A lot of foreigners in Japan support family back home and never realise they might trim their tax bill for it. But in 2023 Japan tightened the rules hard on the middle age band — the group most likely to be a working-age parent or adult child. Mio doesn't guess; Mio checks the age, the exception, and whether the paperwork exists. Here's the calculated read.
The dependent deduction (fuyō kōjo) covers a relative who is your dependent and whose own annual income is within the low limit Japan sets for dependents (broadly, very little income — confirm the current threshold). When that relative lives outside Japan (a "non-resident relative"), extra proof rules apply on top. The core deduction sizes are the same as for dependents in Japan — but for overseas relatives, whether you're allowed to claim at all now hinges heavily on age.
Per the National Tax Agency, a non-resident relative falls into one of three age bands, each with its own rule:
| Age of the overseas relative | Can you claim them? | Proof required |
|---|---|---|
| 16 or more and less than 30 | Yes (if a qualifying dependent) | Documents Concerning Relatives + Documents Concerning Remittances |
| 30 or more and less than 70 | Only if an exception is met | See the three exceptions below |
| 70 or more | Yes (if a qualifying dependent) | Documents Concerning Relatives + Documents Concerning Remittances |
The big shift in 2023 is the middle row: a working-age parent or adult child abroad is no longer automatically claimable.
If your overseas relative is 30 or more and less than 70, they can still be claimed only if they are:
• Studying abroad — someone who no longer has a domicile or residence in Japan because they are studying overseas. You must add documents such as a student visa, on top of the relationship and remittance documents.
• A person with a disability — with the relevant supporting documents (plus relationship and remittance documents).
• Receiving ¥380,000 or more from you during the year — payments for living or educational expenses totalling at least ¥380,000 to that person in the year, shown with relationship and remittance documents.
If none of the three applies, the 30–69 relative generally cannot be claimed at all — regardless of how genuinely dependent they are.
| Your situation | Verdict (guide only) |
|---|---|
| Parent abroad, aged 72, you send money regularly | Likely OK — with relationship + remittance proof |
| Child abroad, aged 20, dependent on you | Likely OK — with relationship + remittance proof |
| Sibling abroad, aged 40, studying at a university overseas | Exception (studying abroad) — add student-visa document |
| Parent abroad, aged 55, you sent ¥400,000 this year | Exception (¥380,000+) — met, with remittance proof |
| Parent abroad, aged 55, you sent ¥250,000 this year, not a student, no disability | Generally excluded since 2023 |
| Any age, but no remittance proof / no relationship proof | Deduction generally denied |
Verdicts are a plain-English reading of the NTA rules, not a determination for your case. The dependent must also meet the low-income limit and other conditions. Confirm with the tax office or a licensed tax accountant (zeirishi).
Being allowed to claim is step one; the saving is a separate number. The dependent deduction reduces your taxable income by a set amount, then your saving is that amount × your marginal tax rate. Illustrative national-income-tax deduction amounts:
So for a general overseas dependent whose deduction is about ¥380,000, someone in a 10% income-tax bracket saves roughly ¥38,000 of national income tax; in a 20% bracket, about ¥76,000 — plus a separate, smaller resident-tax reduction. An elderly parent abroad (70+) carries a larger deduction, so the saving is bigger. These are rough illustrations, not your exact figure.
Documents Concerning Relatives — prove the family relationship, e.g. a copy of a family register / official certificate plus a copy of the relative's passport, or government-issued documents showing the relationship. Non-Japanese documents generally need a Japanese translation.
Documents Concerning Remittances — prove you actually paid the relative during the year, e.g. bank transfer records or a credit-card statement showing payments made to (or on behalf of) that specific relative. For the ¥380,000 exception, these must show the money genuinely reaching that person.
Studying-abroad documents — for the student exception in the 30–69 band, add proof such as a copy of a student visa issued by the foreign country.
These are submitted or presented either to your employer at year-end adjustment (nenmatsu chōsei) or attached to your final tax return (kakutei shinkoku). Missing paperwork is the most common reason the deduction is refused.
1. Check the relative's age — under 30 or 70+ is the straightforward path; 30–69 needs an exception. 2. If 30–69, confirm student, disability, or ¥380,000+ remitted. 3. Gather relationship and remittance proof (with translations). 4. Remit through traceable channels (bank/card), not cash, so you can prove it. 5. Claim at year-end adjustment or on your tax return. When in doubt, ask a zeirishi — the rules and thresholds change.
Related reading: Japan's resident tax, explained →.
Mio