It’s that time of year again! Yes, that’s right, it’s year-end adjustment season in Japan and oh boy is it not a fun one. The payoff, at least, is that once you get this done, you (for most people, at least) won’t have to bother with income tax returns come March next year (see our tax guide for more information).
Whether your company fills out your year-end adjustment forms（年末調整; nenmatsu chōsei）or you have to fill them out yourself, it’s definitely worth knowing how your taxes in Japan work.
In this guide, we’ll take you through the basics of filling out your year-end adjustment forms along with step-by-step instructions and examples for the more challenging parts. Let’s dive right into it!
Table of Contents
- Introduction to the Year-end Adjustment
- 年分給与所得者の扶養控除等（異動）申告書（Application for (Change in) Deductions for Dependents of Employment Income Earners）
- 給与所得者の基礎控除申告書（Application for Basic Deductions for Employment Income Earner）
- 給与所得者の保険料控除申告書（Application for Deduction for Insurance Premiums for Employment Income Earner）
Introduction to the Year-end Adjustment or 年末調整
The first thing you’ll need to know is that there are three forms you’ll need to submit for year-end adjustment in Japan:
- 年分給与所得者の扶養控除等（異動）申告書（Application for (Change in) Deductions for Dependents of Employment Income Earners）
- 給与所得者の基礎控除申告書（Application for Basic Deductions for Employment Income Earner）
- 給与所得者の保険料控除申告書（Application for Deduction for Insurance Premiums for Employment Income Earner）
You will need to fill out the entries that apply to you and your situation, then submit all the above forms to your employer plus any supporting documents they might need. If there are any terms here that are unclear to you, we highly encourage you to consult your company’s accounting department.
One last thing to note is that if you happen to change jobs within the year, your old company should provide you with a document called the Withholding Slip（源泉徴収表; genzenchōshūhyō）which outlines the history of your payment (including withholding tax deductions) from the company. When the time comes to complete the nenmatsu chōsei, submit the genzenchōshūhyō to your new company so that they can include your payment history with the old company into account.
We’ll go into more detail as we go through each form below.
Application for (Change in) Deductions for Dependents of Employment Income Earners
The first form you need to fill in for the year-end adjustment is the Application for (Change in) Deductions for Dependents of Employment Income Earners.
As the name suggests, this form informs the tax office of who you are currently supporting financially. Of the three forms you need to submit, this is the only one that applies for the next year. This means that any changes in your dependents (whether you add or remove someone) and any deductions that apply take effect the following year.
For most people (the lovely people living the single life), the completed form will look something like this:
The above example assumes that the person is not currently supporting anyone financially. In this case, the only thing to fill out is block ①:
- Your name in both romaji and katakana
- Your birthday
- The number on your My Number card
- The name of your Head of Household and below that your relationship with them
- Your current or temporary address
- Your marital status
This also applies to married individuals who aren’t financially supporting their spouse (i.e. you both work enough to qualify for your company’s social insurance).
However, if you have dependents, you will need to provide their information according to which category of dependent they are.
If you are the sole breadwinner for your household with dependents (e.g. your spouse, your children, etc.), then you will need to fill in the corresponding section with each person’s information in section A and B.
If your household has a person with disability (including yourself) or you are a widow, single parent, or working student, check the applicable box in section C. For households that have a person with disability and for working students, you will also need to provide the following information in the box provided:
For households with PWD:
- The state of the disability
- The type of notebook issued
- The date the notebook was issued
- The grade of the disability
- The person’s name, My Number, address, birthday, relationship with you, and their estimated income for the next year*
*If this information is already present in another section (A, B, or Items Concerning Residence Tax), the person’s name will suffice.
For working students:
- Your school’s name
- The date of your admission
- Your income type for the next year
- An estimated amount of your income for the next year
Application for Basic Deductions for Employment Income Earner
The second form you need to fill in for the year-end adjustment is the Application for Basic Deductions for Employment Income Earner.
The complete title is actually “Application for Basic Deductions for Employment Income Earner, Income Earner’s Spouse, and Adjustment Deductions of the Paid Income,” but for the sake of simplicity, we’ll use the shorter one.
For this one, you’ll need to break out your payslips and math skills. Everything you need should be on your payslips. In particular, what you will need to know is the “Total Cumulative Salary”（課税支給累計）written on your latest payslip. This amount is typically reflected somewhere along the bottom. Your “Total Cumulative Salary” is your total gross salary up to the month indicated on your payslip (see our payslip guide for more information).
For example, the value on your November payslip will contain your salary for October but the 課税支給累計 amount reflects your gross salary from January (or whenever you started employment) up until November.
Now that you have that amount on hand, let’s go over which boxes you need to fill in.
For all the bachelors and bachelorettes out there, the completed form will look something like this:
Again, this also applies to married individuals who aren’t financially supporting their spouse.
The first thing to do is to write your name and address in block ①, then input your Gross Income Amount and Taxable Income Amount into the appropriate boxes in block ②. Use the correct formula below to derive your Taxable Income Amount:
| 給与の収入金額 (ⓐ) | 給与所得の金額 |
| ¥1 to ¥550,999 | ¥0 |
| ¥551,000 to ¥1,618,999 | ⓐ – ¥550,000 |
| ¥1,619,000 to ¥1,619,999 | ¥1,069,000 |
| ¥1,620,000 to ¥1,621,999 | ¥1,070,000 |
| ¥1,622,000 to ¥1,623,999 | ¥1,072,000 |
| ¥1,624,000 to ¥1,627,999 | ¥1,074,000 |
| ¥1,628,000 to ¥1,799,999* | ((ⓐ / 4) * 2.4) + ¥100,000 |
| ¥1,800,000 to ¥3,599,999* | ((ⓐ / 4) * 2.8) – ¥80,000 |
| ¥3,600,000 to ¥6,599,999* | ((ⓐ / 4) * 3.2) – ¥440,000 |
| ¥6,600,000 to ¥8,499,999 | (ⓐ * .9) – ¥1,100,000 |
| ¥8,500,000 and above | ⓐ – ¥1,950,000 |
For example, if your Gross Income Amount is ¥3,141,956 you should use ((ⓐ / 4) * 2.8) – ¥80,000.
((¥3,141,956 / 4) * 2.8) – ¥80,000 → (¥785,489 * 2.8) – ¥80,000
However, since we have to round down to the nearest 1,000 first, the next step is actually:
(¥785,000 * 2.8) – ¥80,000 → ¥2,198,000 – ¥80,000 → ¥2,118,000
Therefore, if your Gross Income Amount is ¥3,141,956 and your derived Taxable Income Amount is ¥2,118,000.
If you have any other sources of income, input the Taxable Income Amount for the sum of all other sources in (2).
If you have a dependent spouse, fill out their information in block ③ using the same steps.
Finally, if you have any dependents, especially if you support someone with a special disability (including yourself), fill in the required information in block ④.
Application for Deduction for Insurance Premiums for Employment Income Earner
The last form you need to fill in for the year-end adjustment is the Application for Deduction for Insurance Premiums for Employment Income Earner
If you paid for any type of insurance (life insurance, earthquake insurance, national health insurance, national pension, etc.), this is where you add them. Whenever you take out any kind of insurance policy, you will likely be given a certificate or invoice for your payments. Now is the time to dig those out of your files.
For most people, the completed form will look something like this:
Similar to the forms above, the first thing to do is to write your name and address in block ①. Next, you’ll need to fill in the information for your life insurance (②), earthquake and fire insurance (③), social insurance (④), and small business mutual aid premiums (⑤).*
*If you are enrolled in your company’s social insurance (employees’ health insurance and pension insurance), you don’t need to include any of that information in blocks ① and ④.
While there is a box for nursing care insurance in block ①, this does not refer to the amount reflected in under social insurance deductions on your payslip. In addition although block ④ is labelled as social insurance, this is actually meant for national health insurance and national pension premiums.
Calculating your deduction amount for block ① is straightforward. Simply input the required details for whichever type of life insurance you have. Be mindful of whether the insurance policy is new or old so that you calculate it correctly according to its classification.
Calculating your deduction amount for block ③ is fairly simple. Fill in the required details for whichever type of insurance you have, for example 地震保 (earthquake insurance) or 旧長期損害保険 (long-term damage insurance/fire insurance). Similar to block ①, calculate the deduction amount using the formula provided. Remember to group the amounts according to their classification.
Finally, for block ⑤, input the amount you paid for any of the following types of mutual aid premiums.
- Contribution to the Mutual Aid Agreement of the Organization of Small & Medium Enterprises and Regional Innovation
- Corporate Member Pension Premiums Stipulated Under Defined Contribution Pension Law
- Individual Member Pension Premiums Stipulated Under Defined Contribution Pension Law
- Agreement Regarding the Dependent Mutual Aid System for the Physically and Mentally Handicapped Contributions
When submitting your Application for Deduction for Insurance Premiums for Employment Income Earner for your year-end adjustment attach copies of documents (certificates or invoices) bearing the amount you paid as written on your form.
Download our translated guides here:
年分給与所得者の扶養控除等（異動）申告書（Application for (Change in) Deductions for Dependents of Employment Income Earners）
給与所得者の基礎控除申告書（Application for Basic Deductions for Employment Income Earner）
給与所得者の保険料控除申告書（Application for Deduction for insurance Premiums for Employment Income Earner）
Hopefully filling in your year-end adjustment forms goes smoothly. Best of luck!
Featured image by Christa Dodoo on Unsplash
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