This is a translation of the Japanese original. The Japanese version is authoritative; figures follow Japanese tax law.
As far as we could confirm, only three cities subsidise the removal cost itself: Ota, Urayasu and Ichikawa. The ceilings are ¥200,000, ¥150,000 and up to ¥440,000 in that order, and only graves in that city's own municipal cemetery qualify. Most of the money that actually comes back is a partial "refund" of the usage fee when you return a plot in a public cemetery. The tax side is more surprising: you can pay ¥500,000 to close a family grave (墓じまい) and your inheritance tax will not fall by even one yen. Start by checking which cemetery your family grave sits in.
The short answer: only three cities pay for removal, the rest refund the usage fee
| Type | What you get | Municipalities confirmed |
|---|---|---|
| Direct subsidy for removal | Actual cost paid up to a ceiling | Ota[Ota City] / Urayasu[Urayasu City] / Ichikawa[Ichikawa City] |
| Refund of the usage fee | Part of the fee you paid comes back | Akashi, Shimonoseki, Gifu, Kobayashi, Izumiotsu, Ichikawa and others |
| The new resting place costs nothing | No usage fee for a communal burial facility. Removal is at your own cost | Tokyo Metropolitan cemeteries[Tokyo Cemetery Ordinance] / Urayasu |
| States plainly that nothing exists | Official answer: no subsidy and no refund | Yokohama[Yokohama City] / Kobe / Niihama / Kyoto Prefecture |
Checked on the official pages of each municipality in September 2026. We could not confirm Maebashi, Chiba and other cities that appear on aggregator sites.
Behind all this is a simple municipal interest: no city wants to be left with abandoned graves. Reburials (改葬) hit a record 176,105 cases in fiscal 2024, of which 3,006 involved graves with no one left to tend them[MHLW Report on Public Health Administration and Services].
The three cities with a direct subsidy: only that city's own municipal cemetery qualifies
Ota City's guidance closes the door in one line: "the cost of removing a headstone in any other cemetery is not eligible"[Ota City]. What matters is not the city you live in but the cemetery the grave stands in. We could not confirm any subsidy aimed at temple graveyards or private cemeteries.
| Municipality | Eligible cemetery | Amount | Main conditions |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ota City, Gunma | Hachiojiyama Park Cemetery | The lower of the actual cost and ¥200,000 | No unpaid management fees. Prayers and memorial services are excluded |
| Urayasu City, Chiba | Cemetery Park: standard plots of 3.0 m2 and small plots of 1.5 m2 | Up to ¥150,000 | Show the original estimate. The decision is notified on the 1st or the 15th of the following month |
| Ichikawa City, Chiba | General plots at Ichikawa City Cemetery | ¥75,000 to ¥440,000 by plot size | Restore the plot to bare ground. Photos before and after plus receipts. Counter applications only |
Ichikawa City stopped taking applications this year. On 22 May it posted that "applications have closed because the budget has been reached", and reopened on 16 September once a supplementary budget was approved[Ichikawa City]. A subsidy is not a question of whether it exists, but of whether money is left in this year's purse.
- A holder with no successor can move to a communal burial facility. Article 20-2(3) of the ordinance provides that "no usage fee shall be collected for the communal burial facility after the change"[Tokyo Cemetery Ordinance].
- Removal, however, is not paid for. The Tokyo Metropolitan Park Association states plainly that "the cost of restoring the plot to bare ground is borne by the holder"[Tokyo Metropolitan Park Association].
Return a plot in a public cemetery and part of the usage fee comes back
This is where the money actually is. At a private cemetery the perpetual usage fee is normally not returned, and the Tokyo consumer advice centre says the same[Tokyo Metropolitan Consumer Affairs Centre]. Refunds in public cemeteries are the exception.
| Municipality | Condition | Share refunded |
|---|---|---|
| Akashi City, Hyogo | Returned within 5 years of the permit | Half of the usage fee and the management fee[Akashi City] |
| Shimonoseki City, Yamaguchi | Whole plot returned within 3 years of the permit without a headstone built | 50% of the usage fee and 60% of the perpetual management fee[Shimonoseki City] |
| Gifu City, Gifu | At the time you file the return | One third of the usage fee[Gifu City] |
| Kobayashi City, Miyazaki | Returned with no headstone erected | 80% within 1 year, 50% within 3 years[Kobayashi City] |
| Izumiotsu City, Osaka | Returned after restoring the plot | 50% under 15 years, 30% under 30 years[Izumiotsu City Ordinance] |
| Ichikawa City, Chiba | Returned unused within 3 years of the permit / any other case | One half / one quarter of the usage fee[Ichikawa City] |
Refunds are designed to be generous to people who hand the plot back before using it. Where a stone has stood for decades, the refund tends to be zero or small. Tomakomai City, for example, limits refunds to returns within two years[Tomakomai City].
The law requires only two attachments for a reburial permit
Moving remains requires a reburial permit. You apply not to the destination but to the municipality where the remains currently are[e-Gov, Cemeteries and Burial Act, Article 5]. The remains cannot be interred until the permit is issued.
- Agree it with the family and relatives. Objections stop the work.
- Decide where the remains will go. Secure a communal grave or an ossuary first.
- Apply for the reburial permit. At the counter of the municipality where the remains are.
- Receive the permit. Not always same-day: Kuwana City says "about one week"[Kuwana City].
- Remove the headstone. A municipal cemetery also requires an application to approve the works.
- Move the remains and return the plot. The subsidy application comes after the plot is restored.
- The enforcement regulation requires only two documents: a certificate of interment or storage issued by the cemetery manager, and a letter of consent where the applicant is not the plot holder[e-Gov, enforcement regulation, Article 2].
- A certificate of acceptance is simply what many municipalities ask for as a "document the mayor considers particularly necessary". Gifu City states plainly that "you do not need to present one"[Gifu City].
- The fee is free in Kyoto and Yokohama and ¥300 in Echizen[Echizen City]. It is not uniform across the country.
Work back to a removal cost from the municipal subsidy ceilings
No public document sets out a market rate for removal or for a temple withdrawal fee (離檀料). What you can use instead is the ceiling Ichikawa City sets for each plot size, because that is what the administration believes the work costs.
| Plot | Subsidy ceiling |
|---|---|
| Ichikawa City, standard plot, 2.5 m2 | ¥210,000 |
| Ichikawa City, standard plot, 12.0 m2 | ¥440,000 |
| Ichikawa City, lawn plot, 1.5 to 4.0 m2 | ¥75,000 each |
Source: Ichikawa City's subsidy page. If a quote runs well above this level, you are entitled to ask what justifies it.
The cost at the destination is also published where it is public. Niiza City's communal grave charges ¥154,260 per set of remains, with nothing payable afterwards[Niiza City].
What you cannot read in advance is the temple withdrawal fee. The National Consumer Affairs Centre has received complaints such as "when I asked our family temple about closing the grave, they demanded a large withdrawal fee. There is no rule setting it and the basis for the demand is unclear"[National Consumer Affairs Centre].
Grave-related complaints stayed high at 1,077 cases in fiscal 2025. If you are not satisfied, call the consumer hotline on 188.
Pay ¥500,000 to close a grave and inheritance tax does not fall by one yen
The National Tax Agency lists "expenses incurred to purchase a headstone or a grave plot" among the items that are not funeral expenses[NTA No.4129]. If even the purchase cost is excluded, there is no room for the removal cost of a reburial to count. Deduction for debts does not help either: only debts that existed at the time of death can be subtracted[NTA No.4126].
Money that does cut inheritance tax
- A grave plot or headstone bought with cash while alive. It is exempt property under Article 12(1)(ii) of the Inheritance Tax Act[NTA No.4108]
- Burial and interment costs paid at the time of the funeral or before it
Money that does not cut inheritance tax
- Removal costs, temple withdrawal fees and perpetual memorial fees paid when closing a grave after the inheritance
- An unpaid balance on a grave bought while alive. Debts relating to exempt property cannot be deducted
- Assumption: a household whose taxable estate exceeds the basic deduction and whose marginal inheritance tax rate is 20%
- If you do not buy: ¥2,000,000 in cash x 20% = ¥400,000 of inheritance tax
- If you buy with cash while alive: it becomes exempt property, so inheritance tax is ¥0
- If you die with the bill unpaid: the cash is taxed and the unpaid amount cannot be deducted, so the effect is ¥0
The words "closing a grave" and "reburial" do not appear in the National Tax Agency's materials. The table above is this site applying No.4129, No.4126 and Basic Circular on the Inheritance Tax Act 13-5.
The rule of thumb is simple: if you are going to buy, pay in full while you are alive. On moving assets during your lifetime, see the seven-year add-back calendar for lifetime gifts; for the procedures after a death, see the money roadmap after a parent dies.
The subsidy is occasional income, and the ¥500,000 special deduction usually leaves the tax at zero
Occasional income (一時所得) carries a special deduction of up to ¥500,000, and no tax arises unless the year's total exceeds it[NTA No.1490]. Even ¥440,000, the full Ichikawa ceiling, is neither taxed nor reportable on its own[NTA, Q&A on occasional income]. A refund of the usage fee is a return of money you paid, so it is not income in the first place.
- A year with only the ¥440,000 subsidy: ¥440,000 - ¥500,000 < 0, so occasional income is ¥0 and the tax is ¥0
- A year that also brings a ¥300,000 gain on a maturing policy: 440,000 + 300,000 - 500,000 = ¥240,000
- Half of it is added to total income: ¥240,000 x 1/2 = ¥120,000
- At 20% income tax and 10% resident tax, ¥120,000 x 30% = about ¥36,000 more to pay
No National Tax Agency material names a grave-closing subsidy as occasional income. This is an application of the treatment used for housing grants and similar payments. For the insurance side of the calculation, see tax on maturing insurance proceeds and surrender values.
The rule that makes a subsidy tax-free is not available here. The scheme that lets you leave a national subsidy out of gross revenue is limited to the acquisition or improvement of fixed assets[NTA No.2202]. Temple withdrawal fees and offerings are outside the donation deduction as well: religious corporations are not among the bodies listed as recipients of qualifying donations[NTA No.1150].
Three things to do next. Check the required documents with the municipality where the grave is. If it is a municipal cemetery, ask the cemetery office about the refund and whether subsidy money is left. And if you are buying a grave, pay it off while you are alive.
Frequently asked questions (subsidies and tax)
If the city I live in has no subsidy, can I not receive anything?
It is decided by the cemetery the grave sits in, not the city you live in. The subsidies in the three cities are only for people returning a plot in that city's own municipal cemetery. We could not confirm any subsidy for temple graveyards or private cemeteries.
Can I deduct the cost of closing a grave from inheritance tax?
No. Funeral expenses mean burial and interment costs paid at the time of the funeral or before it, and a reburial is not included. It is not a debt that existed when the inheritance opened either, so the deduction for debts does not apply.
Do I have to file a return if I receive the subsidy?
If your occasional income for the year totals ¥500,000 or less, the tax is zero and no return is needed. Note that life insurance maturity proceeds or surrender values received in the same year are added together with it.
Is a certificate of acceptance always required for a reburial application?
The national regulation requires only two documents: the certificate of interment or storage, and a letter of consent where the applicant is not the plot holder. A certificate of acceptance is not mandatory, and Gifu City states plainly that it is unnecessary. Practice differs by municipality, so check at the counter first.
Reference links (sources)
- Ota City, Hachiojiyama Park Cemetery - removal subsidy capped at ¥200,000
- Urayasu City, support scheme for plot returns - subsidy capped at ¥150,000
- Ichikawa City, general plot return promotion scheme - ceilings by plot
- Tokyo Metropolitan Park Association, facility change scheme - restoration is at your own cost
- Enforcement Regulation of the Cemeteries and Burial Act - attachments
- NTA No.4129, funeral expenses - what is excluded
- NTA No.1490, occasional income - the ¥500,000 special deduction
- National Consumer Affairs Centre, graves and funeral services - complaints about withdrawal fees
Municipal schemes change every fiscal year and close once the budget is used up. Check the latest page before applying.
