How does Japan's tax-free shopping change on 1 November 2026?

What changes on 1 November 2026?

Under Japan's fiscal 2025 tax reform, the tax-free shop system switches to a refund method from 1 November 2026.¹

For purchases until the end of October 2026, eligible visitors pay the tax-exempt price at the till. For purchases from 1 November 2026, they pay the price including consumption tax, and the tax is refunded after the goods have been confirmed at the airport or seaport as leaving Japan.³

The refund is paid by the shop or by a refund company working for the shop, not by customs. Payment methods differ from shop to shop; the Japan Tourism Agency gives bank transfer, card refund, app transfer and cash at the departure airport or seaport as possible examples, and says to ask the shop.³⁴

Which purchases count, and how much must I spend?

• Purchases of ¥5,000 or more (before tax) in the same shop on the same day.³ Check the latest: Japan Tourism Agency, 旅行者向け特設ページ
• The goods must be taken out of Japan. Gold and platinum bullion, and goods on which consumption tax is not charged, are excluded.³
• You may buy only as much as you can carry out of Japan yourself when you leave.²³
• The special sealed packaging for consumables is being abolished, but food, drink, cosmetics and other consumables that you use up in Japan cannot be refunded.³

What do I have to do at the airport?

1. Arrive with time to spare: the customs confirmation, including any inspection, must be finished before check-in and boarding procedures.³
2. Before you check in any bags, show your passport at a tax-free kiosk or electronic terminal in the international departure lobby.²³
3. The screen then shows whether an inspection is needed. A green result ends the confirmation; a red result means you show the goods to customs at the inspection point.³
4. Take the confirmed goods out of Japan without delay.²

At seven busy airports (Narita, Haneda, Kansai, Chubu, Fukuoka, New Chitose and Naha) you can do the procedure online instead, using Visit Japan Web on a dedicated wireless network in the international departure lobby, up to the security checkpoint.³

If you connect from a domestic flight to an international one, the procedure is done at the last airport from which you leave Japan.³

For an item priced at one million yen or more before tax, customs may ask to see a certificate of authenticity or a guarantee along with the item, so the Japan Tourism Agency suggests having them ready.⁴

What are the time limits?

• Within 90 days of purchase. You must leave Japan and complete the customs confirmation within 90 days of buying the goods, or there is no refund.²
• Before check-in. The confirmation cannot be completed once you have checked in your bags at the airport or seaport, and bags already handed to the airline cannot be taken back for it.²³
• Before boarding. If you stop an inspection part-way to catch your flight, the confirmation does not count, and neither the airlines nor customs compensate you if the procedure makes you miss your departure.³

What happens if an item is missing or has been eaten?

Customs confirms purchases receipt by receipt. If even one tax-free item on a receipt is no longer with you, none of the items on that receipt can be confirmed, and the tax for that receipt is not refunded.³⁴

If you have eaten, drunk or used some or all of the consumables you bought, do not put them through the kiosk; tell a customs officer at the counter instead.³⁴

Goods that customs has confirmed but that are then not exported are charged the consumption tax that was exempted, and you become liable to a penalty.²³

The refund method applies to purchases from 1 November 2026. Ahead of the start, the National Tax Agency was still adding guidance: it published a detailed Q&A on 8 July 2026, and on 30 July 2026 it corrected some language versions of the leaflet that shops hand to buyers.¹

Not tax advice. We summarise the official pages; check with the National Tax Agency or Japan Customs for your own case.

What this page cannot tell you

• A new system. The refund method applies to purchases from 1 November 2026, and official guidance was still being revised in July 2026; check the National Tax Agency's and Japan Tourism Agency's pages for later changes.
• Refund methods and any charges are up to each shop. The official pages list possible ways to pay refunds but not how long a refund takes or what a shop or its refund company may deduct. Ask the shop when you buy.
• Eligibility is not covered here. Who counts as an eligible visitor, and the documents Japanese nationals living abroad must show, are set out in separate official lists.
• Airports differ. The sources we used do not describe kiosk numbers, queues or where the kiosks stand at each airport.
• Not tax advice. Check with the National Tax Agency or Japan Customs.

Related: Off-season in Japan: 47 prefectures by month · Tokyo or Osaka? When each is busy and quiet · Public holidays in Europe and Japan, 2026 and 2027.