Tax-free shopping changes on 1 November 2026

What changes

For purchases made on or after 2026-11-01, Japan's tax-free shopping becomes a refund method. You pay the tax-inclusive price at the shop. The amount equivalent to consumption tax is refunded after a customs inspection at the airport or seaport confirms the goods are leaving Japan.

Purchases made up to 31 October 2026 stay under the current system: tax taken off at the till. The date that matters is the purchase date, not the departure date.

What you do at the airport or seaport

• Before you check in your bags. The tax-free procedure terminals and the customs inspection area are in the international departure lobby, before baggage check-in, and you must have every item with you when you present your passport, so goods packed into a checked bag cannot be presented.
• Within 90 days of purchase. Present your passport at a tax-free procedure terminal. The terminal shows whether an inspection is needed: green means done; red means take the goods to the customs inspection area.
• All the goods with you. When you present your passport you must have every tax-free item with you. Inspections are per receipt: if one item from a receipt is missing, nothing on that receipt is eligible.
• Before boarding procedures. The inspection has to be finished before you complete boarding. The page says that if you run out of time, neither the airline nor Customs compensates you.
• Domestic-to-international transfers. The procedure is done at the airport you leave Japan from.

What qualifies

• Purchases of ¥5,000 or more, tax excluded, per store per day.
• Goods you take out of Japan yourself, in a quantity you can personally carry at departure.
• Gold and platinum bullion, and items already exempt from consumption tax, are excluded.
• The sealed packaging for consumables is abolished. But food, drink or cosmetics used in Japan are not eligible: the page says not to complete the procedure for them and to tell a customs officer instead.

How the money comes back

The refund is made by the tax-free shop or by a refund service provider the shop uses. The agency's page says to ask the shop for details, and J-FOMO has no information on any shop's method or timing.

Why it is on J-FOMO

Many of the drops on this site are things people buy to take home. If you are in Japan across 1 November 2026, a purchase on 31 October and one on 1 November are handled differently at the airport. We list the rule here so that it is one link away from any drop; we do not track your purchases and cannot tell you what you will get back.

Source

Japan Tourism Agency, 旅行者向け特設ページ（英語版）｜消費税免税店サイト, read 2026-09-23. The page carries the traveller leaflet in Japanese, English, Chinese and Korean and a Q&A for travellers. We re-read it on a schedule and change this page when it changes; the read-on date above is the last time it was checked.