Basic deduction 2026
¥620,000
from ¥580,000; ¥1.04M up to ¥4.89M income
Employment deduction floor
¥740,000
from ¥650,000
Changes take effect
1 December
settled in the year-end adjustment
Refund arrives
December pay
or later months if needed
National Tax Agency, 令和8年度 tax reform. Checked 5 October 2026.
Nenmatsu chōsei 2026 refund calculator
From one employer, the whole year
Leave at 0 if it comes out of your pay
Up to ¥120,000; it's on your insurer's certificate
Up to ¥50,000
Estimated refund in December
¥28,300
Paid back with your last 2026 salary
From the 2026 tax reform
¥28,300
Higher deductions not in withholding until December
From your declared deductions
¥0
iDeCo and insurance you claim on the forms
| Income tax withheld in 2026 (estimate) | ¥119,400 |
| Final 2026 income tax after the adjustment | ¥91,100 |
PayMetric Labs' own modelled estimate of income tax including the 2.1% reconstruction surtax, for a single employee with no dependants and Tokyo Kyokai Kenpo social insurance. Withholding is approximated as the year's tax under the pre-reform rules; your payslips round each month and can differ by a few thousand yen. Resident tax isn't part of the year-end adjustment.
How the year-end adjustment works
Every month your employer withholds income tax from a table (源泉徴収税額表) that only knows your pay, your social insurance and how many dependants you declared. It doesn't know about your life insurance, your iDeCo, a mid-year change in your family, or this year's tax reform.
When it pays your last salary of the year, normally in December, your employer works out your actual tax for the whole year, using the forms you submitted, and compares it with what it withheld. If too much was taken, it refunds the difference with that salary. If too little, it takes the shortfall. Then it issues your 源泉徴収票, the year's summary of pay and tax, by the end of January.
For most employees that's the whole of their tax filing. You only need a tax return (確定申告) in the cases listed in the FAQ below.
What changed for 2026, and why it lands in December
The 令和8年度 reform did three things for 2026 income. It raised the standard basic deduction from ¥580,000 to ¥620,000, with a temporary top-up for 2026 and 2027 that takes it to ¥1,040,000 for total income up to ¥4.89 million. It raised the employment income deduction floor from ¥650,000 to ¥740,000. And it lifted the income limit for dependants from ¥580,000 to ¥620,000 (a salary of ¥1.36 million instead of ¥1.23 million).
The law took effect on 1 December 2026 but applies to all of 2026. The NTA says withholding up to November doesn't change; instead the year-end adjustment calculates the year with the new deductions and settles the difference against tax withheld under the old tables (NTA Q&A, Q1-1). New monthly tables start in January 2027.
| Total income | Salary only, about | Before the reform | 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Up to ¥1.32M | Up to ¥2.06M | ¥950,000 | ¥1,040,000 |
| ¥1.32M to ¥3.36M | ¥2.06M to ¥4.75M | ¥880,000 | ¥1,040,000 |
| ¥3.36M to ¥4.89M | ¥4.75M to ¥6.66M | ¥680,000 | ¥1,040,000 |
| ¥4.89M to ¥6.55M | ¥6.66M to ¥8.5M | ¥630,000 | ¥670,000 |
| ¥6.55M to ¥23.5M | ¥8.5M to ¥25.45M | ¥580,000 | ¥620,000 |
Basic deduction by 合計所得金額: NTA Tax Answer No.1199. Salary equivalents are the NTA's for 2026 and 2027.
Extra refund from the reform, by salary
Single employee, no dependants, under 40, no other deductions. Income tax including the 2.1% surtax, PayMetric Labs' own modelled estimate:
| Annual salary | Withheld (old rules) | Tax under 2026 rules | Extra refund |
|---|---|---|---|
| ¥3,000,000 | ¥35,600 | ¥27,500 | ¥8,100 |
| ¥4,000,000 | ¥65,900 | ¥57,700 | ¥8,200 |
| ¥5,000,000 | ¥119,400 | ¥91,100 | ¥28,300 |
| ¥6,000,000 | ¥186,100 | ¥149,300 | ¥36,800 |
| ¥8,000,000 | ¥444,200 | ¥436,000 | ¥8,200 |
| ¥10,000,000 | ¥829,900 | ¥821,800 | ¥8,100 |
The biggest gains sit between about ¥4.75 million and ¥6.66 million of salary, where the basic deduction jumps from ¥680,000 to ¥1,040,000. Above that, the reform is worth the extra ¥40,000 of deduction at your marginal rate. The life insurance, earthquake insurance and iDeCo you declare come on top; the calculator adds them.
See your monthly take-home on 2026 rules
Income tax, resident tax and social insurance from your salary.
The forms, and what to have ready
- 扶養控除等(異動)申告書: who depends on you. Check it against the new ¥620,000 income limit; a dependant earning up to ¥1.36 million in salary now qualifies.
- 基礎控除申告書, and the 配偶者控除等申告書 if your spouse earns under about ¥2 million. Your employer needs your estimated 2026 income to apply the right basic deduction.
- 特定親族特別控除申告書 if you support a child aged 19 to 22 who earns too much to be a normal dependant.
- 保険料控除申告書 with the certificates your insurers mailed in October and November (生命保険料, 地震保険料), plus iDeCo you pay from your own account and any national pension or health insurance you paid yourself.
- 住宅借入金等特別控除申告書 if this is the second or later year of a housing loan credit. The first year always needs a tax return.
- Joined mid-year? Hand in the 源泉徴収票 from your previous employer, or the adjustment will leave out that income and its tax.
Employers usually collect the forms in November. Because the 2026 changes only took effect on 1 December, the NTA has said forms reflecting them can be handed in before that date (NTA). If you miss the adjustment entirely, you can still claim everything with a tax return from February.
Deductions you can't claim through your employer, such as medical expenses or furusato nozei beyond five municipalities, need a return. Our furusato nozei guide explains the one-stop limit, and the iDeCo guide covers the contribution limits that change in December.
Nenmatsu chōsei questions
When do I get my nenmatsu chōsei refund?
Usually with your December salary, because your employer does the year-end adjustment when it pays your last salary of the year. If your December withholding isn't enough to cover the refund, the employer pays the rest from later months' withholding, so part of it can arrive in January.
Why is my 2026 refund bigger than last year's?
Because the 2026 tax reform raised the basic deduction and the employment income deduction floor for the whole of 2026, but only took effect on 1 December. Withholding from January to November used the old tables, so the year-end adjustment hands back the difference: about ¥8,200 for most salaries and up to ¥36,800 at around ¥6 million (PayMetric Labs' own modelled estimate).
Why does my refund look smaller than the calculator says?
Three common reasons. A large bonus or raise late in the year pushes up the final tax. Monthly withholding rounds and uses brackets, so it rarely matches an annual calculation exactly. And if you joined mid-year, your previous employer's 源泉徴収票 has to be included, or the adjustment won't use your full year's income.
Which forms do I submit?
Usually the 扶養控除等申告書 (dependants), the 基礎控除申告書 and, if they apply, the 配偶者控除等申告書 (spouse) and 特定親族特別控除申告書 (a child aged 19 to 22 with income), plus the 保険料控除申告書 for life and earthquake insurance, iDeCo you pay yourself and social insurance you paid separately. Many employers collect these online. The NTA allows forms reflecting the 2026 changes to be submitted before 1 December.
Who isn't covered by the year-end adjustment?
Anyone with salary over ¥20 million, anyone who left a job before the year end and wasn't re-employed, and the self-employed. You also need a tax return (確定申告) to claim medical expenses, the first year of a housing loan credit, or more than five furusato nozei donations. And if your last 2026 salary was paid before 1 December, your adjustment uses the old deductions, so file a return to get the 2026 increase.
Does nenmatsu chōsei change my resident tax?
Not directly. Resident tax for June 2027 onwards is calculated by your municipality from the 2026 figures your employer reports, and it has its own ¥430,000 basic deduction, which the reform didn't change. So the bigger refund is an income tax refund only.
I'm a foreign employee. Does any of this differ for me?
No, if you're a resident for tax purposes: the same adjustment applies. Dependants living abroad need documents proving the relationship and money sent to them. If you leave Japan permanently during the year, your employer does the adjustment when you leave, which may be before 1 December and therefore without the 2026 increase.
Methodology and limits
Rules come from the National Tax Agency's 令和8年度 reform pages, its Q&A on the 2026 year-end adjustment and Tax Answer No.1199, checked 5 October 2026.
Estimates are PayMetric Labs' own model: income tax plus the 2.1% reconstruction surtax for a single employee with Tokyo Kyokai Kenpo social insurance, rounded as the NTA rounds the annual tax. Withholding is approximated as the year's tax under the pre-reform rules, which is what the monthly tables were built on; real withholding rounds monthly and treats bonuses separately, so your refund can differ by a few thousand yen. This is general information, not tax advice.