Year-end adjustment (年末調整) and tax returns for foreigners in Japan

The year end adjustment Japan’s employers run is called 年末調整 (nenmatsu chōsei). Your employer recalculates your income tax for the whole year and settles it with your last salary of the year, so most employees never file a tax return. Foreign employees get it the same way, as long as you handed in the dependents form. As of October 2026, the 2026 adjustment uses a higher basic deduction: ¥1,040,000 if your income is ¥4.89 million or less.

Who gets the year-end adjustment in Japan?

According to the National Tax Agency (国税庁), you are covered if you handed your employer the dependents form, the 給与所得者の扶養控除等（異動）申告書, and you:

• worked for the company all year, or
• joined during the year and are still there at year end.

Two groups are left out: people whose salary for the year is over ¥20 million, and people who got tax relief under the Disaster Relief Act. Your visa type doesn’t matter. What matters is that you are a tax resident and still employed.

Joined mid-year? Give your new employer the withholding slip (源泉徴収票) from your previous job in Japan. Without it, the new employer can’t include that salary, and you may need to file a return yourself.

Which year-end adjustment forms do I fill in?

Your employer hands out the forms and sets its own deadline. These are the main ones:

The National Tax Agency publishes an English version of the 2026 dependents form and an English guide, “About kinds of deduction for 2026”. Social insurance premiums you paid are deducted in full. Life insurance gives up to ¥120,000 and earthquake insurance up to ¥50,000.

What changed in the 2026 year-end adjustment?

The FY2026 tax reform raised the basic deduction and took effect on 1 December 2026. Tax withheld from January to November 2026 used the old tables. In the December adjustment, your employer recalculates the year with the new amounts and settles the difference.

The amounts above ¥620,000 are an extra that applies to residents only. Income here means income after the employment income deduction. ¥4.89 million of income is about ¥6.66 million in salary. The minimum employment income deduction also rose, from ¥650,000 to ¥740,000.

The dependent income limit rose to ¥620,000 (¥1.36 million in salary only). If a relative newly qualifies because of this, you must list them on the dependents form to get the deduction.

Can I claim parents or a spouse living abroad?

Yes, with conditions that have been stricter since 2023. A relative who lives outside Japan counts for the dependent deduction (扶養控除) only if, on 31 December, they are:

• 16 to 29, or
• 70 or older, or
• 30 to 69 and one of these: they left Japan to study, they are disabled under Japanese rules, or you paid them ¥380,000 or more for living or education costs that year.

A brother or parent aged 30 to 69 who doesn’t fit one of those three no longer counts. Each dependent gives ¥380,000, or ¥480,000 for a parent aged 70 or over who doesn’t live with you.

What documents do I need for a relative abroad?

Proof of relationship is either a document from a foreign government showing the relative’s name, date of birth and address, or a Japanese government document plus a copy of the relative’s passport. It must be the original, except the passport copy.

Remittance records can be copies: a bank or money transfer service statement showing payment from you to that relative, or a credit card statement for a family card you pay for.

The date that counts is the day you send the money, not the day it arrives. Transfer fees can count toward the ¥380,000 if the statement shows them. Comparing transfer costs? See how to send money from Japan.

When do I need a tax return (確定申告) instead?

The year-end adjustment covers your salary. You must file a final tax return (確定申告) yourself if, among other cases:

• your salary for the year is over ¥20 million,
• you have one employer and other income over ¥200,000, for example from a side job, or
• you have two or more employers and the salary not adjusted plus other income is over ¥200,000.

The filing period is 16 February to 15 March of the next year. If you claim relatives abroad on your return, attach the same documents, unless you already gave them to your employer for the adjustment.

You may also file a refund return (還付申告) if you are owed money, for example for large medical costs, donations or a housing loan deduction. You can do this for 5 years from 1 January of the next year. Donations through furusato nozei are explained in our furusato nozei guide.

What happens if I leave Japan mid-year?

It depends on how you leave.

• Your company transfers you abroad for a year or more. You usually become a non-resident, and your employer must do the year-end adjustment by the day you leave. Only insurance premiums paid up to that day count.
• You quit and leave. Most people who quit mid-year don’t get a year-end adjustment. The main exceptions are people who leave after receiving their December salary and part-timers whose salary for the year is ¥1.36 million or less.

If you must file a return and have no tax agent, the National Tax Agency says you file and pay before you depart. With a tax agent (納税管理人) in Japan, you file by the normal due date. Leaving a job mid-year without a year-end adjustment is one of the agency’s own examples of when a refund return can apply. The same tax agent can handle your pension refund tax. Resident tax is separate and still due: see resident tax in Japan and the leaving Japan checklist.

Where can I get help in English?

The National Tax Agency’s English income tax pages include “Information about Income Tax”, the yearly income tax guide and a foreigner version of its online return guide. For your own situation, for example a large overseas income or a mid-year move, ask your local tax office (税務署) or a licensed tax accountant (税理士).

More guides

• Resident tax (住民税) for foreigners: the other tax on your salary, billed a year later.
• How to send money from Japan: transfers that leave a paper trail for the deduction.
• Japan pension refund: claim your pension and the 20.42% tax when you leave.
• Furusato nozei for foreigners