Japan's Tax-Free Shopping Becomes a Refund System on 1 November 2026: What Changes, and What It Means If You Are Not Travelling

Japan is changing how tax-free shopping works for visitors. If you are not travelling and buy through someone in Japan, like me, nothing about the tax changes for you, and I explain why below.

Short answer: For purchases made on or after 1 November 2026, visitors pay the full price including consumption tax at the shop. Within 90 days, at departure, they show their passport and the goods to customs before checking in bags. Only after customs confirms the goods are leaving does the shop, or a refund company it uses, pay the tax back. Tax-free buying is for eligible visitors taking the goods out themselves, so when I buy for you I pay the normal tax-inclusive price.

All of this is as of October 2026. Check the official pages listed at the end before you rely on it.

What changes on 1 November 2026

	Until 31 October 2026	From 1 November 2026
At the till	Tax taken off at the point of sale	You pay the tax-inclusive price
At departure	Customs checks the goods	Passport at a tax-free terminal, goods ready for inspection, before bag check-in
Getting the tax	Already saved at the till	Refunded after the customs confirmation
Deadline		Customs confirmation at departure within 90 days of purchase

The National Tax Agency says there is no period when both systems run side by side. The date that matters is the purchase date, not the day you leave. A trip that crosses 1 November can therefore include purchases under both systems.

How the refund method works, step by step

1. At the shop. Show your passport. The shop sells at the tax-inclusive price and sends the purchase record to the National Tax Agency’s system.
2. At the airport or seaport, within 90 days of purchase. Before you check in your bags, go to a tax-free procedure terminal in the international departure lobby and present your passport. According to the Japan Tourism Agency, a green result ends the procedure and a red result means you take the goods to the customs inspection area. At Narita, Haneda, Kansai, Chubu, Fukuoka, New Chitose and Naha you can also complete this step online through Visit Japan Web in designated lobby areas.
3. The refund. The shop or a refund service provider it engages pays you. The Japan Tourism Agency lists bank transfer, credit card transfer, app-based refunds, and cash at the port after customs confirmation as possible methods, and says the method varies by shop. Ask the shop how it pays before you buy.

Neither official page I read gives a refund timetable or mentions refund fees. Ask the shop.

The rules that catch people out

• Minimum ¥5,000 per shop per day, before tax. The old split between general goods and consumables goes, so everything counts towards the same ¥5,000.
• The ¥500,000 daily cap on consumables, and the special sealed packaging, are abolished.
• Excluded goods: gold and platinum bullion and coins, and goods that are exempt from consumption tax. The old test of whether something is “for ordinary daily use” is dropped.
• You must carry everything yourself. You can only buy tax-free what you can take out of Japan with you at departure.
• One receipt, one check. Customs checks per receipt. If one item from a receipt is missing, none of the items on that receipt qualify.
• Food you have eaten does not qualify. If you have consumed tax-free items, do not use the terminal; tell a customs officer at the counter instead.
• Checked bags cannot be retrieved. Do the procedure before check-in and leave enough time. The Japan Tourism Agency says that if you skip it because you ran out of time, it counts as not completed.

Posting it home yourself does not work

Until 31 March 2025, a visitor could buy tax-free, post the goods abroad before leaving (by EMS, for example) and show the postal receipt at departure. That arrangement was abolished on 31 March 2025, ahead of the refund system. Under the refund method, goods bought on or after 1 November 2026 and sent home separately will not get a refund, because customs cannot confirm them at departure.

The National Tax Agency describes one separate route: when the customer signs a shipping contract at the shop and the goods are handed to the carrier there and then, the sale is treated as an ordinary export. The shop may then sell at the tax-exclusive price, and this is not limited to visitors. Whether a shop offers overseas shipping is up to the shop. The Japan Tourism Agency’s advice is to ask the shop directly.

While you are at the airport: the departure tax tripled

Japan’s international tourist tax, charged on every departure, is ¥3,000 per departure under the National Tax Agency’s current guidance. A ¥1,000 rate still applies to departures on or after 1 July 2026 under certain transport contracts signed before that date. Children under two and transit passengers leaving within 24 hours of arrival are among those exempt. It is normally added to your ticket price by the airline or shipping company.

If you are not travelling: what I pay, and what you pay

Tax-free sales are only for eligible buyers: non-residents such as short-term visitors, and Japanese nationals who have lived abroad for two years or more. The buyer shows their own passport and takes the goods out in person. I live in Japan and I am buying in a shop, so I pay the normal price including consumption tax, the same as anyone else here.

Japan’s consumption tax rates, according to the National Tax Agency:

Goods	Rate
Most goods, including stationery, pens and paper	10%
Food and non-alcoholic drinks (not eating out)	8%

The National Tax Agency also notes that the rate on food and drink will be temporarily reduced from 1 April 2027 to 31 March 2029. The page I read did not give the new rate, so check it nearer the time.

What this means if you order through me

• The goods are charged at the shop’s price, including consumption tax, and you get a photo of the receipt. I do not add anything to it, and I do not take the tax off.
• My purchase fee: 25% of the first ¥30,000 of goods, 20% of the part from ¥30,000 to ¥100,000, and 15% above ¥100,000. No minimum fee.
• Shipping and handling: a fixed amount, quoted before you pay. Payment processing: 4% of the total. Invoiced in Japanese yen.
• Holding orders to ship together: free for 30 days.
• Import tax and duty in your country are charged by your customs on arrival and are not in my quote. (Exception: for US parcels I collect the duty and the prepayment provider’s fee in advance, as separate lines in the quote.)

If you are travelling to Japan yourself, buy tax-free and carry it out. If the shop already ships to your country, buy direct. I am worth it when the shop will not ship abroad or someone has to go there.

To get a total for something specific, use the request form on the home page or contact me.

Related: Shop Visit in Japan: What I Check, What You Get and What It Costs, Is Now a Good Time to Buy from Japan? The Yen in October 2026, Explained Plainly.