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Japan's new tax refund system from November 1, 2026
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Japan tax refund apps and websites: J-TaxRefund, JPrefund and the rest

Looking for the J-TaxRefund website or login? There is no app and no login page you can open directly: scan the J-TaxRefund QR code on your receipt or in the shop, and the site works in English, Chinese and Korean. JPrefund also works through the website or app the shop points you to. There is no single government app for the refund. Each tax-free shop pays the refund itself or hands it to a refund company, and the shop tells you how to register. The app you use depends on where you shop.

By Mikako Yoshida ·Published 18 October 2026 · Updated 1 November 2026

Japan tax refund apps and websites: J-TaxRefund, JPrefund and the rest
Ginza, Tokyo · Photo: Basile Morin (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Official websites of the refund companies (as of 20 October 2026)

Refund companyOfficial websiteHow travellers get in
J&J Tax Free (J-TaxRefund)j-taxfree.jpNo app and no fixed sign-up address. Scan the J-TaxRefund QR code in the shop or on your receipt copy, then enter your passport details and refund method. The site is in English, Simplified and Traditional Chinese, Korean and Japanese, with multilingual support at any hour.
SmartDetax (JPrefund)jprefund.jpThe shop or a tax-free counter tells you how to apply. The site has a page for travellers (Japanese). Support in English, Chinese, Korean and other Asian languages; travellers pay only the remittance fee set by the bank or payment service.
Global Blueglobalblue.comApp: Global Blue – Shop Tax Free
PIE VATpievat.comApp: scan the shop’s QR code or enter the application code
Ocean (Ocean Tax Refund)service.ocean.incApp, website, WeChat and LINE mini-programs
SAMURAI TAX—No traveller website announced yet

Use the link the shop gives you

Register only through the QR code or link that the shop or its refund company gives you. Do not enter your passport or card details on a site you found by searching.

For your departure day

  • Getting to Narita Airport: airport trains, buses and luggage delivery: Skyliner · Klook · KKday
  • Getting to Haneda Airport: airport trains, buses and luggage delivery: Tokyo Monorail · Klook · KKday
  • Getting to Kansai Airport: airport trains, buses and luggage delivery: HARUKA · Klook · KKday
  • Luggage storage in Tokyo for the hours before an evening flight: Radical Storage
  • Airport transfer when you have a lot of shopping bags: Klook · Trip.com · Welcome Pickups
  • At the airport, do the kiosk check before you check in any bag.

How it works

When you buy tax-free, the shop gives you a way to register your refund details: an app, a website reached through a QR code on the receipt or a sign, or a terminal in the shop. You choose how to receive the money, for example a credit card, a bank account or an e-wallet. After customs confirms the goods when you leave, the refund company pays you.

The Japan Tax-free Shop Association publishes a list of eleven companies that plan to handle refunds from 1 November 2026. The list is based on what the companies themselves declared.

Refund companies and how they work (as of 18 October 2026)

CompanyApp or websiteRefund methods they mentionFee to you
Global BlueApp: Global Blue – Shop Tax FreePayment method added in the app; also Global Blue refund officesNot published
PIE VATApp: scan a QR code or enter a claim codeChosen in the app; paid in 5 to 10 working daysA service fee is deducted; it varies by shop
J&J Tax Free (J-TaxRefund)Website, no app: QR code on the receipt or a signCredit card, bank transfer, QR-code payment appsNot published
SmartDetax (JPrefund)You register your passport and refund methodCard, e-wallet, bank; cash at the airportRemittance fee set by the bank or payment service
Ocean (Ocean Tax Refund)App, website, WeChat and LINE mini-appsBank, credit card, WeChat Pay, Alipay, PayPal; yen cash at the airport1.55% of the tax-free sale (system usage fee)
SAMURAI TAX (Tax Refund Japan)Not statedCredit card, bank, mobile wallet, cashTaken out of the refund; rate not published

Useful before you fly

eSIM for Japan, installed before you leave home

Airalo Saily Yesim

JR Pass and Shinkansen tickets

Klook KKday

Airport transfer when you have a lot of shopping bags

Klook Trip.com Welcome Pickups

Luggage storage in Tokyo for the hours before an evening flight

Radical Storage

Hotels in Japan

Klook Trip.com

Coupons

Refunds to a card or bank account abroad

Card and bank refunds start from an amount in yen. Your card company or bank converts it at its own rate and may charge a fee for the conversion or for receiving a transfer from abroad, so ask them before you choose a refund method.

A Wise account can hold Japanese yen alongside other currencies; what it offers depends on your country: Wise.

Don Quijote

Don Quijote has announced that refunds will be free of charge from 1 November 2026, except cash at the airport, where the refund company charges its own fee. It has not said which refund company or app it uses.

Ask before you pay

  • Which refund company does the shop use, and how do you register: app, website or in the shop?
  • Which refund methods are offered, and is there a fee?
  • If you shop at several stores, expect to register separately with each refund company.
  • Keep your receipts and any registration code until the money arrives.

Cash at the airport

Some refund companies pay cash in yen at the airport after the customs check. Where it is offered, it may cost a fee even when other methods are free: Don Quijote charges a fee only for airport cash, and media reports say the same of Bic Camera.

Related guides

Refund methods and feesHow the money comes back, and the fees shops have announced.At the airportWhere the kiosks are and what green and red mean.Refund calculatorHow much tax is in the price, and what you get back.

Read this next

Claiming your tax refund at the airportWhere to find the tax-free kiosk at Japanese airports, what green and red results mean, using Visit Japan Web, and what to do on connecting flights and cruises.Getting your money back: methods, fees and timingHow the tax is paid back under Japan’s new refund system: card, bank transfer, app or airport cash, who pays the fee, and why you get back less than 10%.The Visit Japan Web tax-free QR codeThe VJW tax-free QR code still replaces your passport in shops — but it does not replace the airport customs check. How to turn it on, what it does, and how the separate online check at 7 airports works.

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