Now is the time to take advantage! Autumn Home Tax Payment” is such a great deal!

2022-10-17

Enjoy Autumn with Returned Gifts from Food to Experiences

According to Keisuke Tobita of “Furusato Tax Guide,” you should check out fruits that are in season in autumn and fresh seafood shipped directly from the production area.

Furusato Tax Payment” allows you to get local specialties and daily necessities for only 2,000 yen in real terms. The ease of use and the variety of tax returns have made it a standard “good-value technique,” but many people probably complete the procedures just before the year-end deadline each year. The end of the year tends to bring a rush of applications, causing popular returned goods to run out of stock, or people to forget to apply to the municipality where they made their donation and end up having to file a final tax return.

If you apply in the fall, you can avoid such problems and get returns that are only available at this time of the year. This is the best time of the year to apply for a hometown tax return.

In this season, high-end autumn foods such as matsutake mushrooms and oysters are very attractive. The most popular is the Shine Muscat, and Nakagawa Village in Nagano Prefecture offers 2 to 4 bunches for 13,000 yen. The cost is relatively high. If you are aiming for more economical foodstuffs, we still recommend those that come in large quantities. Convenient options include beef offcuts, sets containing various parts of pork, scallops, and so on. The trick is to choose items that can be frozen or that are packaged in small portions from the start, since they arrive in several-kilogram increments.

The high prices of commodities and the weak yen are putting pressure on household budgets. It is a good idea to buy in large quantities before the winter comes and prices rise even higher.

The best places to target are toilet paper and detergent, which are on the rise. In Numazu City, Shizuoka Prefecture, you can get 108 rolls of toilet paper for a donation of 10,000 yen, which is a pretty good deal,” says Tobita.

If you want to enjoy the fall holiday season, experience-based gifts are also recommended. In Tochigi City, Tochigi Prefecture, visitors can experience a hot-air balloon ride with a donation of 20,000 yen. Such returns are increasing all over the country, so check to see if there are any near you.

Up to 20% points also
Aiming for a “double take

It is a waste to just receive the returned goods. It is important to aim for a double take: the “point reward” offered by each portal site and points earned through credit card transactions,” says Tobita.

In fact, there are many point-up campaigns offered by portal sites in autumn, perhaps because it is before the busy season. If you combine with other point-up programs, you can get up to 23 times more points.

If you donate for the first time at a target site, you can get up to 20% of “Furnavi Coins” if you make a pre-entry by October 23 for “Furnavi. The Furunavi Coins can be exchanged for Amazon gifts, d-points, Rakuten points, etc. Satofuru” also offers a special promotion whereby users can make an entry via the “Satofuru App” on days that fall on the 3rd and 8th of the month, and receive up to 20% of their donation in advance. PayPay payment on the days that fall on the 3rd and 8th, and you can get up to 20% of your donation back,” said Tobita.

For those who are unable to decide on a return gift at this time, a “point system” independently implemented by local governments is also an option. Under this system, points are awarded based on the amount of the donation and can be carried over to the following year (expiration dates vary by municipality). Since the points can be combined, the advantage is that you can get a slightly more luxurious return gift at a time of your own choosing.

The variety of tax returns and methods of utilization are becoming more and more diversified every year, and you will not lose anything by starting early. Each portal site allows you to calculate the maximum amount of tax deductions, so you can find the best combination of items to give back.