Claiming Family Overseas as Dependents: The Documents You Need

Check whether your relative can count

Your relative must be family, be supported by you, have income at or below a limit, and fit the age rules. This guide is for residents of Japan.

Family means blood relatives up to the sixth degree and in-laws up to the third degree. For tax year 2026 (Reiwa 8), your relative's total income under Japanese tax law must be ¥620,000 or less. A law change takes effect on December 1, 2026. It raises the limit from ¥580,000 and applies to the whole of 2026.

A spouse abroad falls under the spouse deduction instead. It has no age rule, but it needs the same two kinds of documents.

Proof of relationship: documents that link you to them

Relationship documents must prove that the person abroad is your relative. The National Tax Agency (NTA) accepts either of these:

• A document from a foreign national or local government, such as a birth certificate, marriage certificate or family register. It must show your relative's name, date of birth and address.
• A Japanese government document, such as a copy of the supplementary family register (koseki no fuhyo), plus a copy of your relative's passport.

You must submit or show the original, except for a passport copy. A driver's license alone does not count, because it does not show how you are related.

One document may not be enough, so combine several if needed.

Proof of support: a transfer record for each person

Remittance documents must show that you paid each relative's living or education costs during that year. Outside the ¥380,000 test, there is no minimum amount. The records can come from:

• A bank, or a funds transfer service provider registered under Japan's Payment Services Act
• A credit card company, for a family card your relative uses and you pay for (the date of use counts)
• A registered provider of electronic payment instruments (a regulated kind of stablecoin), from tax year 2024

A remittance slip, online statement or passbook copy can work. It must show your name, your relative's name, the date and the amount.

Each relative needs their own transfers. Money sent to your mother for the whole family counts for her only. A joint account abroad may not count if the records do not show who received the money.

Cash given through a friend does not count, even with a signed statement. A payment covering several years counts only for the year you send it.

Paying one relative three or more times a year? You can give a list of the payments plus the first and last records, and keep the rest. For the ¥380,000 test, the records you give must add up to at least ¥380,000.

Ages 30 to 69: the ¥380,000 test

A relative aged 30 to 69 outside the study and disability cases must receive ¥380,000 or more from you in the year. The payments must be for their living or education costs. The day you send counts, not the day the money arrives. Fees count only if your records show them.

Convert foreign currency at the bank's mid-rate (TTM) on the day you send. If you buy the currency with yen and send it at once, you can use the yen you paid.

How to claim: through your employer or a tax return

If you are an employee, your employer can apply the deduction at year-end adjustment (nenmatsu chosei). Give the relationship documents (and, for a relative studying abroad, the student visa document) with your dependents form (fuyo kojo to shinkokusho). Give the remittance records at year-end adjustment.

If the records are missing then, your employer must leave the relative out. You can still claim on a final tax return (kakutei shinkoku), attaching or showing the documents.

For tax year 2026, file from February 16 to March 15, 2027. If you file only for a refund, you can file from January 1, 2027. See who must file if you have other income. You generally provide the documents again each year.

Common mistakes

• A relative aged 30 to 69 in none of the three cases. Sending them ¥300,000 in the year is not enough.
• Missing a birthday. Age is checked on December 31, so a child who turns 30 by then is in the 30 to 69 group.
• One transfer for the whole family. It counts only for the person who received it.
• Relying on a disability card issued abroad. By itself, it does not meet the Japanese definition of a person with a disability.

What you can do yourself, and where you need help

You can collect the documents and give them to your employer yourself. If this deduction is your only reason to file and your employer applies it, you may not need to file a tax return.

• Get relationship documents for each relative, with a Japanese translation of any document not in Japanese.
• Keep every transfer record, and list the date and yen amount for each person.
• Check each relative's age on December 31.

You need help with missed years, in-laws, totals near ¥380,000, a disability, or other income such as RSUs.

What changes when a tax accountant handles it

A tax accountant checks the documents and files the claim. Komatsu CPA & Tax Accounting Office helps individuals only, with Japanese tax only, and offers no calls. Our service runs by email in written English. Once you engage us, we do this work:

• Check each relative against the age, income and support rules, and explain the result in writing.
• Check that your documents link you to each relative, and list which need a Japanese translation.
• Total your transfers to each person in yen, and apply the ¥380,000 test.
• Prepare, sign and file the Japanese return with the documents, after you approve an English summary.

With our English-language service, an employee who files only to claim dependents would pay our minimum fee of ¥97,500 (¥107,250 including tax). The items total ¥66,000 (¥48,000 base + ¥9,000 salary + ¥9,000 standard deductions), which is below the minimum. This is only an estimate. It assumes one tax year and no other income or deduction items.

Frequently asked questions

This article is general information based on rules in force as of November 8, 2026. It is not advice for your situation.