Shopping

Tax-Free Shopping in Japan: How to Actually Get the 10% Back

From November 1, 2026, tax-free shopping in Japan works as a refund: you pay the 10% tax in the store and get it back after a customs check when you fly out. Miss a step and you lose it. Here's how to collect it all.

Updated

Asking at the wrong moment

A tourist at a shop register tapping a card to pay and only then pulling out a passport to ask about tax-free, the clerk shaking her head
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Paying first, then asking about tax-free

Once the sale goes through as an ordinary purchase, there is no tax-free record to attach a refund to, and the store usually can't create one afterwards. Ask before they ring you up—not after you've already tapped your card.

A tourist laying a passport down on the register counter before the clerk has scanned a single item
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Say "tax-free onegaishimasu" before anything is scanned

Hand over your passport when you approach the register and say the magic words before the cashier starts. You still pay the tax-inclusive price, but the store sends a purchase record to the tax authorities and explains how your refund will be paid. Staff at tourist-heavy stores usually recognize 'tax-free' in English—no Japanese required.

Mixing transactions to hit the threshold

A tourist at a register spreading out several small receipts from different days and pushing them together toward the clerk
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Combining multiple small purchases from different days to clear ¥5,000

Doesn't work. The ¥5,000 (before tax) minimum counts what you buy at one store on one day. Monday's receipt and Wednesday's receipt are separate days, so they can't be added together.

A tourist setting a full basket of cosmetics down on one counter as a single purchase
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Plan bigger single purchases, or shop the same category in one trip

If you're buying cosmetics, grab everything in one go at one counter. If you're at an electronics store, ask if accessories can be grouped onto a single receipt—some stores will do this.

Using up or giving away purchases before you leave Japan

A tourist in an airport hall tearing open a sealed tax-free bag and using the face cream inside before reaching customs
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Eating the snacks or handing a gift to a friend before your flight

Customs checks your purchases one receipt at a time. If even one item from a receipt is missing—eaten, used up, or given away in Japan—you lose the refund on everything on that receipt, not just the missing item. The old sealed-bag rule is gone, but this one bites harder.

A tourist zipping a sealed and untouched tax-free bag into a suitcase
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Keep every item from each tax-free receipt with you until the customs check

Pack them together and keep them with you until customs at the airport has checked them. You have 90 days from the purchase date to leave Japan. Gifts for people in Japan? Buy those at full price on a separate receipt.

Going to the wrong counter

A tourist queuing at an ordinary shop register with an armful of goods, not noticing the separate counter across the floor
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Assuming tax-free is handled at the register everywhere

Some stores—especially department stores—process tax-free sales at a separate tax-free counter, not at the individual registers. Going straight to checkout can leave you with an ordinary receipt and no tax-free record.

A tourist walking up to a dedicated counter marked with a tax-free pictogram, passport in hand
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Look for the tax-free counter sign first, or ask at the register

Many department stores have a central tax-free desk, often on a specific floor. Other stores handle it right at the register. Staff will point you to the right place if you ask.

Why the 10% matters — and how the refund works

Japan charges a 10% consumption tax on almost everything (8% on most food and non-alcoholic drinks bought to take away). Visitors can get it back, and the savings add up fast — buy a camera for 30,000 yen before tax and about 3,000 yen of it can come back to you.

From November 1, 2026, the tax is no longer taken off at the register. You pay the full tax-inclusive price, show your passport, and the store sends a record of the purchase to the tax authorities. When you leave Japan, customs checks that you are taking the goods with you, and only then is the tax refunded — by the store or its refund agent, using the method set up at purchase (card, app, cash and so on; some charge a fee, so ask). The old split between general goods and consumables, the sealed bags, and the ¥500,000 cap on consumables are all gone.

The ¥5,000 (before tax) minimum stays, and it counts what you buy at one store on one day — a 3,000-yen jacket on Tuesday and a 4,000-yen sweater on Thursday don’t add up.

Ask for tax-free before you pay, bring your passport itself (not a photo), and keep everything from the receipt with you until the airport check.

What happens at the airport

Do the customs check before you check in your bags — the purchases have to be with you. You scan your passport at a tax-free kiosk; at seven major airports (Narita, Haneda, Kansai, Chubu, New Chitose, Fukuoka, Naha) you can use Visit Japan Web on your phone in the international departure lobby instead. Customs may ask to see the goods. You must leave Japan within 90 days of the purchase date.

If anything from a receipt is missing, the whole receipt fails the check and nothing on it is refunded.

A few “nice to know” extras

  • “Tax-free onegaishimasu” — Works at most eligible stores. Even staff with minimal English usually know what to do next.
  • No paper in your passport — Purchase records are electronic. Nothing gets stapled in; the passport is how customs finds your records.
  • Look for the “Tax-Free Shop” sign — Not every store is registered, so look for the sign or ask before you shop.
  • Bought before November 1, 2026? — Purchases up to October 31, 2026 used the old system, where the tax came off at the register. There is no overlap period.

Quick check

Three questions to lock in the tax-free instinct.

Quick check

Can you spot the right move?

  1. Q1 Can you combine a purchase from Monday and a purchase from Wednesday at the same store to hit the ¥5,000 threshold?

  2. Q2 If you eat one box of tax-free snacks before your flight, can you still get the refund on the rest of that receipt?

  3. Q3 Do you need to show your passport to get the tax-free discount?