Housing Loan Credit, Year Two: ¥210,000 via Your Employer

The short answer: in year two, give your employer the tax office form plus the balance certificate; under the statement method, the balance certificate is not needed

Sources: NTA FAQ on the statement method, Q1 and Q2[NTA, in Japanese]; NTA leaflet on when the credit certificate is issued (September 2026)[NTA, in Japanese].

The tax office's "credit certificate and application form" arrives with all later years bundled

Once you file the first-year tax return, the tax office sends you the form for the year-end adjustment. Its full name is the "credit certificate for the year-end adjustment, combined with the employee's housing loan credit application form". The top half is the tax office's certificate and the bottom half is where you fill in your claim.

• Paper: the forms for year two onward arrive together by post, around late November of year two under the statement method and around late October under the certificate method
• Electronic: each year in your e-Tax message box, around mid-November under the statement method and around October under the certificate method
• Take the sheet for the current year from the bundle, and keep the rest for later years
• If your employer cannot accept electronic data, the NTA "QR-code certificate system" prints it on paper

Source: NTA leaflet on when the credit certificate is issued[NTA, in Japanese]; NTA guide to the 2026 year-end adjustment, p. 29[NTA, in Japanese].

Under the statement method, paper or electronic makes a difference from year three. In the paper bundle, the balance and expected credit are printed only on the year-two sheet. From year three you copy them yourself from the repayment schedule. To have them printed every year, give blanket consent to electronic issue on e-Tax, roughly by the end of October of the year you want it for[NTA FAQ, Q17 and Q17-6, in Japanese].

Who can skip the balance certificate? Moving in after 2023 is not enough on its own

The "statement method", which removes the balance certificate, is not decided by the move-in year alone. It works only when your lender has switched and you have applied.

On paper, the law covers people who moved in on or after 1 January 2023 (Reiwa 5). But lenders' systems were not ready, so a transitional measure applies to every lender. In practice, lenders that have finished the work are switching one by one for people who moved in on or after 1 January 2024[NTA FAQ, Q1, in Japanese].

Under the statement method, from year two the lender sends your year-end balance to the tax office by 31 October each year[NTA FAQ, Q7, in Japanese]. So no balance certificate comes from the lender. Before panicking that "the certificate didn't come this year", check your lender's notice.

Filling in the form: write the smaller of 0.7% of the year-end balance and the credit cap

You fill in boxes 1 to 6 in the bottom half. The home type, purchase price, residential share, joint-liability share and caps are already printed in the top half by the tax office. On the form for move-ins from 2022, four columns run across (A building only, B land only, C building and land, D renovation); write in the column circled under "breakdown of the loan" on the balance certificate. Most people who borrowed for the house and land together use column C.

1. Box 1: copy the year-end balance. Under the certificate method, copy it from the balance certificate; under the statement method, check the printed figure. With two or more lenders, include them all, and write any joint-liability portion in the brackets as well.
2. Box 2: make it your own share. A sole loan goes in as is. For joint liability, multiply by the "joint-liability share" printed in the top half.
3. Box 3: compare with the purchase price. Write the lower of box 2 and the printed "acquisition cost".
4. Box 4: apply the residential share. If the whole home is your residence, it is 100% and equals box 3. For a home with a shop, multiply by the printed ratio.
5. Box 5: compare with the cap. If the total of box 4 exceeds the printed "maximum ¥__ million", write the cap.
6. Box 6: multiply by 0.7% and drop anything under ¥100. If it exceeds the printed "maximum ¥__", write the cap.

Source: NTA sample application for the housing loan credit and calculation statement, 2026[NTA, in Japanese].

In "estimated annual income" to the right of box 5, write your expected total income for the year. Under the statement method, write something like "borrowing from a lender using the statement method" in the remarks box. Below the certificate section, "(Reference) credit for the first year" is a ceiling: no later year's credit should exceed it. If box 6 comes out higher, suspect a copying error.

People who moved in during 2021 or earlier use a different layout, and the rate is 1%. In the NTA samples, the 2018 move-in form uses "box 14 = box 11 × 1%" and the 2021 form "box 8 = box 5 × 1%".

* Homes of 40 to under 50 square metres require total income of ¥10M or less. Second-hand homes and renovations have different caps and periods. Some 2022 move-ins covered by the contract-date special rule get 1% for 13 years. For 13-year credits of people who moved in by 2021, from year 11 the credit is the lower of the normal amount and the building price (excluding tax) × 2% ÷ 3. The fiscal 2026 reform revised only move-ins from 2026; the rate, cap and period for those who moved in by 2025 are unchanged. Sources: NTA No.1211-1[NTA, in Japanese] and No.1212[NTA, in Japanese].

* The ¥120,000 income tax and ¥2.5 million taxable income are assumptions for illustration. Caps from NTA No.1211-1[NTA, in Japanese]; resident tax cap from the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications[MIC, in Japanese].

You do not need to file anything with your city for the resident tax part. Once the income tax step is done, it flows through automatically from your employer's salary report[MIC, in Japanese]. The credit comes back as a refund in your December or January pay. See when and how much the year-end adjustment refunds for the timing.

Joint liability and pair loans: the credit is split by each spouse's burden and ownership share

When a couple borrows, the amount each can claim depends on how the loan is set up. Either way, do not add both into one person's form.

• Pair loan: two separate loans. Each spouse claims on their own balance, and each receives their own papers
• Joint liability (rentai saimu): one loan owed by both. Each spouse's amount comes from the agreed burden ratio and their share of the home

Under joint liability, write the full year-end balance in box 1 and your share (balance × joint-liability share) in box 2. In the NTA's 2026 sample, a ¥39.5 million balance with a 50% share gives ¥19.75 million in box 2 and a ¥138,200 credit (¥138,250 rounded down to the nearest ¥100)[NTA sample, in Japanese]. Forms for people who moved in during 2019 or later have the share printed. If yours does not, the other joint debtor writes in the remarks box "As a joint debtor, I am responsible for ¥__ of the loan balance of ¥__", with their address and name (and, if employed, their employer's address and name)[NTA year-end adjustment guide, p. 33, in Japanese].

In the NTA example, a couple borrowed ¥40 million jointly, owned the home half each, and split the burden 6:4 (husband:wife). The husband can claim ¥20 million and the wife ¥16 million. Of the ¥24 million the husband bears, the ¥4 million beyond his own share does not count[NTA Q&A example, in Japanese].

The burden ratio must be set reasonably in line with income. The pros and cons of each setup are compared in pair loans: benefits and risks.

Forgot to submit, or lost the certificate? A tax return lets you go back 5 years

Missing the year-end adjustment does not end your right to the credit. You can claim it in the next tax return.

• Balance certificate came late: if it arrives by 31 January of the next year, your employer can redo the year-end adjustment[NTA Q&A example, in Japanese]
• Later than that, or forgotten: claim it in the next tax return. A return only to get a refund can be filed for 5 years from 1 January of the following year[NTA No.2030, in Japanese]
• Lost the credit certificate and form: file a "request for issue" with the tax office for a replacement. It can go by e-Tax or on paper, with no deadline[NTA A1-39, in Japanese]
• Lost the balance certificate: ask your lender to reissue it

Who it does not suit, and the traps: job changes, prepayments and high-income years

In the years below, you either cannot take the credit through the year-end adjustment, or it gets reversed later.

• You left a job mid-year and have no employer at year-end: you are outside the year-end adjustment. Claim it in the next tax return
• You changed jobs mid-year: the new employer you are with at year-end can do it. Hand in the previous employer's withholding slip along with the credit certificate and form[NTA No.2665, in Japanese]
• A prepayment shortened the repayment period: you can continue if the first to last repayment month still spans 10 years or more. From the year it falls under 10 years, the credit stops[NTA Q&A example, in Japanese]
• Total income for the year may exceed ¥20 million: no credit for that year. For move-ins in 2021 or earlier the line is ¥30 million, and for homes of 40-50 square metres ¥10 million[NTA No.1211-1, in Japanese]
• You do not live in the home at year-end: living there until 31 December is a condition. If you work away and your family stays in the home, you still qualify. If the whole family moves out, submit a "notice of not residing due to a transfer order" and the unused forms to the tax office by the day you move out, and you can take the credit for the remaining period from the year you move back[NTA No.1234, in Japanese]
• Refinancing increased the loan: if the new loan's original amount exceeds the balance just before refinancing, write "year-end balance × balance just before refinancing ÷ new loan's original amount" in box 1. Even under the statement method, the balance is not printed after refinancing[NTA year-end adjustment guide, p. 31, in Japanese]

A large "term-shortening" prepayment can easily push you under the 10-year line. A smaller balance also means a smaller credit, so compare the interest saved with the credit lost first. The full procedure for a job-change year is in the year-end adjustment in a year you changed jobs, and living apart for work is covered in job transfers and the housing loan credit.

For the overall system, see the housing loan credit guide.

Summary

• Company employees can claim the deduction through year-end adjustment from the second year onward. What to submit to your employer is the tax office's deduction certificate/application form and the financial institution's year-end balance certificate.
• Those who moved in from January 2024 onward, where the lender used the statement-filing method and submitted an application for application, do not need the balance certificate.
• The deduction is 0.7% of the year-end balance (1% for move-ins in 2021 or earlier), so ¥30 million gives ¥210,000. Any amount that cannot be fully offset against income tax can be deducted from the following year's resident tax, up to a maximum of ¥97,500.
• Even if you miss the year-end adjustment deadline, you can claim it retroactively through a tax return filed within 5 years.
• You cannot claim the deduction in a year where early repayment shortens the remaining loan term to under 10 years, or where total income exceeds ¥20 million.

Reference links (sources)

• NTA No.1211-1, new homes occupied from 2022 (in Japanese) - rate, caps and the procedure from year two
• NTA No.1212, new homes occupied by 2021 (in Japanese) - rate and caps for earlier move-ins
• NTA sample application for the housing loan credit and calculation statement, 2026 (in Japanese)
• NTA, how to do the 2026 year-end adjustment (in Japanese) - pp. 29-34
• NTA FAQ on the year-end balance statement method (in Japanese)
• NTA, the statement method for the housing loan credit (in Japanese) - with a link to the list of lenders
• NTA, when the credit certificate for the year-end adjustment is issued, September 2026 (in Japanese)
• NTA FAQ on linking year-end balance data via the My Number Portal, 17 September 2026 (in Japanese)
• NTA, claiming the housing loan credit in the year-end adjustment (in Japanese) - filled-in example
• NTA A1-39, requesting the credit documents for the year-end adjustment (in Japanese)
• NTA Q&A example, repayment period after a prepayment (in Japanese)
• NTA Q&A example, loans under joint liability for a co-owned home (in Japanese)
• NTA Q&A example, when the balance certificate is late for the year-end adjustment (in Japanese)
• NTA No.2030, refund returns (in Japanese)
• NTA No.1234, job transfers and the housing loan credit (in Japanese)
• Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, the housing loan credit in resident tax (in Japanese)
• Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, housing loan tax relief (in Japanese) - the 2026 reform, including the extended move-in deadline

This article is general information. For your own case, check with your employer's payroll staff, the tax office or a licensed tax accountant.