This is a translation of the Japanese original. The Japanese version is authoritative; figures follow Japanese tax law.
When the consumption tax on food drops from 8% to 1% in April 2027, tax-inclusive prices fall by about 6.5%. Food that costs ¥10,000 today would cost ¥649 less. But waiting only pays for food that keeps well and is bought in large amounts. Run down your stock of rice, frozen food, tins, seasonings and bottled water in March, then restock in April. That is about as far as the adjustment goes[NTA Q&A on the rate cut (in Japanese)].
Alcohol, pet food and energy drinks sold as medicines stay at 10%, so waiting changes nothing. Hometown tax donations (ふるさと納税) are no reason to wait either. The plan rests on an outline approved by the Cabinet on 15 September 2026 and applies only if the related bill is passed.
Bottom line: only food that keeps well and costs a lot is worth holding until April
| Verdict | Examples | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Worth waiting for April | Rice, frozen food, tins, pouch meals, seasonings, bottled water (stock you keep) | Keeps well; each purchase is large |
| Don't wait | Meat, fish, vegetables, bread, snacks, daily meals | Short shelf life; waiting leads to waste |
| Set by the date | Year-end gifts, New Year dishes, holiday food (December 2026) | The occasion can't move; stays at 8% |
| Same either way | Alcohol, hon-mirin, pet food, medicinal energy drinks, catalogue gifts | 10% now and after April |
| No reason to wait | Hometown tax donation gifts | Donations carry no consumption tax; the 2026 allowance ends on 31 December |
*Rates from the National Tax Agency (NTA) Q&A and Tax Answer; verdicts are this site's summary.
The 1% rate covers exactly the food that carries the reduced tax rate of 8% today[NTA Q&A, Q1-2 (in Japanese)]. No new items are added. What ¥100, ¥500 and ¥10,000 become is set out in our 1% price table.
Waiting saves about 6.5% - but a price rise above 6.9% wipes it out
If the pre-tax price stays the same, the tax-inclusive price becomes 101/108 of today's. That is a cut of about 6.5%. But in the six months you wait, the pre-tax price itself may rise.
In the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications consumer price index, food rose 3.1% year on year in August 2026[MIC Consumer Price Index, August 2026 (in Japanese)]. The average rise for 2025 was 6.8%.
- Pre-tax price ¥9,259. If it does not change, April costs ¥9,351, ¥649 less
- If food rises at 3.1% a year for six months, the pre-tax price is about ¥9,401 and April costs about ¥9,496
- The saving from waiting is still about ¥500, or roughly 5% per ¥10,000
- Items whose pre-tax price rises 6.9% or more cost more if you wait (108 / 101 = 1.069)
Waiting on ¥10,000 of food earns about ¥500. Weigh that against the following costs.
- Storage: is there room in the freezer or pantry?
- Freshness and dates: can you eat it all after April?
- Running out: will you top up at a pricier convenience store?
- Price rises: snacks were up 5.0% and drinks 6.0% year on year in August
Item-by-item table - alcohol and pet food don't change
Whether waiting pays depends on two things: does the item go to 1%, and does it keep? We checked the tricky items against the NTA case-by-case Q&A[NTA Reduced Rate Q&A, individual cases (in Japanese)].
| Item | Now | From April 2027 | Worth waiting? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rice | 8% | 1% | Yes. Run down stock in March, buy in April |
| Frozen food | 8% | 1% | If the freezer has room |
| Tins, pouch meals, dried noodles | 8% | 1% | Yes. Rotate emergency stock in April |
| Soy sauce, miso, cooking sake, mirin-style seasoning | 8% | 1% | Yes. Long dates while unopened |
| Hon-mirin (an alcoholic drink) | 10% | 10% | No |
| Mineral water, edible ice | 8% | 1% | Only cases bought in bulk |
| Tap water, ice for cooling, dry ice | 10% | 10% | No |
| Snacks, bread | 8% | 1% | No. Short dates |
| Pet food | 10% | 10% | No. Not food for people |
| Alcohol (beer, wine, sake) | 10% | 10% | No |
| Energy drinks (medicines or quasi-drugs) | 10% | 10% | No |
| Energy drinks (soft drinks), supplements, FOSHU foods | 8% | 1% | For subscriptions, see the note below |
| Meal kits, grocery delivery | 8% | 1% | Daily needs, so you can't wait |
*Pet food Q4, water Q8, ice Q9, mirin and cooking sake Q14, energy drinks Q23, health foods Q24.
Energy drinks and supplements are where people get confused. Even on the same shelf, a box marked "medicine" (医薬品) or "quasi-drug" (医薬部外品) stays at 10%. If it says "soft drink" or "food with nutrient function claims", it is food and goes to 1%. Other borderline cases are in 30 cases: 8% or 10%?.
Under a subscription contract made before 1 January 2027, deliveries paid for before 1 April stay at 8% even if they arrive after April[NTA Q&A, Q1-6 (in Japanese)]. Renewing an annual plan for supplements or water in March may shut you out of the 1% rate. The details are in orders and subscriptions that straddle 1 April.
Gifts, New Year dishes and holiday food are fixed by date - December 2026 stays at 8%
The rate depends on the day the shop sells the goods[NTA Tax Answer No.6102 (in Japanese)]. Purchases tied to a fixed occasion simply can't wait.
- Year-end gifts (oseibo, December 2026): food assortments are 8%. The occasion can't move
- New Year dishes (osechi) and holiday food: received in December, so 8%. No reason to rush or delay the order
- Summer gifts (ochugen, July 2027): food bought in a shop is 1%. But a mail-order catalogue issued in 2026 and ordered by March is 8%
- Catalogue gifts: stay at 10% even if they list only food, because they are a gift-sending service
Assortments have their own line. A set that includes tableware counts as food only if it is ¥10,000 or less before tax and food makes up at least two-thirds of the value. Otherwise the whole set is 10%. Gift wrapping ordered for a separate fee is also 10%.
Gifts usually cost ¥3,000 to ¥5,000 each. The 1% rate cuts only about ¥200 to ¥300 off that. It is not worth moving a gift by six months.
Hometown tax donations are no reason to wait - the 2026 allowance ends on 31 December
Even if the thank-you gift is food, the donor's gain or loss has nothing to do with the consumption tax rate. Donations carry no consumption tax[NTA Tax Answer No.6157 (in Japanese)]. What you get back is the part of the donation above ¥2,000[MIC Hometown Tax Donation overview (in Japanese)].
- The rate on the gift is a matter between the municipality and its supplier
- The donor's own cost is ¥2,000 whether the rate is 8% or 1%
- The deduction limit is set per year. Use up the 2026 allowance with donations made by 31 December
- If you wait until April, the donation uses the 2027 allowance instead
There is nothing to gain by waiting. Work out your 2026 limit and donate before the year ends. How to work out the limit and apply is in our complete guide to hometown tax donations, and the basics are in the glossary.
Calendar from October 2026 to April 2027 - run down stock in March, restock in April
You can't stop everyday shopping. What you can do is move the timing of bulk buys of long-life food by a few weeks.
| Month | Buy now | Hold back or shift |
|---|---|---|
| Oct-Nov 2026 | Hometown donations, daily food | No need to rush big stocks of rice or tins |
| Dec 2026 | Year-end gifts, osechi, holiday food, hometown donations (by the 31st) | Even at year-end sales, don't buy more than you'll use before April |
| Jan 2027 | Daily food | Check terms before signing or renewing subscriptions and annual plans |
| Feb-Mar 2027 | Daily food | Run down stocks of rice, frozen food, tins, seasonings and water |
| Apr 2027 onward | Restock what you ran down | Tags may show 8%, but tills charge 1% (until 31 May) |
- If the pre-tax price holds, April costs ¥5,050, ¥350 less
- If it rose 1.5% over six months, about ¥5,127, a gap of about ¥270
- If it only means shifting by a few weeks, storage hardly becomes harder
Price tags need care in February and March too. From 1 February to 31 March shops may display tax-inclusive prices worked out at 1%. The till, however, charges 8%[NTA Q&A, Q3-9 (in Japanese)]. Look for a notice near the shelf saying the till charges 8%.
To do today
- Work out your 2026 hometown donation limit and plan donations before 31 December.
- Count the rice, tins, seasonings and water in your freezer and pantry, and decide how much you can run down by the end of March without running out.
- Check the renewal dates of subscriptions and annual plans for supplements or water, and list any that renew in March.
Who shouldn't wait, and what to watch - don't drain household cash to stockpile
Waiting saves around ¥500 per ¥10,000. That is not worth straining your budget or wasting food for.
Worth waiting if you
- Buy rice or water in bulk once a month
- Have space in the freezer or pantry
- Rotate emergency food once a year
Better not to wait if you
- Would run short of living costs by paying a lump sum in April
- Have no storage and often throw out expired food
- Save more by buying on sale days than the tax gap
- Don't stockpile all at once in April: the 1% rate lasts two years, to 31 March 2029. There's no hurry
- Food waste: whatever you throw away is a 100% loss, not a 6.5% one
- Opportunistic price rises: higher pre-tax prices shrink the gap; a rise of 6.9% or more reverses it
- Still a proposal: the bill has not passed. If the Diet amends it, dates or scope could change
Separately from the rate cut, the government plans a payment called the worker burden relief support payment (就業者負担軽減支援金). It has nothing to do with when you shop, and no application should be needed if you have a registered public benefit account. See how to receive the worker burden relief support payment.
End of March 2029 brings the reverse rush - the same items are worth buying before 8% returns
Under the plan the 1% rate ends on 31 March 2029 and 8% returns from 1 April. This time in reverse, buying long-life food just before the rise saves about 6.9%.
- Feb-Mar 2029: tags may show 8%, but tills charge 1%
- Apr-May 2029: tags may show 1%, but tills charge 8%
- The items are the same: rice, frozen food, tins, seasonings and water
What payments will accompany the return to 8% is not yet settled. The debate is tracked in food consumption tax returns to 8% in April 2029.
FAQ
Should I cancel an online subscription and rejoin in April?
If you have not prepaid for deliveries after April, most will move to 1% without cancelling. Only amounts paid before April under a contract made before 1 January stay at 8%. First check whether an annual renewal falls in March.
What about beer-type drinks and alcohol-free drinks?
Alcoholic drinks such as beer and happoshu stay at 10%. Alcohol-free beer and amazake below 1% alcohol are food, so they go to 1% from April 2027.
Summary
- If food tax drops from 8% to 1%, the tax-included price falls about 6.5%. For ¥10,000 worth of current tax-included purchases, that is ¥649.
- It is only worth waiting for foods that keep well and have a high unit price — rice, frozen food, canned goods, seasonings, and bottled water, for example.
- If food prices keep rising at an annual pace of 3.1%, the saving from waiting on ¥10,000 worth shrinks to about ¥500. At 6.9% or more, waiting actually loses out.
- Alcohol, pet food, nutritional drinks classified as medicine, and catalog gifts stay at 10%, so waiting makes no difference.
- Furusato nozei is not a reason to wait — the 2026 donation limit runs through December 31.
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References (sources)
- NTA, Q&A on the two-year cut in the consumption tax rate on food (September 2026, in Japanese) - period, scope, transitional treatment, special rule on price display
- NTA, special site on the consumption tax rate cut (in Japanese)
- Cabinet Secretariat, outline of the temporary food consumption tax cut and the worker burden relief support payment (Cabinet decision, 15 September 2026, in Japanese)
- NTA, Reduced Tax Rate Q&A: individual cases (in Japanese) - pet food, water, ice, mirin, energy drinks, health foods, catalogue gifts
- NTA Tax Answer No.6102, the reduced consumption tax rate (in Japanese) - rules on mixed food and non-food sets
- NTA Tax Answer No.6157, transactions outside the scope of tax (in Japanese) - donations
- MIC Statistics Bureau, Consumer Price Index, Japan, August 2026 (published 18 September 2026, in Japanese)
- MIC, overview of hometown tax donations (in Japanese)
*Estimates apply NTA tax rates and the MIC price index; actual prices vary by shop. This article is general information. For individual decisions, check with a tax office or the NTA telephone consultation centre.