This is a translation of the Japanese original. The Japanese version is authoritative; figures follow Japanese tax law.
Once the consumption tax on food drops to 1%, the place to check is the pre-tax subtotal for "1% items" on your receipt. For ¥2,000 of food before tax, the tax is ¥20 and the total ¥2,020. At the 8% rate that applies until March, the same food costs ¥2,160, so the gap is ¥140. Even if the tax-inclusive total falls, a pre-tax subtotal higher than in March means a rise in the shop's base price is mixed in. From February to May 2027, price tags may show a mix of "8% tax-inclusive" and "1% tax-inclusive" prices, but pre-tax-only prices are not allowed[National Tax Agency Q&A on the two-year rate cut for food (in Japanese)].
The measure rests on a policy outline (大綱) adopted by the Cabinet on 15 September 2026, and describes what happens if the bill is enacted[Cabinet Secretariat outline (in Japanese)]. Keep a few receipts from the shops you use most during March 2027. They are what you will compare against from April.
The short answer: pre-tax subtotal × 1% = tax, and judge price rises by the base price
| What to check | Where to look | If it is right |
|---|---|---|
| Is 1% being applied? | The "1% items (reduced-rate items)" line on the receipt | Tax is 1% of the pre-tax subtotal (rounding within ¥1) |
| Is an opportunistic price rise mixed in? | The pre-tax (base) price of the same product | The same as in March, or lower |
| Is the price tag correct? | Price tags and shelf notices | Tax-inclusive. If 8% prices are shown, a notice says "charged at 1% at the till" |
| Was the till switched correctly? | The tax rate on receipts from 1 April | No "8%" left on food items |
| How to split household accounts and expenses | The subtotal for each rate | 8% up to 31 March, 1% from 1 April |
* Compiled by this site from the NTA Q&A and the outline. The 1% items are the same range of food that is taxed at 8% today (Q1-2).
The base price is the shop's selling price without tax. The tax-inclusive price moves with the tax rate, so comparing base prices is the reliable way to tell whether a price has gone up.
Where to look on a receipt: the ※ mark stays after the switch to 1%
On receipts from April, the ※ mark still means the same thing. The NTA says that if a receipt states that an item is a reduced-rate item, it does not also have to say "1% item"[NTA Q&A, Q2-1 (in Japanese)]. Only the rate figure and the tax calculated from it change.
Most supermarket and convenience-store receipts are "simplified invoices" (適格簡易請求書). Besides the subtotal for each rate, they need show only one of the tax amount or the rate[NTA Tax Answer No.6625 (in Japanese)]. So receipts look different from shop to shop.
- Shops that print the tax: divide the tax by the pre-tax subtotal to check it is 1%
- Shops that print only the rate: if "1% items" appears, work from that line's subtotal
- Shops that print only tax-inclusive totals: total ÷ 101 × 100 gives the pre-tax amount
- Shops with no registration number: tax-exempt businesses may not show tax at all. Only the amount paid can be compared
Ten seconds to check the tax is 1%: rounding happens once per rate
Tax is rounded once, on the subtotal for each rate. Working out tax item by item and adding it up is not allowed[NTA invoice Q&A, Q57 (in Japanese)]. Shops may round down or round to the nearest yen, so the difference is at most ¥1.
- 1% pre-tax subtotal ¥2,000 × 1% = ¥20 → correct
- 1% pre-tax subtotal ¥1,234 × 1% = ¥12.34 → ¥12 or ¥13 are both correct
- 1% pre-tax subtotal ¥2,000 with ¥160 tax → still at 8%. Tell the shop
- Only a tax-inclusive total: ¥2,020 ÷ 101 × 100 = ¥2,000 (pre-tax)
If the tax on the food line is an order of magnitude above one-hundredth of the pre-tax amount, suspect 8% first. How much prices fall at each amount is set out in the 1% consumption tax quick-reference table.
When you use a discount voucher or coupon: check 1% on the discounted amount
If you buy food and household goods together and a voucher comes off the total, tax is charged on the discounted amounts. The receipt shows either the discounted subtotal for each rate, or the undiscounted subtotals with the discount split by rate[NTA invoice Q&A, Q69 (in Japanese)].
- Split the discount by value: 10% side 1,000×3,300/5,320 ≈ ¥620, 1% side ≈ ¥380
- After the discount: 10% items ¥2,680 (tax ¥243), 1% items ¥1,640 (tax ¥16)
- You pay ¥4,320. The ¥16 is ¥1,640 ÷ 101 with the fraction dropped
A shop may also take the whole discount off the 10% items (Q69). In that case the 1% subtotal stays at its undiscounted amount.
On receipts that list points as a means of payment, the subtotal for each rate is shown before the points are used. Checking 1% on that line is enough here too.
From February to May, price tags mix 8% and 1%, but pre-tax-only tags are not allowed
Shops that cannot replace price tags in time get a special rule on tax-inclusive price display (総額表示). But only tax-inclusive prices are allowed. Showing only the base price, or a price followed by "+ tax", stays prohibited even during the special period[Cabinet Secretariat outline, Part 2-4 (in Japanese)].
| Period | Rate at the till | Tax-inclusive price allowed on tags |
|---|---|---|
| Until 31 January 2027 | 8% | 8% only |
| 1 February to 31 March 2027 | 8% | 8% or 1% (you pay more than the tag) |
| 1 April to 31 May 2027 | 1% | 8% or 1% (you pay less than the tag) |
| 1 June 2027 to 31 January 2029 | 1% | 1% only |
| 1 February to 31 May 2029 | 1% until March, 8% from April | 8% and 1% may be mixed |
Source: outline Part 2-4, NTA Q&A Q3-9. Old and new rates may also be mixed on the same shop floor.
The special rule is for shops with a real difficulty, such as being unable to re-tag overnight or prices printed on packaging. It does not cover a shop that is re-tagging but still prints 8% prices on the new tags (Q3-9).
- "Items on this shelf are priced including tax at 8%. You will be charged at 1% at the till."
- Only 1% tags are a different colour, with a separate notice saying "red tags show 1% tax-inclusive prices"
If 8% tags are on display with no notice, ask the staff. Shops with a single tax-inclusive price work the same way. Food with a base price of ¥100 costs ¥108 at 8% and ¥101 at 1%.
Spot opportunistic price rises by the base price: prices can rise even as the total falls
Comparing only tax-inclusive prices hides base-price rises. The rate falls by 7 points, so a small rise in the base price still leaves the total looking lower.
- March (8%): base ¥2,000 → ¥2,160 including tax
- April, base unchanged (1%): base ¥2,000 → ¥2,020 including tax (¥140 cheaper)
- April, base up 5% (1%): base ¥2,100 → ¥2,121 including tax
The third looks ¥39 cheaper than March, yet the base price is ¥100 higher.
Another rule of thumb is the "unchanged total". If the tax-inclusive price is the same as in March, the base price has risen by about 6.9% (1.08 ÷ 1.01). A ¥108 food item still at ¥108 in April means the base went from ¥100 to about ¥107.
- Keep receipts from your usual shops during March. Five to ten items are enough.
- From April, buy the same products at the same shop. If the pack is smaller, compare per 100 grams.
- Compare the base price of each product. If receipts show tax-inclusive prices, use ÷108×100 for March and ÷101×100 for April.
- If it went up, ask the shop why. See whether rising materials or wages are given as the reason.
What is and is not regulated in 2027: raising prices is free, false labelling is not
No law now directly polices price rises blamed on consumption tax. The special measures act on passing on consumption tax (消費税転嫁対策特別措置法), in force during the 2019 rate rise, expired on 31 March 2021[Ministry of Finance (in Japanese)]. In its 2018 guideline, the government confirmed that businesses are in principle free to set prices[Cabinet Secretariat, JFTC, Consumer Affairs Agency and others, guideline (in Japanese)].
Left to the shop
- When and how far to raise or cut the base price
- Keeping the tax-inclusive price unchanged (base up about 6.9%)
- Taking a discount only from 10% items
Can be a problem
- Tags showing only the base price or "+ tax" (tax-inclusive display duty)
- Keeping 8% tags with no real difficulty and no notice
- False "price cut" or "today only" claims (misleading advantage under the Act against Unjustifiable Premiums and Misleading Representations)
The Consumer Affairs Agency says rises caused by higher labour, materials or energy costs are not opportunistic. It also says rises without a reasonable basis may be opportunistic, and it accepts reports[Consumer Affairs Agency reporting form (in Japanese)].
- Reporting opportunistic price rises: the agency's web form. Reports are used to grasp the situation and passed to the relevant ministries
- Individual refunds and disputes: Consumer Hotline 188 (connects you to a local consumer affairs centre)
As of September 2026, the agency and others had issued no new view tied to the rate cut.
Tills on 1 April and vending machines: 8% just after midnight is not always an error
An 8% line on a 1 April receipt is not automatically a mistake. A shop that closes each day's sales at 1 a.m. may treat sales from midnight to 1 a.m. on 1 April as 31 March sales at 8%[NTA Q&A Q1-3 (in Japanese)].
- Food at 8% from midday on 1 April: possibly a till error. Take the receipt to the shop
- Food bought in March and returned in April: the refund is calculated at the 8% you paid (Q1-5)
- Subscription deliveries and mail order: contracts made before 1 January 2027 may stay at 8% (Q1-6). See which rate applies to orders spanning 1 April
Vending machine sales under ¥30,000 are exempt from the duty to issue invoices[NTA invoice Q&A Q41 (in Japanese)]. With no receipt, the displayed price is all you can go on.
- Base: ¥160 ÷ 1.08 ≈ ¥148.1. At 1%: ¥148.1 × 1.01 ≈ ¥149.6
- About ¥150 is a fair price. If it stays ¥160, the base has risen to about ¥158
Meal tickets from restaurant ticket machines count as eating out if you eat in, so they stay at 10%. The gap with takeaway is in eating in versus takeaway.
Copy the subtotal for each rate straight into household accounts and side-job expenses
Just copying each rate's subtotal from the receipt into your household accounts lets you see the tax difference and the base-price difference separately.
- Split purchases: 8% up to 31 March, 1% from 1 April
- With household-budget apps that read receipts, check the rate has not been saved as 8%
People recording side-job expenses should also record them with the rate and split shown on the receipt. If the seller charged 8%, the buyer in principle treats it as 8% too (Q1-4). If you do not file a consumption tax return, you may record tax-inclusive amounts for income tax. For how to keep records, see expenses when you have lost the receipt, and for filing, the glossary entry on the tax return.
Limits and cautions: not every base-price rise is opportunistic
- General inflation: the Consumer Affairs Agency also says rises caused by materials, labour or energy costs are not opportunistic
- Sale-price rebound: compared with a March sale price, a return to the normal price looks like a rise
- Shops without a registration number: tax-exempt businesses are outside the tax-inclusive display duty, and their receipts may not separate tax
- Not yet final: the bill has not been enacted. Check the wording and dates of the special rule once it is
The full effect of the tax cut shows when you look at shop prices together with the cash payment. The payment covering the remaining 1% is explained in how to receive the worker burden relief payment, and the shops' side in what the 1% rate means for businesses.
What to do today
- On a receipt from a shop you use often, find where the ※ mark and the "8% items" line are.
- Put a reminder in your calendar to keep five to ten items' worth of March 2027 receipts in an envelope.
Summary
- Check the "1% applicable" tax-excluded subtotal on your receipt. For a ¥2,000 pre-tax subtotal, the tax is ¥20, making the total ¥2,020.
- If the tax equals 1% of the pre-tax subtotal, it is correct. Rounding differences are at most ¥1; a ¥160 tax amount means the 8% rate is still being applied.
- Even if the tax-included total falls, if the pre-tax subtotal is higher than in March, a hidden price increase on the item itself is mixed in.
- From February to May 2027, price tags will mix 8% and 1% tax-included prices. Showing pre-tax prices alone is not permitted.
- During March, keep receipts for 5 to 10 items from stores you shop at often.
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References (sources)
- Cabinet Secretariat, outline on the temporary cut in the consumption tax rate on food and the worker burden relief payment (Cabinet decision, 15 September 2026) (in Japanese)
- National Tax Agency, special page on the two-year rate cut for food (in Japanese)
- National Tax Agency, Q&A on the two-year rate cut for food (September 2026) (in Japanese)
- NTA Tax Answer No.6902, the tax-inclusive price display duty (in Japanese)
- NTA Tax Answer No.6625, required entries on qualified invoices (in Japanese)
- NTA invoice Q&A Q57 (rounding), Q69 (bulk discounts), Q41 (exempt transactions) (in Japanese)
- Ministry of Finance, measures on passing on consumption tax, guideline on price setting with the rate rise (28 November 2018) (in Japanese)
- Consumer Affairs Agency, web form for reporting opportunistic price rises (in Japanese)
- Consumer Affairs Agency, Consumer Hotline 188 (in Japanese)
- Consumer Affairs Agency, overview of labelling rules (misleading advantage) (in Japanese)
* The sample receipt and figures apply the NTA's examples and the tax rates as worked out by this site. This article is general information. For individual decisions, consult the tax office, a consumer affairs centre or a tax accountant.