Might be reduced from January

Just a quick heads-up, although it’s been on TV quite a bit so many of you will be aware of this (quick summary in Japanese here).

It seems the mortgage tax refund was due to expire at the end of this year, and instead of letting that happen the government has renewed it in a slight less generous form for four years until 2025.

This will actually be confirmed tomorrow (on Friday December 10th) but the changes I have seen mentioned:

The new system will start on January 1st, and people with existing mortgages (or who move into their new residence before December 31st) will be grandfathered into the current system.

Check the government’s official page on credit for home loans for more details (in Japanese).

16 Responses

  1. Thanks for the info! I bought my place three years ago. I wonder if I will now get the tax break for another ten years at 0.7% or will I only get seven years at the reduced rate?

    1. Me too! Our manshon was 25.5 years old when we bought it.

      I take comfort in the fact that it only cost 9m yen though ๐Ÿ˜‰

        1. If it is more than 25 years old at the time of purchase, it is still eligible for the tax benefit if it has been reinforced to meet the current earthquake standards.

  2. i moved to the new house december 2020:
    applied for sumai kyufu on february of 2021:
    received syufu money around june 2021.
    I also applied for mortgage loan deduction but i didnt get any amount for it. (am i not eligible for the 1%?) thanks.

    1. To claim the mortgage loan tax benefit you need to do a tax return (็ขบๅฎš็”ณๅ‘Š)

      1. thanks Ben. i did file final tax return. around feb 2021. and i only received a small amount. a lot less than 1% of the remaining loan balance that i was expecting..
        i was expecting 30man but i only got 5 man

        1. I don’t know, but if you only moved in Dec 2020, I would guess you wouldn’t get a full refund for that year. Maybe see how much you get this year?

          1. The tax refund is based on the remaining loan balance at the end of the year and you should be eligible for 1% of the remaining balance regardless of when you buy the property during the year.

            You canโ€™t get a refund in excess of the actual amount of tax you pay during the year though, so that could be an issue.
            I think youโ€™d have to be earning 700-800 man/yr to be eligible for a 300,000 refund.