Japan Pension Deduction Certificate 2026: When It Arrives

This is an English translation of our Japanese article. Rules and figures may change; the Japanese version and official sources are authoritative. For individual matters, ask the Japan Pension Service, your employer's payroll staff or a tax office.

The Japan Pension Service (Nihon Nenkin Kiko) sends a "Social Insurance Premium (National Pension Premium) Deduction Certificate" (shakai hokenryo kojo shomeisho) to everyone who paid national pension premiums in 2026. If you paid any premium between January and September 2026, the postcard arrives between October 23 and early November. If you first paid in October to December, it arrives in early February 2027.[Japan Pension Service: 2026 deduction certificates (in Japanese)]

For the year-end tax adjustment (nenmatsu chosei), you write the certificate's "(3) total" (which includes the amount expected to be paid by December) on the insurance premium deduction form and hand the certificate to your employer. If you lose it, request a reissue on Nenkin Net: it arrives in about a week by post, or in 3 to 5 business days as digital data.

When the 2026 certificate arrives: by early November if you paid in January–September, early February 2027 if you first paid from October

The certificate is sent in the insured person's own name to anyone who paid a national pension premium at least once in 2026. If you have chosen to receive it as digital data through Mynaportal (Japan's government online portal), no paper copy is mailed.

When you paid	Paper (by post)	Digital data (Mynaportal)
At least once between January 1 and September 30, 2026	October 23 to early November, in turn	October 16 to late October, in turn
First paid between October 1 and December 31	Early February 2027	From late January 2027

*Japan Pension Service, "Issuance of 2026 Social Insurance Premium (National Pension Premium) Deduction Certificates" (updated October 9, 2026).

Company employees and public servants do not receive this certificate for their employees' pension (kosei nenkin) premiums, because the employer calculates premiums deducted from pay in the year-end adjustment. However, if you paid national pension premiums between leaving one job and starting another, you will receive a certificate for that part.

Orange marks when the certificate arrives. If you first paid in October to December, use the payment slip receipts for the year-end adjustment, or claim the deduction in the following year's final tax return (prepared by this site from Japan Pension Service materials).

Reading the certificate: write the "(3) total" for the year-end adjustment; three cases where no expected amount is shown

Box	What it shows
(1) Amount paid	Total paid from January 1 to September 30, 2026
(2) Expected amount	Amount expected to be paid from October 1 to December 31 if you keep paying the same way as when the certificate was made
(3) Total	(1) + (2). Shown only when there is an expected amount
(4) Payment breakdown	Months marked "paid" and months marked "expected" within 2026

According to the Japan Pension Service, when an expected amount is shown you can claim the "(3) total".[Japan Pension Service FAQ (in Japanese)] The National Tax Agency (NTA), however, says premiums not actually paid are not deductible. If a December direct debit fails, for example because of an insufficient balance, tell your employer so the amount can be corrected (see redoing and correcting the year-end adjustment).

In the following cases no expected amount is shown, only (1) amount paid:

You stopped being a Category 1 insured person of the national pension, for example because you joined a company from October
You have paid in advance up to March 2027 or March 2028
You have unpaid months between April and August 2026 (except people paying by direct debit or credit card)

For premiums paid after the certificate was made, add them to (1) or (3) and attach the receipts. If you paid with a smartphone payment app or online banking and have no receipt, request a reissue: the new certificate reflects your latest payments. Payments take this long to show up in the records:

Payment method	Time until recorded
Electronic payment (Pay-easy)	2 business days
Bank or post office counter	3–4 business days
Direct debit	7–8 business days
Smartphone payment app	10–16 business days
Cash at a convenience store	12–16 business days

*Guideline from the Japan Pension Service page "Reissue requests via Nenkin Net" (updated November 2, 2026).

Filling in the insurance premium deduction form: type "national pension premiums", payee "Japan Pension Service"

In the social insurance premium deduction section of the year-end "Application for Deduction for Insurance Premiums" (hokenryo kojo shinkokusho), write the following. Do not include employees' pension or health insurance premiums deducted from your pay.[NTA: 2026 sample form (in Japanese)]

Field	Your own premiums	If you paid for your university-student child
Type of social insurance	National pension premiums	National pension premiums
Name of payee	Japan Pension Service	Japan Pension Service
Person who bears the premium (name, relationship)	Your name, "self"	Child's name, "child"
Premiums you paid this year	(3) total on the certificate (or (1) amount paid if there is no total)	(3) total on the certificate in the child's name

Only national pension premiums and National Pension Fund contributions require you to attach or show a certificate. If your employer handles the year-end adjustment electronically, you can use the digital data received through Mynaportal as it is. For the other sections of the form, such as life and earthquake insurance, see how to fill in the insurance premium deduction form (2026).

Paying a family member's national pension: the certificate comes in their name, but the deduction goes to the payer

If you pay the national pension premiums of a spouse or child who shares your living expenses, you can deduct the full amount as your own social insurance premium deduction.[NTA Tax Answer No.1130 (in Japanese)] The Japan Pension Service also says the payer can claim family members' premiums together with their own.

Because the certificate is addressed to the family member who is the insured person, ask them to pass it to whoever paid. Premiums paid from the family member's own account or card are their deduction. How much tax each payer saves is worked out in paying family members' national pension and health insurance is fully deductible.

Two-year advance payment, retroactive payment, additional premiums and the National Pension Fund: which year and which certificate

If you paid 13 months or more in advance, you can choose either "the full amount in the year paid" or "split across each year". The certificate arrives as one sheet with up to three year-by-year slips; if you split the deduction, detach the slip for that year.

Two-year advance payment by direct debit for April 2026 to March 2028 (¥417,150)

Full amount in the year paid: ¥417,150 deducted in 2026
Split by year: ¥156,432 in 2026 (9 months), ¥208,575 in 2027 (12 months), ¥52,143 in 2028 (3 months)

*Calculation example from the Japan Pension Service FAQ on deducting premiums paid 13 or more months in advance. Fractions of a yen are rounded up; the final year takes the remainder.

If your income is especially high this year, taking the full amount helps; if your tax rate is about the same each year, the choice makes little difference. If you split, keep the slips for the second and third years, because the automated phone service cannot reissue them.

Retroactive payment (tsuino): premiums paid later for months under the Special Payment Exception for Students or an exemption are deducted in the year you pay them.[Japan Pension Service: retroactive payment (in Japanese)] Months under the exception or a postponement are unpaid, so there is no deduction for them. Whether paying back is worth it is covered in how much retroactive national pension payment pays off, and exemption versus postponement in national pension exemptions and postponement
Additional premium (fuka hokenryo): the ¥400 a month added on top of the flat-rate premium is also a national pension premium and fully deductible
National Pension Fund (kokumin nenkin kikin): contributions are deductible as social insurance premiums, but the certificate comes from the fund you belong to, not the Japan Pension Service. Write the fund's name as the payee
iDeCo (individual-type defined contribution pension): contributions go in the "small business mutual aid premiums" section of the form, not the social insurance section

Lost or not arrived: about a week by post via Nenkin Net, 3 to 5 business days as digital data

If it has not arrived after early November, or you threw it away, request a reissue. The certificate is sent to the address registered with the Japan Pension Service, so if you have moved, check that your address is up to date.

How to apply	Delivery	Approximate time
Nenkin Net (logged in via Mynaportal)	Digital data / post	Digital 3–5 business days; post about 1 week
Nenkin Net (direct login)	Post only	About 1 week
Automated phone reissue service 050-3319-3152 (8:00 a.m. to 11:30 p.m., including weekends and holidays)	Post	About 1–2 weeks
Nenkin enrollee helpline 0570-003-004 (weekdays 8:30 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.) or a pension office	Post	About 1 week

*Japan Pension Service guidance pages (updated up to November 2, 2026). The automated service asks for your basic pension number, date of birth, postcode and phone number. For the helpline or an office, have your My Number or basic pension number ready. Services are in Japanese.

If you cannot meet your employer's deadline, the year-end adjustment may include the deduction on condition that you submit the certificate by the end of January of the following year.[NTA: 2026 year-end adjustment guide (in Japanese)] If your employer does not agree, or you cannot make the end of January either, claim the deduction in the following year's final tax return (see year-end adjustment vs final tax return).

For 2026 final tax returns filed on or after January 1, 2027, you may attach a statement listing the certificate's details instead of the certificate itself. The tax office may still ask to see the certificate, so keep it for five years. The statement cannot be used in the year-end adjustment.[Japan Pension Service FAQ (in Japanese)]

The Japan Pension Service has reported fake emails with a subject line along the lines of "Request to submit missing documents for issuing your social insurance premium deduction certificate".[Japan Pension Service: suspicious emails (in Japanese)] How to tell them apart is covered in emails pretending to be the Japan Pension Service.

Summary

If you paid in January–September 2026, the deduction certificate arrives by postcard between October 23 and early November
If you first paid in October–December, it arrives in early February 2027; use receipts for the year-end adjustment or file a final tax return
On the insurance premium deduction form, write the "(3) total" including the expected amount, and attach the certificate
If you paid a family member's premiums, attach the certificate in their name to your own form to deduct the full amount
If you lose it, request a reissue on Nenkin Net: about a week by post, 3 to 5 business days as digital data

References (sources)

This article provides general information based on materials published by the Japan Pension Service and the National Tax Agency as of November 9, 2026. For the amount on your certificate or the status of a reissue, contact the Japan Pension Service (helpline or pension office); for how your year-end adjustment is handled, ask your employer's payroll staff or a tax office.