It’s Not Too Late] One Year to Go Until the End of “Furusato Tax ″ Point Reduction″ “Experts Talk about How to Make the Most of the Absolute Best Value”.

Before the “deterioration” of the system begins…

Furusato tax payment has become widely popular, with the total amount of donations surpassing 1 trillion yen.

Currently, by making a donation to a municipality other than the one in which you reside, you can (1) receive a deduction for inhabitant and income taxes and (2) receive a return gift from the municipality. In addition, by making a donation through the portal site, you can receive (3) points issued by the site and (4) points linked to your credit card if you use your credit card for payment, making it possible to “quadruple your winnings”.

However, the four-tiered system will be restricted as of the end of September next year. Noriko Matsuzaki, a consumer and economics journalist, explains.

The Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications has announced that it will ban the solicitation of donations through portal sites that award points for (3) from October of next year. This follows last year’s amendment to limit the total amount of returned goods and expenses to no more than 50% of the donation amount.

Less than a year remains before the “revision” of the system begins. However, it is highly likely that each site will come up with more special promotions in the remaining period of time in order to keep users in the fold. There is no way to avoid making a donation during the period when sites are offering point rewards. To do so, it is necessary to understand and use the features of each site.

Mr. Yusaku Seki, editor-in-chief of Furusato Tax Payment Information Website “FURUTOKU” recommends “Rakuten Furusato Tax Payment is easy to use with fewer steps.

Rakuten Furusato Tax is also subject to the “Shopping Marathon,” in which points are given back up to 46 times if you make purchases at multiple stores.

The most recent campaign was held on November 5, which is the day of the “Shopping Marathon” and “Premium Card Day,” a day when Rakuten Premium Card users can get a higher reduction rate. If you make a donation through Rakuten on these days, you can receive more points than usual,” says Seki.

Take advantage of the “lottery” to save money

LINE Yahoo, which also has a comprehensive shopping site, operates Yahoo’s Furusato Tax Payment. Financial planner Keisuke Tobita explains.

If you pay 508 yen per month to become a LYP Premium member, you can participate in redemption programs such as “Premium Sundays,” in which the point redemption rate increases by 5%. Incidentally, the free trial period for premium membership is three months, so if you finish all your donations and cancel your membership within that period, you don’t even have to pay the membership fee. Also, the points redeemed from the site are PayPay points, so you can use them to pay for small daily purchases.

There is a campaign being held for Furunavi users to realize a high redemption rate, although it depends on luck.

During the “Furnavi Mega Reduction Festival” campaign, if you win the lottery, you can get up to 50% of your money back. The Furunavi Coins can be exchanged for Rakuten points or Amazon gift cards, so they can be used for a wide range of purposes,” says Seki.

Furusato Premium is a service that falls somewhere between Rakuten for certainty and Furnavi for return rates. Mr. Seki continues.

Only new users receive an 11% point rebate. In addition, if you participate in the monthly “Special Day” lottery, you can get up to 32% of your points back.

As for the important return goods, the trend in recent years has been to select goods that can be used on a daily basis rather than luxury items,” he says.

When the Furusato tax system first started, the system was rare, and many people used the system to receive rewards. However, the one-stop special exception system has simplified the procedures and the continuing high cost of living has led to an increase in the number of users choosing consumable goods for daily use,” said Takahito Kikuchi, representative of Poitan Co.

However, there are also some points to note when ordering daily necessities. Mr. Tobita, mentioned above, says, “Rice is more expensive now.

The rice shortage that began to be reported around August has resulted in a rush of orders for hometown tax payments, so local governments are raising the amount of donations. In addition, donation amounts for beer and other products vary from municipality to municipality, even for the same product, so you want to find the cheapest one possible by making use of the sorting function on the website.

With the COVID-19 crisis dawning and people spending less time at home, frozen foods that can be prepared quickly as well as standard meat and fish are continuing to be popular,” said Tobita.

The deadline for one-stop applications for hometown tax payments during ’24 is January 10, 2013. Mr. Matsuzaki advises those who are short of time and cannot fully select the returned goods by then.

He recommends choosing a catalog gift and taking your time to find what you are looking for.

The table below shows the recommended return gifts selected by the experts, and there are only a few days left to catch the quadruple. How about preparing for the “rush to pay taxes”?

From the November 1-8, 2024 issue of “FRIDAY