Guide To Tax-Free Shopping in Japan

Shopping in Japan comes with a 10% consumption tax (8% on most food and non-alcoholic drinks, though eating in at a restaurant counts as 10%), but as an international visitor you can skip it on many purchases. Here’s how tax-free shopping works right now, and how it’s about to change in a big way.

It isn’t just duty-free shops or large retail chains that offer tax-free shopping; even some small, independent shops take part. Japan has more than 60,000 registered tax-free stores, and participating shops display the official Tax-Free Shop symbol at the entrance.

Are you eligible?

Eligibility is based on your residence status: you qualify if you enter Japan as a temporary visitor (the short-term stay status most tourists get on arrival), or on diplomatic or official status, and you’ve been in the country for less than six months. If you live or work in Japan, you don’t qualify.

Japanese citizens can shop tax-free if they’ve lived outside Japan for two or more continuous years, with consular or family-register documents proving it (the paperwork rules are fiddly, so check the Japan Tourism Agency’s guidance). From November 2026, a My Number Card recording the move abroad is also accepted (original only).

Whatever your status, you need your passport every time you make a tax-free purchase (an ordinary photocopy won’t do). Showing the 2D code from the Visit Japan Web service can also work, but not every store accepts it, and Japanese nationals need the passport itself.

Until October 31, 2026: how it works now

Under the current rules, you need to spend at least 5,000 yen (before tax) in the same store on the same day. Same-day purchases at one store count together, and department stores and malls with a dedicated tax-free counter can combine your purchases from multiple stores in the building to reach the minimum.

Goods fall into two categories. Consumables (food, drinks, cosmetics, medicines, and so on) are capped at 500,000 yen per store per day and get sealed into a special bag or box that you mustn’t open before leaving Japan. General goods (electronics, clothes, bags, and the like) have no upper limit. Stores can also choose to seal general goods together with consumables to reach the minimum, but the whole sealed bundle then counts as consumables: the 500,000 yen cap applies and none of it can be opened in Japan.

Discount chains like Don Quijote are a classic first stop for a tax-free haul. How the discount arrives depends on the store: most deduct the tax at the till when you show your passport, while stores that use a shared tax-free counter (common in department stores and malls) charge the full amount first and refund the tax at that counter the same day.

The paperwork is fully electronic these days; nothing gets stapled into your passport. Your purchase records are transmitted to the tax authorities, and customs can check them against your passport when you leave Japan.

From November 1, 2026: the new refund method

From November 1, 2026, tax-free stores charge the full tax-included price, and you claim the tax back around departure. The switch is an anti-fraud measure, aimed at people buying tax-free and reselling inside Japan; we covered the change and what it means for shoppers when it was announced. Here’s the flow, per the official English guide (PDF) and the National Tax Agency:

• In the store: Show your passport (or Visit Japan Web code) and pay the full price. Most stores will ask you to nominate how you’d like your refund; depending on the store, options may include a bank transfer, a credit-card refund, an app transfer, or cash at your departure airport or port after customs.
• At the airport or seaport: Before checking in your luggage, scan your passport at a tax-free procedure terminal in the public area. A green result means you’re done; a red result means taking your goods to the customs counter to be checked. You must do this within 90 days of purchase.
• After customs confirmation: The store (or its refund operator) pays out your refund via the method you registered.

Important: The customs step happens on the land side, before bag drop, so pack your tax-free purchases where you can reach them and build in extra time at the airport. At Narita, Haneda, Kansai, Chūbu, New Chitose, Fukuoka, and Naha airports, you can complete the customs procedure through Visit Japan Web in designated areas instead of using a terminal.

The fine print changes quite a bit too:

• The 5,000-yen minimum per store per day stays, judged on the before-tax value. The category split, the 500,000-yen cap on consumables, and the sealed bags are all abolished.
• Consuming your purchases in Japan (eating the snacks, opening the cosmetics) still disqualifies them, seals or no seals; tell the customs staff if you have. Simply using a non-consumable item, like a camera, is fine as long as it leaves Japan with you. Keep the packaging so customs can identify what you bought.
• You have to personally carry everything out of Japan, and customs checks receipt by receipt: if one item from a receipt is missing, the whole receipt loses its refund.
• Items costing 1,000,000 yen or more (before tax) have identifying details like serial numbers recorded, and customs may ask for certificates or warranties, so keep the documentation handy.
• Gold and platinum bullion and coins are excluded from the scheme.
• If customs confirms your goods but you don’t actually take them out of Japan, the tax is collected after all, with possible penalties on top.
• Some stores may choose to refund the tax upfront at the till, at their own risk, effectively keeping the old-style discount. Whether the big chains will do this hasn’t been announced, so ask in store.
• Alternatively, stores can arrange direct overseas shipping of your purchases via a carrier at the till. Goods shipped this way skip the airport customs step entirely.

One thing to watch: the law doesn’t set rules for refund fees or timing, so any handling charges will vary by store or refund operator. In other words, don’t assume you’ll always get the full 10% back; we’ll update this guide as stores announce their terms.

Traveling around the changeover?

Reading Japanese price tags

It helps to know the terms for “before tax” and “tax included,” since many shops display two prices. The term for “tax included” is 税込 (zeikomi), while 税抜 (zeinuki) means “tax excluded” or “before tax.” Note that the price in the bigger font isn’t necessarily the after-tax price; it’s quite common for the tax-included price to be displayed smaller, so look closely. Tax-inclusive price display has been mandatory since April 2021, but you may still spot holdover “[Price] + 税” tags, with the 税 meaning “tax.”

FAQs

Will I get the full 10% back under the new system?

Not necessarily. The law leaves refund methods and any handling fees up to each store or refund operator, and individual stores were still working out their terms at the time of writing. Treat the refund as “the consumption tax, possibly minus a fee” until your store confirms specifics.

I’m connecting through another Japanese airport. Where do I do the customs step?

At the airport where you leave Japan. If you’re flying domestically first (say, Osaka to Tokyo) and then internationally, complete the tax-free procedure at the international departure airport.

What if I’ve already eaten or used some of what I bought?

Consumables you’ve used up or opened no longer qualify, under both the current and the new rules (using a non-consumable item you’re still carrying out is fine). From November 2026, tell the customs staff at departure if you’re no longer carrying something, and remember that customs checks receipt by receipt, so one missing item can void the refund for everything on that receipt.

While we do our best to ensure it’s correct, information is subject to change. Last updated August 19, 2026 by the editorial team.