Japan tax-free shopping changed on November 1, 2026: what tourists must do now

Checked against Japan Tourism Agency, National Tax Agency and Japan Customs pages on November 4, 2026.

Since November 1, 2026, tax-free shops in Japan charge you the full price including consumption tax. You get that tax back later: scan your passport at a customs kiosk when you leave Japan, within 90 days of buying, before you hand your bags to the airline. After customs confirms, the shop refunds you by the method you registered at the counter.

Before you shop: do you qualify?

Most tourists do. When you land, immigration puts a landing permission sticker or stamp in your passport showing the status Temporary Visitor (短期滞在) and your entry date. You qualify if you entered less than 6 months ago.

Also eligible: Diplomat or Official status, short shore passes (port-of-call, cruise, transit, crew, emergency, distress), US SOFA members, and Japanese citizens who have lived abroad 2+ years. Residents on a work or student visa are not eligible.

What counts:

• ¥5,000 or more (before tax) at the same store on the same day.
• Only what you can carry out of Japan yourself. Shipping home from a post office no longer counts.
• Gold and platinum bullion and tax-exempt items are excluded.
• Food, drinks and cosmetics no longer need special sealed packaging. But if you eat, drink or use any of them in Japan, they are not refunded.
• Non-consumables you use during the trip, like clothes or bags, still qualify, as long as you take them out.

Quick math: standard consumption tax is 10% (8% for food and drinks). An item priced ¥11,000 with 10% tax included has ¥1,000 tax in it. That ¥1,000 is what comes back. Try your own numbers with the tax-free refund calculator.

Source: JTA: who can buy tax-free (PDF) · JTA: refund method (English) · JTA: refund method (shipping rule) · NTA: tax rates

Finding a tax-free shop

Look for the "Japan. Tax-free Shop" symbol on the door or at the counter. This is the official mark from the Japan Tourism Agency. Shops are not required to show it, so a shop without it may still offer tax-free sales.

Source: JTA: tax-free shop symbol · JTA symbol Q&A (PDF)

At the store

1. Show your own passport with the landing stamp or sticker. You can show the Visit Japan Web QR code that holds your passport details instead. Cruise passengers on a cruise-ship landing permit can use a passport copy plus the permit. Japanese citizens living abroad also show a My Number Card, a certificate of residence abroad (在留証明) or a 戸籍の附票 copy.
2. Pay the tax-included price.
3. The shop sends your purchase record (passport number and items) to the National Tax Agency system. Customs checks you against this record at departure.
4. Register your refund method, for example a credit card. The shop explains the options when you pay.
5. You get a receipt. Each receipt is one purchase record, and customs checks one receipt at a time.

Tip: put things you plan to eat or use in Japan on a separate receipt from things you will take home.

Source: NTA Q&A on the refund method, Q2-Q3 (PDF) · JTA leaflet for travelers (PDF)

At the airport: the customs check

1. Arrive early. The check must be finished before boarding procedures, and missing your flight is not compensated.
2. In the international departure lobby, find the Tax Refund Kiosk. It is in the area before bag drop and security.
3. Scan your passport. The result takes a few seconds.
4. Green: done. Red: take your items to the customs inspection area and show them.
5. Then hand your bags to the airline. Once a bag is checked, you cannot do the kiosk for the items inside it, and the airline will not give it back for this.

• You do not have to show receipts, but customs may ask to see them.
• Items over ¥1,000,000 each (before tax): bring the certificate of authenticity or warranty.
• Connecting from a domestic flight? Do the check at the last Japanese airport you leave from, not where your trip starts. The items must be with you at that kiosk, so keep them in your carry-on on the domestic leg.
• At Narita, Haneda, Kansai, Chubu, Fukuoka, New Chitose and Naha, Temporary Visitors can do it on Visit Japan Web over the dedicated Wi-Fi in the departure lobby, before security. Set up Visit Japan Web beforehand. Japanese citizens cannot use this.

Source: JTA: refund method (English) · Japan Customs: procedure details · Japan Customs: kiosk maps · JTA Q&A: departure and customs

Getting your money

• When: after customs confirms your items at departure. The shop then sees the confirmation in the tax office system and pays you.
• How: by the refund method you registered at the shop. Official examples are bank transfer, credit card, app transfer, or cash inside the departure area after the customs check. Shops can also hand refunds to a refund company.
• No fixed payout date: the law leaves the refund process to each shop, so the shop or its refund company gives you the details at purchase.
• Hard limit: if customs has not confirmed your purchase within 90 days of buying, the sale stays taxed and there is no refund.

Source: JTA Q&A: refunds · Japan Customs: procedure details · NTA: refund method page

Mistakes that cost you the refund

• Checking your bag first. You need every item with you at the kiosk.
• One item missing from a receipt. Nothing on that receipt is refunded. Other receipts are not affected.
• Eating or using consumables. If you used any, skip the kiosk for that purchase and tell a customs officer at the counter.
• Running late. If you stop the inspection to catch your flight, it does not count.
• Skipping the customs check. No check, no refund.
• Leaving cleared items in Japan. Customs collects the tax and you face a penalty.

Source: JTA: refund method (English) · NTA: notice to foreign travelers (PDF)