport. | わかりましたWakarimashita — understood |
| 免税カウンターは5階です。Menzei kauntā wa go-kai desu. | The tax-free counter is on the fifth floor. | ありがとうございますArigatō gozaimasu — thank you |
The switch
The day you buy decides the rules, not the day you fly
Japan's tax-free scheme changes to a refund system on 1 November 2026. It is law, it starts at 00:00 that day, and there is no overlap: what you buy on 31 October follows the old rules even if you fly home in November, and what you buy on 1 November follows the new ones.
The old rules, for anything bought up to 31 October: the shop takes the tax off at the till, the minimum is ¥5,000 before tax at one shop on one day, food, drink and cosmetics go into a sealed bag that stays shut until you have left Japan, and there is a ¥500,000 cap on those consumables. If the goods are missing or the bag is open at departure, customs can collect the tax from you on the spot.
The new rules, for anything bought from 1 November: you pay the full price, the passport is still scanned at the shop, and the ¥5,000 before-tax minimum per shop per day stays. The split between consumables and general goods, the ¥500,000 cap and the sealed bag are abolished. The money comes back only after the customs kiosk at your departure airport confirms you are taking the goods out, within 90 days, and it is paid by the shop or the refund company it uses. It applies to goods, never to meals, hotels or transport, and only to short-stay visitors.
Don't check in your bags before the customs tax-free kiosk. For anything bought from 1 November, goods that are already in the hold cannot be confirmed, and no confirmation means no refund.
Before you rely on this
Which half of this page is yours
Every ritual on this page is dated, and the cards carry the month they were checked. Japan changes these details more often than guidebooks admit — machines get replaced, charges get added, rules get relaxed. Used a card at a counter? Tell us how it went: [email protected].
Shopping in October and flying in October: the old rules, start to finish. Tax off at the till, sealed bag shut, goods with you when you leave. Shopping in October and flying in November: still the old rules for those receipts. Shopping on or after 1 November: full price at the till, the kiosk before check-in, and a refund that arrives later, by whatever method the shop offered.
How the refund is paid is up to each shop, not the law: card, app, bank transfer, or sometimes cash at the airport after customs. So is the handling fee, and so is the timing. Ask at the till which method they use before you hand over ¥30,000, because the roughly ¥3,000 saving on it now comes back after you fly, less the fee, rather than off the price.
Sources
Where these facts come from
- National Tax Agency — refund system overview (Japanese) — the 1 November 2026 start, the 90-day deadline and the refund methods
- National Tax Agency — refund system Q&A, revised April 2026 (Japanese) — the sale-date rule with no transition, the ¥5,000 before-tax minimum, the end of the sealed bag and consumables cap, the kiosk before check-in and the receipt-by-receipt check
- Japan Tourism Agency — new tax-free system for travellers — tax-inclusive purchase, kiosks in the departure lobby before check-in, refund by the shop or its refund provider
- Japan Customs — tax-free goods at departure (Japanese) — the rules for purchases up to 31 October and tax collected at departure
- JR Nagoya Takashimaya — tax exemption counter — its 1.55 per cent handling fee, one department store's example
Prices, rules and procedures on this page were checked against these sources on 5 October 2026. Where no official source exists, the page says the detail varies.
Questions
The things people ask at the till
When does the new tax-free system start?
On 1 November 2026, from 00:00, and it goes by the date on the receipt. Bought on 31 October, you get the tax off at the till and the sealed bag, even if you fly in November. Bought on 1 November, you pay full price and claim the tax back through the airport kiosk. There is no period where you can choose.
How much do I have to spend?
¥5,000 before tax at one shop on one day, under both systems. Up to 31 October, consumables and general goods have been counted as separate baskets unless the shop packs everything as consumables. From 1 November it is one basket, food and clothes together, with no ¥500,000 cap on food and cosmetics.
Do I really need the physical passport?
Yes, at the shop, and from 1 November again at the airport kiosk, because both scan the document itself. A photo on your phone, a photocopy and a hotel scan are all refused. Put it back in the safe the evening you are done — losing it costs far more than the ¥3,000 you saved.
How much do I actually save?
Consumption tax is 10 per cent on most goods and on alcohol, and 8 per cent on food and non-alcoholic drinks, and price tags usually include it. So a ¥33,000 sticker is about ¥30,000 before tax. Department stores usually keep a handling fee (1.55 per cent at Takashimaya). From 1 November that ¥3,000 comes back later, less the shop's fee, not off the till price.
What happens at the airport after 1 November?
Before check-in, find the customs tax-free kiosk in the international departure lobby, scan your passport and wait for the result. Green means done; red means you show the goods at the customs desk next to it. You have to leave within 90 days of buying. Flying out via a domestic flight, you do this at the airport you actually leave Japan from.
Can I open the bag or use what I bought?
Up to 31 October, no: consumables go in a sealed bag, the staff say kochira wa akenai de kudasai (please don't open this one), and customs can charge the tax if it is open. From 1 November there is no bag, but anything eaten or used in Japan is not refunded, and one missing item fails the whole receipt. Buy what you plan to eat here on a separate, ordinary receipt.
Does it cover my hotel, meals or train tickets?
No. The scheme is for goods you carry out of the country, not for services, so a restaurant bill and a hotel night both carry the tax regardless — see paying the bill. A ¥12,000 dinner is a ¥12,000 dinner, and there is no tipping on top of it either.
Can I do it at a drugstore or a convenience store?
Drugstores are one of the most common places for it and normally have a signed tax-free till — see the pharmacy page for what sits behind the counter. Some larger convenience stores in tourist areas do it too, though a ¥5,000 basket in a konbini is a lot of onigiri.