Expense rules in Japan.
All NTA rules: 10% Consumption Tax, travel allowances and VAT recovery rules in Japan.
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1Expense rules & reclaimable VAT
| Category | VAT | Reclaim | Cap / Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Business meals | 10% | 100% reclaimable | ¥5,000/person cap |
| Travel meals | 10% | 100% reclaimable | Practical cap |
| Accommodation (ryokan) | 10% | 100% reclaimable | Tax invoice qualifying |
| Fuel | 10% | 100% reclaimable | Records required |
| Train / JR / shinkansen / flight | 10% | 100% reclaimable | Passenger transport |
| Taxi | 10% | 100% reclaimable | Receipt required |
| Client gifts (osetsuhi) | 10% | Limited | NTA tax-free limit |
| Parking / toll | 10% | 100% reclaimable | Tax invoice |
Qualified Invoice 2023
Qualified Invoice system since 1 October 2023.
Reduced rate
Food, newspapers, take-out, regular media.
Retention
NTA records: 7 years (10 recommended).
2Mileage allowance
| Mode | Allowance | Cap | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Personal car | ¥30–50/km | By company | Standard practice |
| Motorcycle / scooter | ¥20–30/km | By company | Reduced rate |
No federal rate
Japan has no national rate.
MNC practice
Private sector standard.
Records
Date, destination, km, business purpose.
3Per diem and travel allowances
| Destination | Meal | Lodging / night | Daily rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tokyo (national) | ¥3,000 | ¥15,000 | ¥18,000 |
| Osaka / Kyoto | ¥3,000 | ¥12,000 | ¥15,000 |
| Senior executive | ¥5,000 | ¥25,000 | ¥30,000 |
| Foreign — Singapore | ¥6,000 | ¥20,000 | ¥26,000 |
| Foreign — London | ¥8,000 | ¥30,000 | ¥38,000 |
MNC practice
Standard executive per diem.
Hotel separate
Lodging refunded on receipt.
No statutory rate
No mandatory NTA cap.
4Foreign VAT recovery
| Zone | Mechanism | Deadline | Method |
|---|---|---|---|
| Japan → EU | 13th Directive if eligible | Variable | Direct filing per EU country |
| France | No reciprocity | — | No agreement |
| United Kingdom | Reciprocity | 31 Dec. N+1 | HMRC VAT65A |
| Switzerland | Reciprocity | 30 June N+1 | FTA Form 1222 |
| USA | No recovery | — | Sales tax not recoverable |
| JP JCT for foreign | No general procedure | — | Tax-Free Shopping only |
Tax-Free Shopping
Min purchase for tourist refund.
No B2B refund
No general B2B procedure.
Outbound recovery
JP company recovers EU VAT via 13th Directive.
Industrialize your Japan expenses with Illizeo.
10%/8% Consumption Tax, Qualified Invoice, MNC per diem, multi-currency JPY↔USD↔EUR↔CHF: all the NTA rules above are natively integrated into Illizeo.
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