Consumption Tax / Tax-Free / Customs Duty and Declaration

Consumption Tax

In countries with tax-included pricing, you pay only the displayed price.
In Japan, however, prices are usually shown without tax, and the product price and consumption tax are displayed separately.

• 税抜き (zei-nuki): price without tax — usually shown in large text
• 税込 (zei-komi): price with tax included — usually shown in smaller text

Japan’s standard consumption tax rate is 10%, and this tax is added at checkout.

1) Consumption tax on food

For example, if you buy bread for 100 yen at a convenience store, is the final price 110 yen? 🤔

Japan has a reduced tax rate system. For daily necessities (food and drinks, excluding alcohol and dine-in meals), the tax rate is reduced to 8%.
So the final price is 108 yen.

However, if you eat the bread inside the store, the tax changes.
Eating inside is considered dining-in, and the 10% tax rate applies. Staff may stop you if you try to eat inside with takeout tax.

Because the reduced rate applies only to takeout, most convenience stores do not allow eating inside.

2) Cafés and fast food

Eat-in: 10% tax
Takeout: 8% tax

When ordering, it is important to clearly tell staff where you will eat.

Tax-Free Shopping

In Japan, Tax Free means you do not pay the 10% consumption tax.
However, not all stores offer tax-free service. Only stores with a Tax Free or Tax Refund sign can provide it.

If your single purchase is 5,000 yen or more (before tax), you can get tax-free service by showing your passport.

If you are not sure, ask: “Tax-free desu ka?” (Is it tax-free?)

Are convenience stores tax-free?

Some convenience stores offer tax-free service under the same conditions.

• Not all convenience stores offer tax-free, so check in advance
• You pay the full price first, then receive a refund
• Tax-free packaging may take 10–15 minutes
• Consumables (cosmetics, snacks, etc.) must not be opened

Customs Duty

Japan duty-free allowance on entry is as follows.
If you exceed these limits, you must declare at customs and pay duty.

1) Entering Japan

• Other goods: up to 200,000 yen
  • If total per item type exceeds 200,000 yen: only the excess is taxed
  • If one item exceeds 200,000 yen: the full value is taxed
• Alcohol: 3 bottles (760 ml per bottle)
  • Total allowance is up to 2,280 ml
  • Example: two 1,000 ml bottles are within allowance
• Perfume: 2 oz (about 56 ml) for parfum
  • Eau de toilette and eau de cologne are counted as other goods
• Tobacco:
  • Cigarettes: 200 sticks
  • Heated tobacco: 10 packs
  • Cigars: 50
  • Other tobacco: 250 g

2) Entering your home country

Duty-free limits for entering Japan and for returning to your home country are different.
Check your country’s rules before shopping.

Customs Declaration

1) Entering Japan

• Fill in the “Declaration of Personal Effects and Unaccompanied Articles” form by hand, or register immigration and customs declaration on the Visit Japan Web site.

Example exceeding duty-free allowance

• Example: Whisky (760 ml) ×3, brandy (700 ml) ×1, 600 cigarettes, perfume 1 oz, clothes 50,000 yen, watch 150,000 yen, handbag 80,000 yen, ring 120,000 yen → taxable
• Items exceeding the duty-free limit are taxed when entering Japan. If there are multiple items of the same type, only the lowest-taxed item is taxed.
• Alcohol tax calculation
  • One bottle exceeding the allowance is taxed.
  • Only the lowest-taxed bottle (here, brandy) is taxed.
  • 800 yen / L × 0.7 L = 560 yen
  • Amounts under 100 yen are rounded down → tax payable is 500 yen
  • Alcohol tax: 500 yen
• Tobacco tax calculation
  • Cigarettes exceeding allowance are taxed by quantity.
  • Excess quantity: 400 cigarettes
  • 15 yen × 400 = 6,000 yen
  • Tobacco tax: 6,000 yen
• Perfume duty-free rule
  • If not parfum, perfume is counted within duty-free goods.
  • In this example, perfume is not taxed.
• Other goods tax calculation
  • Tax is based on overseas purchase price and duty rate.
  • Items with higher tax are counted first for duty-free allowance.
  • Here: handbag 80,000 yen (15%) + ring 120,000 yen (15%)
    → total 200,000 yen is duty-free
  • So only clothes (50,000 yen) and watch (150,000 yen) are taxable.
  • Only 60% of overseas price is used as taxable value.
• Clothes duty calculation (50,000 yen)
  • 50,000 × 0.6 = 30,000 yen
  • 30,000 × 15% = 4,500 yen
• Watch tax calculation (150,000 yen)
  • 150,000 × 0.6 = 90,000 yen
  • 90,000 × 7.8% = 7,000 yen (consumption tax)
  • 7,000 × (22 / 78) = 1,900 yen (local consumption tax)
  • 7,000 + 1,900 = 8,900 yen

  Watches are not subject to customs duty,
  but 10% consumption tax and local consumption tax.

• Total tax summary
  • Alcohol tax: 500 yen
  • Tobacco tax: 6,000 yen
  • Customs duty (clothes): 4,500 yen
  • Consumption tax (watch): 8,900 yen
  • Total: 19,900 yen
• Taxes are charged by item type. The total amount is paid at airport customs.
• If you fill out the paper declaration form, list all purchased items as shown below.

2) Entering your home country after travel

• If your shopping exceeds your country’s duty-free limit, declare at customs and pay the required duty.