AllSetGo
HomeTax Return (Kakutei Shinkoku)Medical Expense Deduction

Medical Expense Deduction

From the medical expenses you paid during the calendar year for yourself and a spouse or relative in the same household, subtract any insurance reimbursements and 100,000 yen (or 5 percent of your total income if that comes to less than 2 million yen for the year). The remainder, up to 2 million yen, is deductible from your taxable income. You claim it with your tax return.

💡

Showing common documents only

Complete the situation questionnaire to see a personalized document list for your visa type and employment status

See the documents you need (3 questions · 1 min)
📋

Documents needed

Medical expense receipts (or medical expense notice issued by your health insurance union)
Medical expense deduction statement (auto-generated in e-Tax filing corner)
🗂️

Steps

1

Collect all medical receipts for the year and calculate the total (including family members)

2

If your health insurance union sent you a 'medical expense notice', you can use it in place of individual receipts

3

Enter the total in the 'Medical Expense Deduction' section of the e-Tax filing corner

4

Submit it with your tax return (keep the receipts at home: you may be asked to show or hand them in until 5 years after the filing deadline)

⚠️

Important notes

Deductible expenses include payments for consultations and treatment and medicines needed for treatment. Health check-up fees, gratuities to doctors, and medicines taken for prevention or general health such as vitamins are in principle not deductible

Any amounts reimbursed by insurance must be subtracted from your total

The self-medication tax scheme is for people who had a health check-up, vaccination, or similar during the year. The deduction is the total spent on switch-OTC medicines minus 12,000 yen, capped at 88,000 yen. You choose it instead of the regular medical expense deduction - the two cannot be combined

A 'medical expense notice' from your health insurance union can substitute for individual receipts

Travel costs to and from treatment are deductible when you use public transport. Petrol and parking for your own car are not, and taxi fares are excluded too unless public transport is unavailable

Official info verified: 2026-09-10 / Source: nta.go.jp
See the documents you need (3 questions · 1 min)