2026 is a bumper year for subsidies on home EV charging in Japan. The national charging-infrastructure subsidy now covers, for the first time, installation of a charging outlet at detached houses with a flat 50,000 yen, and V2H (vehicle-to-home charge/discharge equipment) can receive up to 1.3 million yen for the unit and installation work combined. Tokyo adds its own top-up of up to 1 million yen for V2H. But the national V2H subsidy is first-come, first-served: as of August 4, 2026, the announced remaining budget was about 2.5 billion yen (a little under half of the roughly 5.5 billion yen allocated). It may run out before the September 30 deadline. We sort out the amounts, the application status, and the order of steps (work started before the grant decision is not eligible), based on primary sources as of August 2026.
The big picture: national plus local subsidies for "charging outlets" and "V2H"
Subsidies for home EV charging come in two layers: national and local government. The national scheme is the FY2025 (Reiwa 7) supplementary-budget "Subsidy for Promoting the Installation of Charging and Refueling Facilities to Popularize Clean Energy Vehicles" run by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (total 51 billion yen), with applications handled by the Next Generation Vehicle Promotion Center (NeV).
| Scheme | Subsidy amount | Application period (2026) |
|---|---|---|
| National: charging outlet for detached houses | Flat 50,000 yen | March 31 to September 30 (first-come, first-served) |
| National: V2H charge/discharge equipment | 1/2 of equipment cost (cap 750,000 yen) + installation cap 550,000 yen = up to 1.3 million yen | July 17 to September 30 (first-come, first-served; about 2.5 billion yen of budget remaining) |
| Tokyo: V2H | Full cost if you have both solar and an EV, cap 1 million yen (1/2, cap 500,000 yen, if only one) | Accepting applications until March 31, 2027 |
| Municipal examples | Saitama City 100,000 yen, Chiba City up to 250,000 yen, Nagoya City 50,000 yen, etc. | Varies by municipality |
National subsidies cannot be combined with each other, but combining national and local subsidies is often allowed, and some local governments, like Tokyo, design their schemes as top-ups on the assumption you use the national subsidy. This is separate from the subsidy for the EV itself (the CEV subsidy), so you can apply for both the vehicle and the equipment. For the vehicle-side schemes, see our guide to EV subsidies in all 47 prefectures.
National charging subsidy (1): a new flat 50,000 yen for outlet installation at detached houses
The biggest change in the FY2025 supplementary budget is that detached houses are now eligible. Until now, the national charging-infrastructure subsidy covered apartment buildings and business sites, but not individual detached homes. Citing people who "give up on buying an EV because they have no charging equipment at home," the government created a new flat 50,000 yen subsidy (budget 1.5 billion yen) for installing an outlet-type charger.
- Eligible: installing one new charging outlet of a model approved by the Center in the parking space of a detached house. If the total of equipment plus installation is below 50,000 yen, the actual amount is paid
- Application window: March 31, 2026, 5 p.m. to September 30, 5 p.m. First-come, first-served; applications close early if the budget is expected to be reached
- Key point on procedure: apply online for the grant, and you may not order or start work until after the grant decision (roughly one to two months after receipt). After completing and paying for the work, submit a results report (deadline January 29, 2027) to receive payment. You must keep the equipment for five years after installation
Installing a 200V outlet is said to cost from a few tens of thousands to somewhat over a hundred thousand yen in many cases, so even a flat 50,000 yen shrinks your out-of-pocket cost considerably. For apartment buildings (shared areas of condominiums, etc.) there is a separate category: cabled standard chargers with equipment caps of 250,000–350,000 yen plus installation caps of 950,000–1.35 million yen, and the former limit of "up to 20 charging points" has been abolished. That category is applied for by the building's management association and the like — it is not something an individual resident applies for alone for their own parking space.
National charging subsidy (2): V2H up to 1.3 million yen — about 2.5 billion yen of budget left
The national subsidy for V2H charge/discharge equipment (which charges the EV and can also feed power from the EV back to the house) is a popular category that has, in past years, run out of budget within days of opening. For 2026, about 5.5 billion yen was allocated in the FY2025 supplementary budget, and applications have been open since July 17. It has not closed.
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| Equipment cost | 1/2 subsidized (cap of 750,000 yen per approved model) |
| Installation cost | Fixed amounts, cap 550,000 yen |
| Total | Up to 1.3 million yen (private home) |
| Main requirements | Own or have ordered an EV, PHEV or fuel-cell vehicle (submit the vehicle registration by the results report) / one unit per installation / applicant's address must match the installation site |
| Application period | July 17 to September 30, 2026, 5 p.m.; first-come, first-served |
| Holding obligation | Five years (prior approval required to dispose of the equipment) |
Watch the remaining budget (announced August 4, 2026)
On August 4, the Next Generation Vehicle Promotion Center announced that the remaining budget for V2H charge/discharge equipment and external power-feeding devices had fallen to about 2.5 billion yen (of roughly 5.5 billion yen allocated). If cumulative applications reach the budget, acceptance ends before the September 30 deadline, and applications arriving on or after that date become invalid. If you have decided to install, bringing forward your quotes and paperwork is the safe move.
Note that the former Ministry of the Environment V2H subsidies (bundled with storage batteries, etc.) and the national DR home-battery subsidy have changed shape from year to year and budget to budget; as of August 2026, the national V2H support an individual can actually use has effectively been consolidated into this charging-infrastructure subsidy.
Tokyo: up to 1 million yen for V2H, plus its own support for charging equipment
Tokyo's FY2026 (Reiwa 8) V2H subsidy (administered by Cool Net Tokyo) is exceptionally generous even by national standards.
| Condition | Subsidy rate | Cap |
|---|---|---|
| You have both solar power and an EV/PHEV | Full equipment and installation cost (10/10) | 1 million yen |
| Only one of the two | 1/2 | 500,000 yen |
- Pre-applications opened on May 29, 2026; the combined grant application and results report is due by March 31, 2027, 5 p.m. (may close early if the budget is reached)
- Can be combined with the national subsidy. Tokyo calculates its grant on the eligible cost minus the national subsidy, so "1.3 million yen national + Tokyo" cuts your out-of-pocket cost dramatically
- Tokyo's procedure runs in the opposite order to the national one: complete the "pre-application" first, then sign the contract and install. Always check the latest guidelines for the details of the sequence
For the numbers and tax caveats when installing solar and batteries at the same time, see our guide to Tokyo's solar, battery and V2H subsidies. For Tokyo's subsidies on the EV itself, see the Tokyo EV subsidy guide.
Other municipal examples: top-ups of 50,000 to 250,000 yen
At the city and ward level, too, V2H and charging-equipment subsidies that can be combined with the national one are spreading. Amounts range from tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of yen, but "national + city" further reduces what you pay for the work.
| Municipality | Details (FY2026) |
|---|---|
| Saitama City | Up to 100,000 yen for V2H charge/discharge equipment. Applications June 1, 2026 to March 19, 2027 (ends when the budget is reached). The equipment must be registered as eligible for the national subsidy, and the two can be combined. Details in our Saitama Prefecture EV subsidy guide |
| Chiba City | Up to 250,000 yen for V2H alone, first-come, first-served. Our Chiba Prefecture EV subsidy guide covers the municipal schemes |
| Nagoya City | 50,000 yen per case for V2H under its housing decarbonization subsidy (grid connection with solar power required). The storage-battery category of the same scheme has already closed after reaching its budget — a typical example of how municipal budgets are small and run out fast |
To find your own municipality's scheme, search its official site for the municipality name plus "V2H subsidy," or browse our subsidy database.
Installation cost and electricity bills: with V2H, ask "what is it for," not just "does it pay for itself"
V2H comes with large subsidies but also a large price tag. The unit itself runs roughly 400,000 to 1.3 million yen and installation roughly 300,000 to 500,000 yen, so quotes in the range of 1 to 1.8 million yen total are common. If the national maximum of 1.3 million yen plus a municipal top-up applies, your own share can fall to a few hundred thousand yen — but it is honest to note that "recovering the cost quickly through electricity savings alone" is still not easy.
- Charging cost benchmark: with home 200V charging at a reference electricity rate of 31 yen/kWh and efficiency of 6 km/kWh, driving costs about 5 yen per km. With a cheap-overnight rate plan it drops further; in many cases it works out to roughly half the fuel cost of a gasoline car
- V2H savings effect: an EV battery (40–60 kWh class) is much larger than a home storage battery (5–15 kWh), so you can store surplus solar power in the EV by day and use it in the house at night. But round-trip charge/discharge is said to lose about 10–20% in conversion, and if the EV is not at home during the day you cannot store the solar power
- Backup for outages and disasters: a fully charged EV can cover several days of household electricity — hard to put a price on, but a major value
Who V2H suits
- You live in a detached house with solar power (or will install it at the same time)
- The EV is often at home on weekday daytimes, e.g. because you work from home
- You value having a power source in outages and disasters
- You can install while both national and local subsidies are available
Who it does not suit
- You live in an apartment building (individual V2H installation is effectively impractical; realistic charging is shared equipment installed by the management association)
- You mostly charge away from home, at work or shopping centers, and barely use home charging
- The EV is away commuting every weekday daytime (you cannot store solar power in it)
- Your top priority is recovering the upfront cost (starting with standard charging via the 50,000 yen outlet subsidy is more rational)
We do not compare specific makers or models here. Only models approved by the Center are eligible, so always start your model selection from the published list of eligible models.
Application flow and pitfalls: "starting work before the grant decision" is the biggest trap
Here is the basic flow of the national charging-infrastructure subsidy (common to detached-house outlets and V2H).
- Get quotes and secure funds: confirm the model is on the eligible list, and prepare itemized quotes for the equipment and the work
- Apply online for the grant: via the Next Generation Vehicle Promotion Center's application system. Submit ID documents, quotes, pre-work photos and so on
- Wait for the grant decision: roughly one to two months from a complete application. You must not order or start work during this period
- After the grant decision, order, install and pay: payment is by bank transfer in principle (one-time credit-card payment allowed; loans and installments not allowed)
- Results report, then the subsidy is paid: report within about 30 days of completion (the detached-house outlet deadline is January 29, 2027). A five-year holding obligation follows
Where people stumble
- Work done first is not eligible: orders or construction started before the grant decision date are not covered (national scheme). Tokyo is the reverse — "pre-application before contracting" comes first. The national and Tokyo rules on sequence differ, so when combining them, plan both schedules together
- First-come, first-served and budget exhaustion: V2H had about 2.5 billion yen left as of August 4. Municipal budgets are small; mid-year closures like Nagoya City's storage-battery category are entirely normal
- Five-year holding obligation: disposing of or selling the equipment within the period requires prior approval, and you may be asked to repay the subsidy. The EV vehicle subsidy has a similar repayment rule (see our article on the EV subsidy four-year repayment rule)
- Tax treatment: subsidies received by an individual are, in principle, "occasional income" (ichiji shotoku). Combined with other occasional income, amounts exceeding the 500,000 yen annual special deduction can become taxable. In a year when national + Tokyo + city subsidies stack up to a large sum, check whether you need to file a tax return
What to do today
What to do today
- Check the Next Generation Vehicle Promotion Center's "list of eligible models" to confirm the outlet or V2H unit you are considering is covered (do not place the order yet)
- If installing V2H, check the latest remaining budget on the Center's website and, working back from September 30, schedule your quote requests within this week
- Search your municipality's name plus "V2H subsidy" or "charging equipment subsidy" for top-up schemes, and note whether they can be combined with the national one and their application status
FAQ
Q. Can I use the subsidies if I live in a rental or a condominium?
A. The flat 50,000 yen outlet subsidy is for detached houses. Apartment buildings have a separate category applied for by the management association and the like (equipment caps of 250,000–350,000 yen plus installation caps of 950,000–1.35 million yen); it is not a scheme an individual resident applies for alone. The realistic first step is to ask your management association or building owner to consider using the national subsidy.
Q. I have already ordered the charger installation work. Can I still apply?
A. The national subsidy requires that ordering and construction start on or after the grant decision date, so work ordered or started before the grant decision is not eligible. Separate work that has not yet started (for example, a V2H unit you are about to install) can still be covered if you follow the sequence from the grant application onward.
Q. Until when can I apply for the national V2H subsidy?
A. The deadline is September 30, 2026, 5 p.m., but it is first-come, first-served, and the announced remaining budget as of August 4 was about 2.5 billion yen. Once the budget is reached, acceptance ends even before the deadline and applications arriving on or after that date become invalid, so applying early is the safe course.
Q. Can national and Tokyo/city subsidies be combined?
A. National subsidies cannot be stacked with each other, but combining national and local subsidies is often allowed. Tokyo's V2H subsidy can be combined with the national one, with Tokyo's grant calculated after deducting the national amount. Some municipalities (such as Saitama City) require the equipment to be eligible for the national subsidy, so check each municipality's conditions.
References (sources)
* The amounts and application statuses in this article are based on information published as of August 2026. Subsidies may close without notice once budgets are reached, and equipment prices, installation costs and electricity rates are rough estimates. For individual eligibility and tax decisions, consult the administering bodies, your municipality, the tax office or a professional.