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.
Below the ¥5,000 minimum before tax, so this shop and day does not qualify. Purchases at the same shop on the same day are added together.
An estimate: shops round the tax on each receipt, and the shop or its refund company sets the fee.
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 rate | Tax in the price | ¥5,000 before tax reached? |
|---|---|---|---|
| ¥5,000 | 10% | ¥454 | No: ¥4,546 before tax |
| ¥5,500 | 10% | ¥500 | Yes |
| ¥11,000 | 10% | ¥1,000 | Yes |
| ¥33,000 | 10% | ¥3,000 | Yes |
| ¥110,000 | 10% | ¥10,000 | Yes |
| ¥10,800 | 8% | ¥800 | Yes |
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.