How do you get the tax back when you shop in Japan?

The whole thing in six lines. This is the new system, from 1 November 2026.

1. Do spend at least 5,000 yen before tax at one store on one day. In a department store, one tax-free counter can usually combine what you bought on different floors.
2. Do bring your passport to the register, or the shop cannot start the paperwork.
3. Do stop at the tax-free kiosk in the departure lobby before you check your bags, with the goods on you.
4. Don't expect anyone to hand you money at the airport. The kiosk confirms the goods are leaving; the shop pays you afterwards.
5. Don't use it up first. Anything you eat, drink or finish in Japan stops qualifying.
6. Don't lose one item off a receipt. Customs checks receipt by receipt, and a single missing thing voids everything on that slip.

Three things happen, in this order. You buy, paying the full tax-inclusive price. The shop, or the refund company it works with, files the purchase electronically. Then at the airport you scan your passport at a tax-free kiosk in the departure lobby, and it tells you whether an officer needs to see the goods.

The kiosk itself takes seconds. A green result means you are finished and can go check in. A red result sends you to the customs counter with the goods for a look, which is routine rather than a problem. At Narita, Haneda, Kansai, Chubu, Fukuoka, New Chitose and Naha you can do this step through Visit Japan Web instead, on the airport wifi set aside for it, any time before security. Flying home via a domestic connection? Do it at the airport you actually leave Japan from. You have 90 days from the purchase to clear this step.

The rest of the news is good. The sealed-bag rule for cosmetics, food and medicine is gone, so you can open and use what you bought. The old 500,000 yen daily cap on those items is gone too, and the split between general goods and consumables has been scrapped, so everything from one store on one day counts toward the same 5,000 yen. What you give up is the wait, because you are out of pocket for the tax until the refund lands.

On what actually reaches you: the headline is the 10% consumption tax, or 8% on most food and drink. A handling fee may come off it. That fee is set by the shop or its refund company rather than by the government, so there is no single number to quote. Treat 10% as a ceiling rather than a promise, and ask the store what it keeps.

If you are home before the switch, the old system is the one you will meet. At a shop marked Tax Free you show your passport and the tax comes off the price at the register. Same 5,000 yen minimum, same one-store-one-day rule.

Two old rules apply until the last day. Cosmetics, food and medicine get sealed into a bag you are not meant to open before you leave, and there is a 500,000 yen daily ceiling on those items. There is no overlap period: a purchase has to be rung up by 31 October 2026 to use this route, and anything bought from 1 November follows the new one.

This is the part most write-ups skip. Tax-free shopping is for physical things you carry home unused. It has never covered a service you used while you were in Japan, and there is no separate scheme letting a tourist reclaim the tax on a hotel room or a restaurant bill. If a refund matters to your budget, count only the shopping.

One honest exception, and we will not pretend to walk you through it. If part of the trip was genuinely for business, say you run a small company in the US and went to meet a supplier before staying on to travel, the tax your company paid on some business costs can sometimes be recovered through a completely separate business route. It has nothing to do with tourist shopping, it turns on details we cannot see from here, and it is a question for a tax professional rather than a travel site. We are telling you the door exists. Whether it is open for you is their call.

Japan's lodging tax is a different charge again, added to your room by some cities and not refundable either: the Japan money guide has the city bands, and hotel taxes and fees compares them with other countries. For paying day to day, see cash or card in Japan.

Common questions

Quick answers.

More on Japan

The little money things nobody warns you about.

• Taxis in Japan, and the GO appJapanese taxis are spotless, honest and metered, with doors that open for you and no tipping ever. They are also pricey, so from the airport the train usually wins. Here is how it works.
• Do I need cash in Japan, or can I use cards?Short answer: bring some cash, but you will tap and swipe for most of a city trip. The catch is that most Japanese bank ATMs reject foreign cards. Here is where to get yen, when you truly need it, and how to pay for the rest.
• Bringing your dog or cat to Japan.Japan is one of the long-lead destinations. Two numbers decide everything: the lead time, which is 7 to 8 months because of a fixed 180-day wait you cannot shorten, and the all-in cost, which runs into the thousands. Miss the sequence and the clock resets. Here is the order, the official route, and what to budget.
• Tipping in JapanThe answer here is simple and genuinely freeing: do not tip. Japan has no tipping culture, nobody expects one, and leaving extra money can cause confusion rather than gratitude. A polite thank-you is all that is needed.
• Do US citizens need a visa for Japan?Short answer: no, for stays up to 90 days, and there is nothing to apply for. Japan is one of the easiest countries for Americans to enter. Here is what you actually need, what Visit Japan Web does, and the change that is coming but is not here yet.
• Staying connected in Japan.Japan is the rare country where you can stop thinking about coverage entirely, because it is excellent almost everywhere including at 200 miles an hour on a bullet train. That leaves one question, and it is purely about money.
• Do you need a Japan Rail Pass?For years the answer was a reflexive yes. Since the 2023 price jump it is usually no, and the honest test is arithmetic you can do in about a minute before you spend anything.
• Common money scams in Japan, and what they cost youJapan is one of the safest countries in the world to visit, and on the great majority of trips none of this comes up at all. Most of what surprises Americans is not a con but a charge nobody explained: a seat fee at an izakaya, a service charge at a hotel restaurant, a card machine offering dollars. There is one genuine scam, it lives in a handful of nightlife blocks, and a single habit defuses it completely. Here is each one, what it costs, and how to sidestep it.
• What does getting sick in Japan cost a visitor?Japan is a country where the per-visit price is reasonable and the payment mechanics still catch people out. A resident covers about a third of the bill. You cover all of it, at the counter, before you go.