Year-end adjustment - Nenmatsuchosei

The settlement of the excess or shortfall of the income tax withheld from employment income from the salary etc. at the end of the year. Under the income tax system, employment income is subject to withholding tax, and the payer of the salary etc. is required to withhold the tax amount according to the amount of the payment each time the salary etc. is paid and pay it to the government. For residents who have submitted an application for dependent deductions for employment income and whose salary etc. that is determined to be paid during the year is less than a certain amount (20 million yen per year in 2009), the official amount of income tax on the total amount of salary etc. for that year is compared with the amount of withholding tax up to that point at the time of the last salary etc. payment of that year, and the excess or shortfall is settled; this adjustment is called year-end adjustment. If the dependent deductions etc. change during the year, the amount of income tax also changes, and the official amount of income tax determined at the time of the last salary etc. payment and the amount of withholding tax differ, so it is subject to year-end adjustment.

Salary earners who have completed year-end tax adjustments do not need to file a tax return if their other income is below a certain amount, so most salary earners can get by with only the tax withheld. However, if they have income above a certain amount other than salary, their salary income is also subject to comprehensive income tax, so they must file a tax return. Even if they have no other income, they must file a tax return in order to claim a refund of the income tax withheld at source based on miscellaneous loss deductions, medical expenses deductions, etc.

Basically, all major countries have a withholding tax system, whether it is a self-assessment system or an assessment system, but the year-end adjustment system, in which tax matters are completed at the level of the withholding agent, i.e., the payer of salary, etc., without going through the tax authorities, is unique to Japan. In other countries, there are many refund returns, and individuals determine the annual tax amount by filing a final tax return, etc., at their own responsibility.

[Masatoshi Hayashi]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

給与所得から源泉徴収された所得税の過不足を年末に給与等から精算すること。所得税制度においては、給与所得は源泉徴収の対象とされており、給与等の支払者が、その支払いのたびごとに、その支払額に応じた税額を徴収し、国に納付することになっている。給与所得の扶養控除等申請書を提出した居住者で、その年中に支払うべきことが確定した給与等が一定の金額（2009年度は年額2000万円）以下の者については、その年の最後の給与等の支払いの際に、その年の給与等の総額に対する正式の所得税額とそれまでの源泉徴収税額を比較し、過不足を清算することとされているが、この調整を年末調整とよぶ。年内に扶養控除等が変わった場合は所得税額も変わり、最後の給与等の支払い時に確定した正式の所得税額と源泉徴収税額が異なるため、年末調整の対象となる。

　年末調整を行った給与所得者は、他の所得が一定額以下である場合には確定申告をする必要がないから、大部分の給与所得者は源泉徴収のみで事がすむことになる。しかし、給与等以外に一定額以上の所得がある場合には、給与所得も総合所得税の対象となるから、確定申告をしなければならない。また、ほかに所得のない場合でも、雑損控除や医療費控除などに基づいて源泉徴収による所得税の還付を求めるためには、確定申告をすることが必要である。

　源泉徴収制度は、申告制度であろうと賦課課税制度であろうと、基本的にはすべての主要国にあるが、年末調整制度によって課税当局の手を経ずに、源泉徴収義務者すなわち給与等の支払者レベルにおいて課税関係が完結する年末調整制度は、日本独自のものである。ほかの国には還付申告が多く、個人が自己の責任において確定申告等により年税額を確定させる方式をとっている。

［林　正寿］

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