【年末調整令和8年】なぜ今年は還付金が増える？税理士が完全解説！基礎控除104万・扶養の新基準まとめ

0:00Believe it or not , the tax refund from your year-end adjustment could more than double from about 30,000 yen last year to 66,820 yen this year . In fact , for this year , Reiwa 6 , the amount of income tax withheld is actually being collected in excess . Why is it in excess ? Well , that is I'm a tax

0:22accountant YouTuber who thinks about business taxes every day . Now , we've received a letter from a viewer again today . It's from someone with the pen name " Akaji Taro , " a 50 - year-old company employee . Thank you very much . >> Hello , how are you ? With the high cost of living , my monthly household deficit

0:36won't stop . I can't expect much of a bonus in December , so I want to get a huge refund from my year-end adjustment to make ends meet . How can I increase my refund by about a million yen ? >> Hmm . Ah . >> No , no , Akaji Taro-san , the year-end adjustment is not a lottery , and it's

0:51not a bonus . It's just getting back the taxes you overpaid , so I'd love to say there's almost no chance of getting a million yen back , but actually , for this year's adjustment , your expectations might not be entirely wrong . Well , you won't get a million yen back , but more people will see a

1:09significant jump in their tax refunds this year compared to last . This is actually related to the " 1.78 million yen barrier " that's been in the news . That , along with the lesser-known " 1.36 million yen barrier , " are what's having an impact . However , if you're careless or half-hearted when filling out the

1:26paperwork or entering information online that your company provides for the year-end adjustment , you might end up throwing away those thousands or tens of thousands of yen that should have been returned to you . So , in this video , I'll explain why year-end adjustment refunds are increasing , focusing on the changes from last year , and I'll also cover things to watch out

1:45for to ensure you get your refund , including how to fill out the forms . Let's get started with today's episode ! All right , let's start right off with

1:53the conclusion . For those single with an annual income of 6 million yen . The tax refund from the year-end adjustment , believe it or not . Could more than double from about 30,000 yen last year to 66,820 yen this year . Of course , this varies depending on your family situation and deductions , but due to

2:11certain factors , the income tax for someone earning 6 million yen drops from about 184,000 yen last year to 147,500 yen this year . Actually , a tax cut reform has been implemented . So , why is this happening in the first place ? We need to understand the system of withholding tax from the ground up .

2:29What is withholding tax ? This mainly applies to company employees and salarymen . For sole proprietors , like creators or professionals like us , the concept of withholding tax doesn't really apply . Withholding tax , as the name suggests , means that tax is collected at the source of payment — it is collected mandatorily . In short ,

2:49your employer collects the tax from you when paying your salary and pays it directly to the tax office . As a company employee , you submit a form — we'll get to this later — called a " Declaration of Dependents , " where you write your name , address , and information about your family members . The company then calculates the income

3:05tax to be withheld based on that and pays you your salary . While income tax is what's actually being withheld , other things are deducted as well , such as social insurance premiums , health insurance , welfare pension , employment insurance , and resident tax . That is why your take-home pay ends up being significantly lower than your gross

3:21salary . Now , actually , in this year of Reiwa 6 , we've already entered October with just over two months left , and it turns out the withholding tax has been collected in excess . Why the excess ? It's because the tax reform at the end of last year was decided at the very last minute and was delayed . How is the

3:40tax amount you need to pay determined ? It is based on your earnings for the calendar year , from January 1st to December 31st . However , withholding tax must be processed every single month . You don't know what your total annual income will be until the end of the year , right ? So , the tax amount is

3:54determined based on an estimate . To do this , the National Tax Agency issues a " Withholding Tax Table . " Basically , it is determined by your monthly salary — or more precisely , your salary after social insurance premiums — and the number of your dependents , which we look at in these columns . The more

4:10family members you have , the lower this withholding tax amount becomes . By the way , if this is your second place of employment , or a side job , the system is set up to withhold a higher tax amount in these " O " columns . For example , if your monthly salary after deducting health insurance , welfare

4:25pension , and employment insurance premiums is exactly 350,000 yen , and you have two dependents , applying it to the table — looking at the row for 350,000 to under 353,000 yen and the column for two people — it comes to 6,780 yen . The mechanism is that this 6,780 yen is deducted from this month's paycheck . This is what withholding tax

4:44is . In short , this is a system established by the government with the goal of securing revenue early and collecting taxes in advance . However , we mentioned this is income tax that has been withheld . So , when is this amount officially finalized ? Since your annual income is finalized at the end of the year . That is why the year-end

5:02adjustment is necessary . Withholding tax is collected every single month , and the year-end adjustment is the culmination of that process . I know I used a bit of an over-the-top expression there . So , what exactly do you do for the year-end adjustment ? Well , as mentioned , company employees submit a form called " Maru-Fu . " This "

5:16Maru-Fu " form should be required to be submitted to your company when you join or at the beginning of the year . Next , there is what's called a deduction certificate . Since income tax is an individual tax , you can get tax breaks based on your family situation or if you pay a lot in life insurance

5:28premiums . Or if you pay a lot for earthquake insurance , things like that can help you save on taxes . You submit this deduction certificate along with your forms to prove that you have actually paid those amounts . This means that if you forget to submit these deduction certificates , your tax burden will end up being higher . Honestly ,

5:40that’s such a waste when you’ve been diligent about paying them . Now , your employer pays your salary every month , and the accounting department — or if it's a small business , you might be outsourcing it entirely to a tax accountant — handles the year-end adjustment , which is basically a simplified version of an individual's tax return . They perform this

5:55simplified tax return to calculate the employee's final tax amount , and if too much was withheld , they issue a refund . If not enough was withheld , they may collect the additional amount from you . They then provide everyone with a withholding tax statement , which details the employee's annual income , the total deductions , and the final tax

6:12amount . Similarly , your employer submits a salary report to the local municipality , which contains the exact same information as your withholding tax statement . Once this is submitted , the municipality calculates your resident tax , and a " resident tax determination notice " is sent to the company around May of the following year . That is how the year-end

6:29adjustment system works . It’s the fate of being a company employee . It’s a rigid system , so it is true that employees have limited ways to save on taxes . However , on the flip side , you don’t have to file your own tax return . It’s a very convenient system since the company takes care of

6:41it for you . So , why is this happening this year , and why are refund amounts increasing as I mentioned at the start ? It's because of revisions to these four specific items , which I will explain in detail later . These revisions were finalized at the very last minute at the end of last year , Reiwa 7 . So , it

6:57turns out that recalculating the withholding tax amounts for this year , Reiwa 8 , starting from January , just won't be in time . Since it won't be ready , they’ll handle some parts for now , but for the rest , you’ll just have to withhold based on the old tax rates . Then , it was decided that

7:10everything would be squared away during the year-end adjustment after December 1st . This is an extremely important tax-saving point for company employees , business owners , and salaried workers . You know , monthly accounting tasks — looking up account titles and manual entry — are really tough , aren't they ? You want to focus on your main business

7:26, but the back-office work just never ends . " >> Wait , can't you just use AI tools like Claude or Gemini to do it easily ? " No , no , no — getting the hang of using those is actually pretty difficult . And they make quite a few mistakes in accounting processes , you know . So ,

7:37what should you do instead ? You should just use cloud accounting software that has AI built in from the start . That would be Money Forward Cloud — please leave all those tedious accounting tasks to Money Forward Cloud . It automatically syncs your bank and credit card statements . Furthermore , the AI automatically suggests the appropriate account titles . The more

7:55you use it , the smarter it gets , allowing you to finish daily entries with a single click . From accounting to payroll management , all 12 tasks required for back-office operations are covered in one place . Even if your company grows , you don't need to change systems . You can keep using it forever . And if you're unsure about the initial

8:10setup or how to operate it , there's phone support , so it's super reassuring . And right now , for new corporate clients signing up for an annual plan , you can get effectively one year free . We are running a massive campaign that includes an Amazon gift card worth 85,536 yen . This is a huge opportunity

8:26available until October 31 , 2026 . You can apply via the link in this video's description box . By the way , I actually use this extensively in my own office here , so it is definitely reliable software . Don't miss out on this big chance . So , what exactly has changed

8:41for the 2026 year-end adjustment ? What are the four drastically changed " walls " ? Alright , let's get into the main topic . First off , I should clarify that there are two general concepts of " dependency " in the world . The tax dependency wall for income tax , and the social insurance dependency wall . When

8:57it comes to taxes , having children or a spouse as dependents means the head of the household’s income tax and residence tax will be lower . On the other hand , in terms of social insurance , having children or a spouse as dependents means they are covered by the premiums paid by the head of the household , effectively making their own

9:12social insurance premiums free . In the world of social insurance , there is the 20 - hour-per-week threshold and the 1.3 million yen wall , while for taxes , there is the 1.36 million wall , and now new walls at 1.59 million , 1.69 million , and even 1.78 million yen — but please keep in mind as a prerequisite

9:27that these are fundamentally different concepts . So , this time , I will focus specifically on taxes . For more on social insurance annual income thresholds , please check out our previous video . Now , let’s look at this year's year-end tax adjustment changes . I’ve picked out the most representative ones here , and if you know these , you should be able to clear

9:44this year's year-end adjustment . First , there have been revisions to the top two items : the basic deduction and the employment income deduction . These changes represent a tax cut that increases deductions , and when combined , they result in the new 1.78 million yen annual income wall . So , one new wall has been created . As a result , the

10:00dependent threshold — which used to be 1.03 million yen — has been affected . It has shifted . Furthermore , the dependent threshold for specific relatives , such as university students , has also moved . And as for number five , it’s a rough outline . First , regarding the 1.78 million yen annual income wall ; it used to be 1.03 million

10:14. That rose to 1.6 million last year , and for this year , 2026 , it has become 1.78 million . What does this 1.78 million yen wall actually mean ? In short , it is simply the threshold where you do not have to pay your own income tax , and it has nothing to do with whether you are a dependent or not .

10:27This is completely unrelated to that . In the past , there was the 1.03 million yen annual income barrier , which was the line for not paying income tax or staying as a dependent of your parents , but this 1.78 million yen figure is a bit different . When calculating your income tax , there are various deductions , the most typical of which

10:41are the employment income deduction and the basic deduction ; look at this . The minimum threshold for the employment income deduction rose from 550,000 to 650,000 , and this year it actually hit 740,000 . Furthermore , the basic deduction , which was a maximum of 480,000 , jumped to 950,000 last year and has now soared to 1.04 million .

10:56This 1.04 million is quite a large number . You might think there isn't much difference from last year , but the range of people who can claim this 1.04 million maximum has increased . Since you can now claim this 1.04 million with an annual income of up to about 6.6 million yen , it is a very significant revision . In short , if your

11:13annual income is 1.78 million yen or less after the year-end adjustment , all the tax withheld will be returned to you . Think of it like this . As for the employment income deduction , it hasn't changed much . It’s been standardized to 740,000 for those with an annual income of 2.2 million yen or less , replacing the old 650,000 minimum , so

11:30unfortunately , nothing changes for those earning over 2.2 million . There is no effect on total employment income . It’s a revision that really lets you down after building up expectations . On the other hand , regarding the basic deduction , it used to be set in small increments based on income brackets before the revision , but look ,

11:45after the revision , it’s all one block . If you look , the range for this 1.04 million has expanded significantly . Previously , those who could claim the 950,000 were people with an income of 1.32 million or less , which is up to 2 million in annual income . However , this time , while the maximum increased by

12:0090,000 from 950,000 to 1.04 million , it can now be claimed by people earning up to over 6.65 million yen annually . So , even those in the middle-income bracket can now receive the maximum benefit . Well , regarding this , we've decided to proceed this year and next year , Reiwa 9 , while keeping an eye on how the

12:16Consumer Price Index rises . After that , it's tentatively set at 990,000 yen , but they say they will decide based on the Consumer Price Index . Actually , this basic deduction is a bit complicated , but under the Income Tax Act , it has increased to 620,000 yen . With a special addition , for these two

12:31years , we are adding a maximum of 420,000 yen to make it 1.04 million yen . For those with an annual income over 6.65 million yen , it's 50,000 or 30,000 , but as you saw in the withholding tax table at the beginning , only the 620,000 yen basic deduction is applied , and the additional part is not

12:47reflected at all . So , it just means you're having too much withheld . Also , for non-residents or those living overseas , the basic deduction remains 620,000 yen , and this revision to the basic deduction only applies to income tax and is not linked to resident tax . Therefore , resident tax remains high . It’s like a " bait-and-switch " type of

13:06revision , isn't it ? You’d think they should have raised the resident tax threshold along with it , right ? Well , even so , I think it’s worth noting that people earning around 6 million yen a year can now receive the benefits of this tax reduction . So , this basic deduction ... For someone earning about 6

13:21million yen , it went from 680,000 to 1.04 million , an increase of nearly 400,000 yen . At an average income tax rate for that level of income , which is a bit over 10 % , you'll get a tax refund of about 30,000 yen . It’s not so much that you were gaining anything , but rather that you were simply having too

13:36much deducted . Still , it feels better to get a refund than to have to pay more later , doesn't it ? Now , in connection with these revisions , the dependency threshold has changed , and what’s known as the " special deduction for dependents " has also been revised . This is a very old table , but

13:50the numbers written here , like 380,000 or 630,000 , are the amounts you can deduct when calculating your income tax . It's not that your taxes decrease by 380,000 yen , but rather your tax burden is reduced by the amount of your tax rate multiplied by this deduction . For your spouse , children , or parents , the

14:07deductible amount depended on their age . Furthermore , there are income thresholds that determine whether or not someone qualifies as a dependent . Age is important , but if your family member is earning enough to be self-sufficient , it's assumed they don't need to be claimed as a dependent , so they wouldn't qualify . That income threshold used to be 1.03 million yen .

14:24And for a spouse , there was a threshold of 1.5 million yen . But that changed significantly last year , with the 1.03 million yen limit effectively rising to 1.23 million yen . The spouse threshold went from 1.5 to 1.6 million , and a special deduction for specific relatives — which I'll cover later — was established , allowing for up to 1.5

14:39million there as well . And then , it changed again quite rapidly . Yes . It’s enough to drive you crazy , isn't it ? The basic threshold for being a dependent has become 1.36 million yen . That’s an increase of over 300,000 yen compared to the past . The limit for specific relatives is now 1.59 million ,

14:52and for a spouse , it’s 1.69 million . This is for our questioner , Mr. Akaji Taro . He seems like the type to make a mistake . Thinking in terms of the old limits , he might assume that if a dependent or child earns over 1.03 million or 1.5 million yen , it's over . Because of that , he might miss out on a

15:05perfectly good opportunity for tax savings . For example , if your high schooler earned 1.3 million yen part-time last year , you might have removed them from your dependents . Though for a high schooler , 1.3 million is quite a lot . Just because it was 1.3 million , if you remove them again this year , you'd be wrong , because the

15:20dependency threshold has shifted to 1.36 million . That alone can change your household's take-home pay by tens of thousands of yen . This dependency threshold — or " dependent deduction , " as we call it — only applies to those 16 and older . For those between 16 and 18 , if their annual income is 1.36 million yen or less , you can receive a

15:35380,000 yen deduction . Also , living in the same household — well , living together and sharing the same finances — is a prerequisite . And for the university student generation , tuition is extremely expensive . Supporting a home is tough , too . So , thinking children need to work part-time to help out , we created a " Special Dependent

15:49Deduction " last year ; even if they exceed the original 1.36 million yen limit , they can still receive the full 630,000 yen deduction up to 1.59 million yen . For working adults , it returns to 1.36 million yen , and the same 1.36 million applies if you are supporting elderly parents . The deduction increases slightly to 480,000

16:06yen . For university-aged children , if their annual income is up to 1.36 million yen , they get a 630,000 yen deduction ; if they exceed that , they can still receive the 630,000 yen deduction up to 1.59 million , but what happens if they exceed 1.59 million ? They get a partial deduction . And that is what this shows . The far left is the

16:22child's annual salary , the number converted to income is to the right of that , and to the right of that , it says the parent's deduction amount . The tax savings are calculated by multiplying this by the tax rate , and if it's 1.36 million yen or less , it's 630,000 yen . And it says 1.59 million yen or less .

16:37If it exceeds that , it gradually decreases . The deduction becomes 610,000 , then 510,000 , and finally stops at 30,000 at an annual income of 1.97 million . If it exceeds that , you can no longer receive the Special Dependent Deduction , so it's not that you're disqualified if you exceed 1.59 million ; the deduction just decreases

16:54in stages . Still , since university students are busy with their studies , you should try to keep it within 1.59 million . In any case , I think it's quite difficult to earn more than 1.59 million , so I hope you will take advantage of these current benefits . On the other hand , the same logic applies

17:07to spouses ; if their annual income is up to 1.36 million yen , you get the full 380,000 yen spouse deduction , and if it exceeds 1.36 million up to 1.69 million — it’s complicated , but — you can receive a 380,000 yen deduction called the Special Spouse Deduction . So , what happens if you exceed that ? Yes ,

17:21it decreases in the same way . It decreases just as it does for specific dependents . However , for the spousal deduction and special spousal deduction , the head of household's annual income comes into play . If the head of household's annual income exceeds approximately 11.95 million yen , you can no longer receive the spousal deduction — I mean , you're supporting

17:35them , so why is this happening , right ? For instance , if the household's annual income is 10.95 million yen or less , and income is 9 million yen or less , you can receive a 380,000 yen spousal deduction or special spousal deduction if the spouse's income is up to 1.69 million yen . But if it exceeds that , it

17:47drops to 360,000 or 330,000 , and finally becomes zero once it goes over 2.07 million yen ; that's the system . Seriously , who made this so complicated ? You just want to ask who’s going to take responsibility for this . So , especially for accounting staff or office workers who have to handle year-end tax adjustments , please print

18:04this table out and stick it on your desk . The standard winter line is 1.36 million , but there are exceptions of 1.59 and 1.69 million as well . And the 1.78 million yen annual income wall has nothing to do with dependents ; it's purely a matter of your own income tax . I've summarized the particularly confusing cases of spouses and

18:22college-aged children in this chart . From 0 yen up to 1.36 million yen in annual income , there is a 380,000 yen spousal deduction . If you exceed that , you can receive a special spousal deduction up to 2.07 million yen , but the deduction amount shrinks , and there are income limits for the head of household . As for social insurance ,

18:36there's the 20 - hour work week wall , or simply in terms of money , the 1.3 million yen annual income wall . For children , you can receive 630,000 yen as a standard dependent deduction from 0 yen up to 1.36 million yen in annual income . If you exceed 1.36 million up to 1.97 million yen , you can receive a

18:48specific dependent deduction , but it decreases according to the annual income . For social insurance , it's currently the 1.5 million yen wall . It really is confusing , isn't it ? Now , there is one more subtle item that will affect this year's year-end tax adjustments . The life insurance premium deduction has changed . Households with

19:02children under 23 years old are now eligible for preferential treatment . This revision happened about two years ago ; for general life insurance , excluding personal pension or nursing care insurance , you can now receive a deduction of up to 60,000 yen . If you pay over 120,000 yen in annual life insurance premiums , you can receive a

19:18deduction of 60,000 yen . While there are general , personal , and nursing care insurance deduction categories , the total limit remains 120,000 yen , so I don't think this is particularly effective . For those with children of college age , this is something you must consider along with the aforementioned special deduction for dependents , so please make sure not to miss it . Next ,

19:38there is the meal allowance subsidy . That used to be 3,000 yen . There was a condition that the company pays half , but this has also increased from 3,000 to 7,500 yen . The tax-free limit has increased , so few people may be affected , but if you work at a company that provides meal subsidies , please

19:54refer to this video . Finally , I want to

19:57talk about the points you absolutely must not miss to receive deductions during the year-end adjustment . First , forget about the annual income walls of 1.03 million , 1.23 million , and 1.5 million yen as they were before . Please forget about these . They are no longer necessary this year . When doing the year-end adjustment , you must submit

20:12these documents to your company , and accounting staff or office personnel may have to prepare them in some cases . The main ones are number 1 , the " Maru-Fu " form , and number 2 , though the name is too long to read out . It is a combination of the basic deduction declaration , spousal deduction

20:26declaration , and the special deduction declaration for specific dependents . " Maru-Ho " is for documents like life insurance deductions . The withholding tax form is like the final document for the year-end adjustment , but I will skip numbers 3 and 4 . First of all , make sure to fill out these two documents properly . While many large

20:40companies now handle this entirely online through their systems , I think many small and medium-sized businesses still use handwritten forms . Or perhaps you are entering numbers into these kinds of documents ; in any case , let's start with this form marked with a circle . Think of this as a document for providing your own tax information and

20:57details about your family , such as for spousal or dependent deductions . Besides writing the names and dates of birth of your spouse and children , of course . What is especially important is their income . For example , let's say you have children named Taro and Jiro ; for Taro , you've written an income of 1

21:12million yen . And you have a checkmark in the " specified dependent " section , right ? Please take a look at this table . An income of 1 million yen is roughly equivalent to an annual salary of 1.74 million yen . So , the deduction amount is written as 410,000 yen . Since the annual income already exceeds 1.36

21:26million yen , you cannot receive the standard dependent deduction . However , you can receive the special deduction for specified dependents . But the amount is not the full deduction . I want you to clearly indicate that intention . You've written 1 million , but the people at your company don't know that . They don't know how much

21:37your child is earning . Only you , the parent , know this . Well , even parents don't always know for sure . Furthermore , the end of the year hasn't arrived yet . You usually submit your year-end adjustment documents around November . So you have to fill this out based on an estimate . Now , what if the 1 million

21:49yen figure is actually higher ? After the year-end adjustment and into the new year , you will face tax measures . You may be contacted by the tax office , and in some cases , you might even have to pay additional tax collected by your company . Therefore , I want you to estimate and write this as accurately

22:04as possible . For instance , get the withholding tax slip from your child's part-time job early . Now , for the other person , Jiro Yamakawa , there are no checkmarks for either specified dependent relative or specified relative , right ? Born in 2010 , he is a high school student , so he is a general dependent relative , meaning no

22:19checkmarks are required . Also , please don't forget to enter the income details for your spouse , Akiko Yamakawa , and your father's income status as well . Next , regarding this specific form here , I'd like you to pay close attention to this part . The declaration form for the special deduction for specified relatives is hidden right

22:34here . For this , as we wrote down earlier , Ms. Yamakawa's income is 1 million yen . It's this information right here . Well , with the My Number or similar ID , you have this 1 million yen , and the actual deduction amount is 410,000 yen . Just as you saw in this table here . If you fill this in — well ,

22:46if you don't enter these numbers here , you will basically miss the chance to receive this special deduction . You won't be able to save on taxes . You'll end up paying unnecessary taxes ; if your company's accounting staff is excellent , they might catch it , but since this is your own responsibility if you don't write it down , please be

23:01very careful . If you forget and the company's accounting staff also forgets , what happens ? You should file a final tax return at the beginning of the year . If you do that , you still have a chance to get it back . So , to reiterate the points to watch for in this 2026 year-end adjustment , the dependent

23:13income lines have changed to 1.36 million and 1.59 million yen , right ? Please check if there are any children you can now include as dependents because of this . And for college-aged children , you can receive the special deduction for specified relatives even if they exceed 1.36 million yen , but for that , the circle mark alone isn't

23:27enough . Please fill out this declaration form for the special deduction for specified relatives . Companies in particular should ensure that this information is thoroughly communicated internally as early as possible . Currently , I , Hiro , run an

23:38online salon . In the monthly salon-exclusive online live seminars , I introduce the latest topics and case studies regarding management that are happening around me . In some cases , we discuss things like financing , cash flow management , and asset investment — topics that I can't really cover here on YouTube . We also have a Discord

23:56board for the latest tax info , exclusive salon videos , and occasional meetups throughout the year , so if you're interested , please sign up via the link in the description . So , with that said , I’ve focused this video on explaining the changes to the year-end tax adjustment for 2026 . Due to various tax reduction items — or rather ,

24:14because of the delay in those revisions — we are now going to see an increase in tax refund amounts . But even so , this tax system has become unnecessarily complicated , hasn't it ? Whether it's the invoice system or these personal taxes , don't you think something needs to change ? Please leave your opinions or questions in the

24:32comments section . With that , let's make work a form of play and enjoy both to the fullest . Thank you very much for watching today . I'll see you in the next video . Take care until then .