How to Check Your Furusato Nozei Deduction: Reading the Resident Tax Notice

When the tax comes back

Furusato nozei doesn't come back as money paid into your account. Most of it comes back as lower resident tax in the following fiscal year. For donations made from January to December 2026, the schedule is as follows.

The year of a donation is decided by the settlement date for credit cards and the deposit date for bank transfers. If you apply on the night of December 31 but it's settled or deposited in the new year, the donation counts for the following year. For when and how income and resident tax are calculated, see also how income and resident tax are calculated.

Which field to check on the resident tax notice

Employees receive the resident tax notice (the notice of special collection tax amount) from their employer around May or June. The furusato nozei deduction appears in the tax credit field (zeigaku kojo gaku), split between municipal and prefectural tax. Some municipalities list it separately in the remarks column as the donation tax credit (kifukin zeigaku kojo gaku).

• Besides furusato nozei, the tax credit field also includes the adjustment deduction (around 2,500 yen for many employees) and the housing loan deduction
• Municipal and prefectural tax are split about 6 to 4 (8 to 2 if you live in a designated city), so add the two together
• With the one-stop exception, the deduction has been applied if total tax credit − adjustment deduction − housing loan deduction ≈ donation − 2,000 yen
• With a tax return, the amount deducted from resident tax is donation − 2,000 yen − income tax refund. Check whether it adds up to donation − 2,000 yen when combined with the income tax refund

Example: 5 million yen income, 50,000-yen donation

Take a single employee with an income of 5 million yen who donated 50,000 yen in 2026 using the one-stop exception. Without furusato nozei, fiscal 2027 resident tax would be 238,300 yen on income plus 5,000 yen in per capita tax and other charges, for 243,300 yen, or about 20,000 yen a month.

Dividing the 47,999-yen deduction by 12 months means your monthly deduction from pay falls by about 4,000 yen. Fractions under 100 yen in the actual monthly amount are gathered into June, so it's normal for June alone to differ. With a tax return, 4,900 yen of income tax is refunded in spring 2027, and 43,099 yen (about 3,600 yen a month) is deducted from resident tax.

Why the deduction may be missing and how to fix it

If the tax credit is lower than expected, or the furusato nozei portion isn't included, these are the common causes.

• Your one-stop application didn't arrive by January 10, or the My Number documents were incomplete
• You filed a tax return for something like a medical deduction but didn't list furusato nozei as a donation deduction (the one-stop exception becomes invalid)
• You donated to 6 or more municipalities but relied only on the one-stop exception
• You moved after applying but didn't send a change of address notice to the municipalities you donated to
• A year-end donation counted for the next year because of its settlement date
• You donated beyond your limit, and the excess simply isn't deducted

1. 1

   If you haven't filed a tax return

   File a tax return (refund return) claiming the donation deduction, including any donations that missed the one-stop deadline. Refund returns can be filed for up to 5 years.

2. 2

   If you forgot it on your tax return

   Submit a request for correction to the tax office to add the donation deduction. This is also available up to 5 years from the filing deadline.

3. 3

   If your filing was correct but isn't reflected

   Contact the resident tax section of your municipality with your notice and donation receipts at hand.

Work out your expected deduction with the simulator

To compare with the resident tax notice, the quickest way is to know in advance how much should be deducted. In the "Calculate from donation" tab of the Furusato Nozei Deduction Limit Simulator, enter your income and total donations for the year to see a table of the income tax refund (or the resident tax special filing deduction), the resident tax basic and special portions, and when each comes back.

Note down the breakdown with "Copy result", and when the notice arrives the following June you can check it straight away. The difference between the one-stop exception and a tax return is covered in the one-stop exception vs a tax return, and how your monthly take-home pay changes in how to calculate take-home pay.

FAQ

Where on the resident tax notice do I check the furusato nozei deduction?

In the tax credit field (zeigaku kojo gaku). It's split between municipal and prefectural tax, so add both. With the one-stop exception, the deduction has been applied if the amount, excluding the adjustment and housing loan deductions, is close to donation − 2,000 yen. Some municipalities show the donation tax credit in the remarks column.

When does the furusato nozei tax come back?

With the one-stop exception, it comes back as lower resident tax from June of the year after your donation through May of the year after that. With a tax return, part of your income tax is refunded about a month after filing, and the rest is deducted from resident tax from the following June in the same way.

Is no income tax refunded with the one-stop exception?

That's right. What would have come back through income tax is instead deducted from resident tax all together as the special filing deduction, so the total tax returned is almost the same as with a tax return.

If the deduction wasn't applied, can I get it back later?

Yes. If you didn't file a tax return, submit a refund return. If you forgot furusato nozei on your tax return, submit a request for correction. Either way, you can claim the donation deduction within 5 years.