Japan’s Salary Withholding Certificate: Key Fields, Deadlines and Job Changes
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Category: Overcoming Job-Change Anxiety
Authors: Shusaku Yosa
Japan’s salary withholding certificate, or kyūyo shotoku no gensen chōshūhyō, summarises salary, employment income, deductions and withheld income tax for a calendar year. It does not show annual take-home pay. Start with four fields and establish whether the employer completed a year-end adjustment.
This guide concerns employment-income certificates and was checked on October 7, 2026. Retirement-income and pension certificates have different fields and tax treatment.
Read the four main amounts
Field | Meaning |
|---|---|
Payment amount — shiharai kingaku | Taxable gross salary and bonuses; excludes non-taxable commuting allowances |
Amount after salary-income deduction (after adjustment) | Employment income after the salary-income deduction and any applicable adjustment |
Total income deductions | Applicable deductions such as social insurance, basic and dependent deductions |
Withheld tax amount | Tax collected; adjusted annual amount if year-end adjustment was completed |
Payment amount minus withheld tax is not take-home pay. Social insurance, resident tax and other payroll deductions may also apply. Resident tax is not recorded on this certificate, and there is no dedicated field simply labelled taxable income.
Fictional 2026 certificate: ¥5 million salary
Assume no other income, no income adjustment, social-insurance deductions of ¥750,000, a ¥1.04 million basic deduction and no other income deductions or tax credits. The insurance amount is an assumption, not a premium calculation.
Main field | Example |
|---|---|
Payment amount | ¥5,000,000 |
Income after salary-income deduction | ¥3,560,000 |
Total income deductions | ¥1,790,000 |
Withheld tax after year-end adjustment | ¥90,300 |
The salary-income deduction is ¥1.44 million; taxable income is ¥1.77 million. Income tax is ¥88,500, with the 2026 reconstruction surcharge and year-end rounding producing ¥90,300. The NTA calculation sequence explains the settlement. Actual fields depend on your circumstances.
An unadjusted certificate is different
Monthly withholding does not necessarily equal final annual tax. Year-end adjustment refunds or collects the difference. A certificate issued during the year may be marked nenchō misai, meaning year-end adjustment was not completed. Withheld tax then represents collection up to that point. Blank income or deduction fields do not necessarily mean zero income or zero entitlement.
The 2026 deduction reform generally takes effect on December 1, 2026 and applies to 2026 income. Monthly withholding through November is unchanged by this reform. A person who leaves without the revised deductions being settled should check whether a tax return is needed to apply them.
Check the issue deadline
Situation | Deadline |
|---|---|
Ordinary annual certificate | Generally January 31 of the following year |
2026 certificate | February 1, 2027, because January 31 is Sunday |
Leaving during the year | Within one month after leaving |
The actual distribution day and electronic delivery arrangements vary. Check the employee portal before treating a certificate as missing.
Submit the correct year’s previous-employer certificate
For a midyear job change, eligible salary received from a previous employer in the same calendar year is verified and included in year-end adjustment. Conditions include the relevant dependent-exemption declaration. The previous certificate is used to establish salary, tax and insurance amounts. If those cannot be verified, the new employer cannot complete the adjustment and you settle through a return.
Example | Action |
|---|---|
Left April 2026, joined June 2026 | Provide the 2026 certificate; confirm eligible combination |
Left December 2025, joined January 2026 | Do not add 2025 salary to the 2026 total |
Concurrent second job | Do not assume every secondary salary can be combined |
Several changes in one year | Check previous salary already included in the notes |
Inspect the year, name, employer, leaving date and notes. If a later certificate already includes earlier salary, adding the old certificate again double-counts it. Ask about the submission deadline soon after joining.
Loss, non-issue and errors need different responses
Situation | First step |
|---|---|
Received and lost | Ask the employer about reissuance |
Never received | Check electronic delivery, then request issuance |
Incorrect information | Ask payroll to check and correct it |
Still unissued after a request | Keep the request record and consult the tax office |
An employer’s issuance obligation is not an assurance of unlimited automatic replacements. The NTA’s non-issuance report is for a certificate not provided, not an application to replace a lost copy. If the company has closed or cannot be reached, explain whether you previously received the document.
Please confirm issuance of my 2026 employment-income withholding certificate, or whether a replacement is available. I can provide my name, employment period and required tax year. Please advise the delivery method and expected timing.
Before submitting or storing it
- Confirm the certificate type and year.
- Read the main fields and adjustment status.
- Check for salary already included from earlier employers.
- Use the recipient’s secure submission method and retain a copy.
- Check filing requirements for income or deductions outside year-end adjustment.
The certificate contains financial and family information. Do not casually add personal-number details to ordinary email. Keep the required years separately so the right record is available for job changes or income verification.
Related guides
- Annual Salary in Japan: Gross Pay, Take-Home Pay and Taxable Income (Japanese)
- Taking Home ¥300,000 a Month in Japan: 2026 Salary and Budget Examples (Japanese)
- Employment Insurance Certificates in Japan: Numbers, Reissuance and Job Changes (Japanese)
The linked Otame4 guides are in Japanese.
Sources and further reading
- NTA No. 7411: Employment-Income Withholding Certificates (Japanese)
- NTA: 2026 Year-End Adjustment Guide (Japanese)
- NTA No. 2674: Year-End Adjustment after Changing Jobs (Japanese)
- NTA: Reporting a Withholding Certificate Not Issued (Japanese)
- NTA: 2026 Income Tax Deduction Reform and Effective Dates (Japanese)
- NTA: Questions and Answers on the 2026 Tax Reform (Japanese)
- NTA No. 1410: Salary-Income Deduction (Japanese)
- NTA: 2026 Year-End Adjustment for Employees (Japanese)
- NTA No. 2260: Income Tax Rates and Quick Deductions (Japanese)
- NTA No. 2662: Calculating the Year-End Adjustment (Japanese)
