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HomeTax Return (Kakutei Shinkoku)Housing Loan Tax Deduction (First-Year Tax Return)

Housing Loan Tax Deduction (First-Year Tax Return)

If you took out a housing loan to buy or build your home, 0.7% of your outstanding loan balance at year-end can be deducted from your income tax. The first year requires a tax return. From year 2, salaried employees hand the certificates sent by the tax office and their lender to their employer and claim it through the year-end adjustment. Freelancers, the self-employed, and those with rental income must keep filing a tax return.

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Documents needed

Statement of calculation for the housing loan special tax credit (generated automatically in the e-Tax filing corner)
Certificate of registered matters / toki jiko shomeisho (from the Legal Affairs Bureau)
Copy of purchase agreement or construction contract
Year-end loan balance certificate (sent by your lender)
Withholding tax certificate (for salary earners - you no longer attach or present it with the return, but you need it to fill the return in)
My Number card or number confirmation document + identity verification document
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Steps

1

In January–February of the year after purchase, your lender will mail you the year-end loan balance certificate

2

Obtain a certificate of registered matters from the Legal Affairs Bureau (online application available)

3

In the e-Tax filing corner, select 'Housing Loan Special Tax Credit' and enter the required details

4

Submit your tax return between February 16 and March 15

5

From year 2, salaried employees give their employer two documents for the year-end adjustment: the special deduction certificate and application form sent by the tax office, and the year-end loan balance certificate from their lender. Freelancers, the self-employed, and those with rental income must keep claiming through a tax return

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Important notes

The deduction period depends on the type of home and the year you moved in (13 years at most). For an 'other' home - one that is neither a certified home, a ZEH-level energy-saving home, nor an energy-standard-compliant home - occupied between 2024 and 2030, the period is in principle 0 years. Only homes that received building confirmation by December 31, 2023 or were built by June 30, 2024 qualify, for 10 years with a maximum credit of 140,000 yen a year

The deduction is not available in any year your total income exceeds ¥20 million

The home must have a floor area of at least 50 square metres, judged by the figure on the certificate of registered matters, with at least half of it used solely as your own residence. Homes of 40 to under 50 square metres also qualify, but only if your total income is 10 million yen or less

Conditions differ for pre-owned homes and renovations — check the NTA website for details

Don't forget the year-end adjustment procedure from year 2 onward — your employer will ask for the balance certificate each October–November

You must move in within 6 months of the home being built or acquired and still be living there on December 31 of each year you claim. The loan must be repayable over 10 years or more, and loans from relatives or friends do not qualify

Official info verified: 2026-09-10 / Source: nta.go.jp
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