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Japan's new tax refund system from November 1, 2026
Your one-stop guide to tourist tax refunds

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Japan tax refund calculator

Enter what you paid at one shop on one day. The calculator shows the consumption tax inside the price, whether you reach the ¥5,000 minimum, and what is left after a handling fee.

Mount Fuji with cherry blossoms in full bloom
Mount Fuji in cherry blossom season
Refund method from
1 November 2026
Customs check within
90 days of purchase
Minimum spend
¥5,000 before tax, per shop per day

Purchases at one shop on one day

Ask the shop before you pay. Don Quijote has announced no fee; other shops and refund companies set their own.

An estimate: shops round the tax on each receipt, and the shop or its refund company sets the fee.

Useful before you fly

Airport transfer when you have a lot of shopping bags

Luggage storage in Tokyo for the hours before an evening flight

Hotels in Japan

eSIM for Japan, installed before you leave home

JR Pass and Shinkansen tickets

Coupons

How the refund is worked out

Prices in Japan include consumption tax. Most goods are taxed at 10%, so the tax is 10/110 of the price you pay, about 9.1%. Food and non-alcoholic drinks are taxed at 8%, so the tax is 8/108 of the price, about 7.4%.

Formula: refund = price paid × 10 ÷ 110 (or × 8 ÷ 108), minus any handling fee charged by the shop or its refund company.

You qualify only if your purchases at one shop on one day come to at least ¥5,000 before tax. Goods at 10% and at 8% count together. Receipts from different shops or different days are not added up.

Examples

You pay (tax included)Tax rateTax in the price¥5,000 before tax reached?
¥5,00010%¥454No: ¥4,546 before tax
¥5,50010%¥500Yes
¥11,00010%¥1,000Yes
¥33,00010%¥3,000Yes
¥110,00010%¥10,000Yes
¥10,8008%¥800Yes

Why you do not get 10% of what you paid

The 10% is added on top of the price before tax. It is 10% of that price, but only about 9.1% of what you pay at the till. A handling fee, where the shop charges one, comes off that amount.