How to Get the Japan Pension Lump-Sum Tax Refund (20.42%) Yourself: 2026 New Form Guide with Highlighted Samples

When Japan paid your pension lump-sum withdrawal payment (脱退一時金), it withheld 20.42% income tax from the Employees' Pension (厚生年金) part. You can ask the Japanese tax office (税務署) to refund that tax. Many people call this the "second nenkin refund". Most people get back almost all of it.

This guide shows how to do it yourself after you have left Japan, without paying an agency:

• Estimate your refund before you file.
• Ask someone in Japan to be your tax agent (納税管理人).
• Fill in the new form (令和7年分以降用), required for returns filed from September 24, 2026. You get highlighted samples of every field and links to the original forms.

📬 Haven't received the lump-sum payment yet? Start with the lump-sum withdrawal (脱退一時金) claim guide: eligibility, the amount and a highlighted sample of the claim form.

⚠️ All names, addresses, amounts and account numbers in the images and sample files in this post are fake. They only show how to fill in the forms.

1. Can you claim the refund?

You can if all three are true:

1. You have received the lump-sum payment and still have the original 脱退一時金支給決定通知書 (Notice of Entitlement). It shows the payment amount and the tax withheld.
2. Someone living in Japan agrees to be your tax agent. A relative, friend or former coworker is fine. No qualification is needed.
3. It has been less than 5 years. Once the payment amount is fixed (after the 支給決定 date), you can file right away. You do not have to wait until the next year.

💡 Tax is only withheld from the Employees' Pension (厚生年金) part. If you only paid into the National Pension (国民年金), no tax was withheld, so there is nothing to refund.

Why do you need a tax agent?

• The tax office requires someone living abroad to have a 納税管理人 in Japan who receives letters and handles the procedure for them.
• The refund can only be paid into a Japanese bank account, so it goes to the agent's account and the agent sends it on to you.
• The agent pays no tax on it. The refund is your tax money, in your name. It is not the agent's income, and they do not need to report anything.
• If you did not appoint an agent before leaving Japan, you can still do it now. Send the appointment form (Form 1 below) together with the tax return.

2. Estimate your refund

Take three numbers from the 脱退一時金支給決定通知書, in the 厚生年金保険 (Employees' Pension Insurance) box:

How to calculate:

1. Years = months ÷ 12, rounded up (e.g. 30 months → 3 years).
2. Retirement income deduction (退職所得控除額) = ¥400,000 × years, at least ¥800,000.
3. If 支給額 ≤ deduction, you get all of the withheld tax back.
4. If 支給額 > deduction, you still owe a little tax:
   • Taxable income = (支給額 − deduction) ÷ 2, rounded down to the nearest ¥1,000.
   • Tax = taxable income × 5% (if under ¥1,950,000), plus 2.1% reconstruction tax.
   • Refund = tax withheld − tax owed.

Example (fake numbers, used in the samples below): 支給額 ¥1,500,000, ¥306,300 withheld, 36 months of coverage.

3. Download the original forms (National Tax Agency, 国税庁)

Filled-in samples (fake data, highlighted): Form 1 (PDF) · Form 2 (PDF, 3 pages)

There is no special form for this refund. You use the regular tax return (第一表・第二表 + 第三表). The NTA form list says: 「退職所得の選択課税の申告書もこの申告書第三表と申告書第一表・第二表を使用します」.

What changed in the new form?

Returns filed from September 24, 2026 must use the 令和7年分以降用 form. It uses number codes instead of circling or writing words:

Rules for filling in

• Write by hand with a black ballpoint pen. Do not use blue or purple ink, or erasable pens (Frixion).
• Typing and printing is fine. Print on A4 at 100% scale, one side only.
• To correct a mistake, draw two lines through it and write above. Do not use correction fluid.
• Neither form has a signature or seal box.

Colors in the sample images: 🟩 green = fill in · 🟨 yellow = leave blank, the agent writes it by hand when submitting. Click an image to open it full size.

4. Form 1: Tax agent appointment (納税管理人届出書)

5. Form 2: Tax return (確定申告書)

On all 3 pages:

• In 「令和□年分」, write the year of the 支給決定年月日 (entitlement date) on your Notice of Entitlement (2025 → 7, 2026 → 8), not the year you file.
• Strike out 「所得税及び復興特別所得税」.
• Write 「退職所得の選択課税」 in the blank space of the title.

第一表 (page 1)

Top part

Tax calculation column (税金の計算), using the example from section 2:

If you get a full refund (支給額 ≤ deduction), write 0 in ㉜ to ㊻, and △ tax withheld in ㊿ and ⑤③.

Income and deduction columns on the left: leave all blank. No income deductions (所得控除) apply to this return.

Where the refund is paid (還付される税金の受取場所): the agent's Japanese bank account

第二表 (page 2)

第三表 (page 3)

6. Where to submit

• Submit to the tax office for your last address in Japan. Find it on the NTA tax office list.
• In person: the agent takes the documents to that tax office's counter.
• By mail: ⚠️ many tax offices (especially in Tokyo) want mail sent to a 業務センター (processing center), not to the tax office address. Check the Tokyo Regional Taxation Bureau processing center list, or call the tax office first. Send it by 簡易書留 (simple registered mail) so it can be tracked.

What goes in the envelope

1. Form 1: 納税管理人届出書
2. Form 2: 第一表, 第二表, 第三表
3. The original 脱退一時金支給決定通知書 (it replaces the 源泉徴収票). The remittance notice 送金通知書 is not needed.
4. Copy of your passport: the photo page and the page with the Japan departure stamp.
5. Copy of your residence card (both sides).

📸 Take photos of everything before sending. The refund usually reaches the agent's account in 2–4 months.

7. FAQ

I returned my My Number card when I left. What do I write? Leave 個人番号 blank. The copies of your passport and residence card serve as ID. If the tax office needs more, they will contact your agent.

What number goes in G01 at the top of 第一表? The new form has only 4 codes: 1 確定 (regular), 2 修正 (amended), 3 準確定 (death or departure), 4 amended 準確定. None of them is specifically for 退職所得の選択課税. The sample leaves G01 blank and writes 「退職所得の選択課税」 in the blank space next to it, following the note printed on the form. Your agent can ask the tax office: 「退職所得の選択課税の申告書の場合、G01欄は何番ですか」.

I paid in for less than 5 years. Do I use the 一般 or 短期 row on 第三表? The sample uses the 一般 row, which is how the NTA fills it in for the lump-sum payment. For normal lump-sum amounts, both rows give the same tax.

What if my calculation is wrong? The return is not rejected. The tax office checks it, corrects the refund amount and sends a notice to your agent.

Related

• How to claim the Japan pension lump-sum withdrawal payment yourself: eligibility, amount and a field-by-field form guide.
• Tax refund form filler: enter your details and download both forms filled in.

Sources

• NTA – A1-1 申告書・申告書付表と税額計算書等 一覧
• NTA – 確定申告書等の様式・手引き等（令和７年分）
• NTA – 様式変更に伴う記入要領の変更点等（第一表・第二表）
• NTA – 様式変更に伴う記入要領の変更点等（第三表）
• NTA – 納税管理人の届出書 書き方