Eat-in 10% vs Takeout 1%: ¥90 on a ¥1,000 Lunch (2027)

The short answer: ¥90 on a ¥1,000 lunch, 4.5 times today's gap

The size of the gap is clearest next to today's 10% versus 8%. The table sets out eat-in and takeout prices for meals with the same pre-tax price.

* This site's estimate, assuming shops keep their pre-tax prices. Tax rates follow the outline and the NTA leaflet[NTA leaflet (in Japanese)].

The lower rate lasts two years, to 31 March 2029. It covers the same items as today's 8% rate; eating in, catering and alcohol stay at 10%[NTA Q&A on the rate cut, Q1-2 (in Japanese)]. How much cheaper food becomes overall is covered in the 1% consumption tax quick-reference table.

How much a year you save by switching to takeout, by times a week

The saving is the gap per meal times the number of meals. Based on a ¥1,000 lunch, here it is by how often you switch.

The same behaviour at today's rates saves only ¥4,080 a year. A 2-point gap was no reason to change habits; at 9 points it is worth a thought.

These figures assume shops keep their pre-tax prices. In practice they may reprice, as a later section explains.

Where the gap appears: not the place, but whether you eat on the spot

The 10% rate applies to "provision of meals", where a shop has you eat at tables and chairs it provides. The same food bought as takeout or delivered is 1%[NTA No.6102 (in Japanese)]. Common situations, with the way to buy at 1% and the way that stays at 10%:

Source: NTA "Q&A on the reduced tax rate system (individual cases)", Q39, 51, 52, 58, 60, 65, 71-73, 77[NTA individual cases (in Japanese)].

Thirty harder cases, such as mirin, shipping and toy snacks, are sorted in the 8% or 10% dividing-line list. This article sticks to the money and how shops respond.

The rate is fixed by what you say when you order, and cannot be changed later

Eat-in or takeout is decided when the shop hands over the food, by checking the customer's intention[NTA individual cases, Q58 (in Japanese)]. Shops such as convenience stores, where most customers take food away, need not ask everyone. A sign saying "please tell us if you will use the eat-in corner" is enough (Q52).

Source: NTA individual cases, Q59, 60 and 61.

Leftovers stay at 10% because, when served, they were food to be eaten on the spot. If you plan to take some home, it is cheaper to order that part separately from the start.

Saying "takeout" and then eating in makes the shop cover the 9%

It is the shop that pays consumption tax to the state. The shop charges 1% as the customer declared and files its return on that basis. There is no system for the tax office to bill the customer extra.

That does not make it fine to say "takeout" and then sit down. You would be getting a 10% meal at 1%, free-riding on a system that relies on trust. A problem that went unnoticed at 2 points becomes a visible sum at 9 points.

• If you will use a seat, say "eat in" before paying
• If you decide to sit down after paying, tell the staff and pay the difference
• Do not eat in rest areas where the shop has posted "no eating"

Shops have the option of making rest areas "no eating". The NTA Q&A says a rest area where customers are not allowed to eat does not count as an eating facility (individual cases, Q53). If checking customers becomes a burden, some shops may close their eat-in corners.

If a shop sets one tax-inclusive price, the 9 points go to the shop

Shops are allowed to charge the same tax-inclusive price for eat-in and takeout. They do so by raising the pre-tax takeout price or lowering the pre-tax eat-in price[Consumer Affairs Agency et al., price display (in Japanese)].

The example published when the reduced rate began in 2019 priced takeout at ¥102 before tax (8%) and eat-in at ¥100 (10%), both ¥110 with tax. Applying the same idea in 2027 means a much larger mark-up on takeout.

Shop price tags should take one of three forms.

1. Both tax-inclusive prices shown. For example "eat-in ¥1,100 (takeout ¥1,010)". The easiest to compare.
2. Only one tax-inclusive price shown. A notice such as "takeout is priced differently" is added. Making the eat-in price look cheaper than it is may count as misleading advantageous representation under the Act against Unjustifiable Premiums and Misleading Representations.
3. One tax-inclusive price for both. Takeout costs no less. Not the shop for anyone hoping to save by taking away.

From 1 February to 31 May 2027, food price tags may mix 8% and 1% tax-inclusive prices[NTA Q&A on the rate cut, Q3-9 (in Japanese)]. How to check the rate on a receipt is explained in reading receipts after the 1% rate.

Staff canteens, school lunches, hospitals and care homes: rates differ

Meals served inside institutions have their own treatment, different from both eating out and takeout. Those that matter most to household budgets:

Source: NTA individual cases, Q49, 80, 81 and 82. The care home limits apply from 1 June 2026.

Staff canteens remain 10% as eating in. A company meal subsidy is tax-free if the employee pays at least half and the employer's share is ¥7,500 a month or less. The ¥7,500 is judged excluding consumption tax, so the limit does not move when the rate changes[NTA No.2594 (in Japanese)]. How to use it is covered in the tax-free meal subsidy allowance.

At a care home, once the day's running total passes ¥2,190, meals from that point on are 10%. Checking the breakdown by tax rate on a parent's care home bill once is reassuring.

Delivery: food at 1%, delivery fee at 10%, so the gap with eating in narrows

Delivered noodles and pizza simply bring food to a chosen place, so the food is 1% (individual cases, Q77). A separate delivery fee is not the price of food, so it is 10% (Q39).

If delivery is built into the food price ("free delivery"), the whole amount is 1%. Shops that charge delivery separately and shops that include it end up with a different tax breakdown for the same total.

Drinks delivered to an office meeting room are also 1% if simply dropped off. If the supplier serves or plates them on site, it counts as catering at 10% (Q78 and 79).

Who this suits less, and caveats: eating-out prices themselves may change

All of the estimates above assume shops keep their pre-tax prices. The real gap can shrink with shop pricing and your own routine.

Takeout means more effort over where and when to eat. Hot food cools and containers create rubbish. There is no need to squeeze every lunch break for a gap of around ¥10,000 a year.

If you mostly cook and eat out only a few times a month, the gap is a few thousand yen a year. Cheaper groceries matter more to the household budget, so check how much households gain from the 1% food rate first. What happens when the rate returns to 8% is in the end of the food tax cut and the benefit.

Summary

• If the bill passes, from April 1, 2027, dining in would be taxed at 10% and takeout at 1%, a 9-point gap.
• For a lunch priced at ¥1,000 before tax, dining in costs ¥1,100 and takeout ¥1,010 — a ¥90 difference per meal.
• Switching to takeout three times a week saves ¥14,040 a year; switching every weekday saves ¥23,400 a year.
• The tax rate is decided by what you declare when ordering. Taking home leftovers in a box, or drinking only a set-meal beverage in the store, counts as 10%.
• If a store sets the same tax-included price for dine-in and takeout, the difference is absorbed by the store.

References (sources)

• Cabinet Secretariat, outline on the temporary food consumption tax cut and the worker burden relief payment (Cabinet decision, 15 September 2026) (in Japanese)
• NTA, Q&A on the two-year consumption tax cut on food and drink (September 2026) (in Japanese) - scope, special rule on tax-inclusive price display
• NTA leaflet on the two-year consumption tax cut on food and drink (in Japanese)
• NTA, Q&A on the reduced tax rate system (individual cases), revised April 2026 (in Japanese) - eat-in corners, delivery, staff canteens, school lunches, care homes, price display
• NTA, special site on the consumption tax cut (in Japanese)
• NTA Tax Answer No.6102, the reduced consumption tax rate system (in Japanese)
• NTA Tax Answer No.2594, providing meals to employees (in Japanese)
• Consumer Affairs Agency, Ministry of Finance, METI and SME Agency, price display under the reduced tax rate system (in Japanese)

* Amounts are this site's estimates, assuming shops keep their pre-tax prices. This article is general information. For individual decisions, check with a tax office or a professional such as a certified tax accountant.