How to obtain the 'Confirmation of the Decedent's Residential House' needed for the 30-million-yen vacant-house deduction (application to the municipality)

In short: to sell an inherited family home (a vacant house) and use the "special deduction of up to 30 million yen on the transfer of a vacant house" (Article 35, paragraph 3 of the Act on Special Measures Concerning Taxation), you must attach a "Confirmation of the Decedent's Residential House, etc." to your final tax return. This confirmation is issued by the mayor of the municipality with jurisdiction over the house and land you sold (guidance of the National Tax Agency and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, accessed 2026-10-31). The application for issuance is accompanied by the decedent's removed residence certificate, documents showing the date electricity, gas, or water was stopped, a copy of the sale contract, and the like. This article is general information within the scope of preparing documents submitted to a public office; it does not make the tax judgement of whether the special measure applies, nor calculate or file the tax.

Why is the "Confirmation of the Decedent's Residential House" needed, and where do you apply?

The special deduction of up to 30 million yen on the transfer of a vacant house allows, under certain requirements, a deduction of up to 30 million yen from the transfer income when you sell a decedent's residential house (or its site) that you inherited (Article 35, paragraph 3 of the Act on Special Measures Concerning Taxation; Article 20-3 of its Enforcement Order; Article 18-2 of its Enforcement Regulation). To receive it, you are required to attach a "Confirmation of the Decedent's Residential House, etc." to your final tax return (National Tax Agency "No. 3306," accessed 2026-10-31).

The confirmation is issued not by the tax office but by the mayor of the municipality with jurisdiction over the house and land you sold. In other words, the tax filing goes to the tax office, while the confirmation that proves the facts underlying the special measure goes to the municipality. The confirmation shows that the municipality has verified, by documents, that the house was the "decedent's residential house" and that it was vacant from the time of inheritance until the time of transfer.

Item	Content
Basis	Article 35, paragraph 3 of the Act on Special Measures Concerning Taxation (Enforcement Order Article 20-3; Enforcement Regulation Article 18-2)
Issuer of the confirmation	The mayor of the municipality with jurisdiction over the asset sold
Submission / use	Attached to the final tax return and submitted to the tax office (one of the requirements for the special measure)
Deduction	Up to 30 million yen (for transfers on or after 1 January 2024, where three or more heirs acquired the property, up to 20 million yen)

The judgement of whether the special measure actually applies and the calculation and filing of the tax are the domain of a tax accountant. Our office (administrative scrivener) assists within the scope of preparing and submitting the documents to apply for issuance of the confirmation.

How are the requirements for the house (year of construction, not condominium, vacant) organised?

The confirmation is issued on the premise that the house you sold meets the facts of the "decedent's residential house" that is the object of the special measure. The main requirements shown by the National Tax Agency are as follows (No. 3306, accessed 2026-10-31).

Requirement	Content
Time of construction	Built on or before 31 May 1981
Not a condominium	Not a building registered as a condominium (sectional ownership)
Residence just before inheritance	No person other than the decedent was living there immediately before the inheritance began (limited to one building mainly used by the decedent as a residence)
Continued vacancy	Not used for business, leasing, or residence from the time of inheritance until the time of transfer
Applicable period	Transfer between 1 April 2016 and 31 December 2027
Transfer price	The transfer price is 100 million yen or less (judged by adding transfers by other heirs, etc.)

Even where the decedent was admitted to a nursing home or the like immediately before the inheritance began, the case may still qualify if certain requirements are met, such as having been certified as requiring long-term care. In that case, documents showing the admission and the care certification are additionally needed. Confirm the final application of which requirement fits and the tax judgement with a tax accountant.

What documents are attached to the application?

When you apply to the municipality for issuance of the confirmation, you attach documents such as the following to the application (the issuance guidelines of each municipality, accessed 2026-10-31; names and copies differ by municipality).

Category	Main documents
Confirming inheritance and residence	The decedent's removed residence certificate; the heir's residence certificate
Confirming it was vacant	Documents confirming the date electricity, gas, or water was stopped, such as a stop certificate or a notice slip of discontinuance. Note that the stop date must be on or after the date the inheritance began
Confirming the transfer	A copy of the sale contract
If admitted to a nursing home	Documents showing the care certification and the fact of admission to the facility

If the stop date of electricity, gas, or water is before the date the inheritance began, you cannot show that the house was vacant at the time of inheritance, and the confirmation may not be granted. It is safer to check the record of the stop date early. Because the required documents differ by municipality and additions may be requested, confirm with the latest guidance of the municipality where the property is located before you apply.

How do the documents differ between demolishing before selling and seismically retrofitting before selling?

This special measure is broadly divided into (1) the type where you seismically retrofit the house (sell it as a house with earthquake resistance) and (2) the type where you demolish the house and sell only the land, and the form of the confirmation also differs by the mode of transfer.

• Seismically retrofitting before selling: it is a requirement that the house conforms to certain seismic standards at the time of transfer. For transfers on or after 1 January 2024, the case also qualifies if it comes to meet the standard by 15 February of the year following the year of transfer. A certificate of conformity to seismic standards and documents relating to the work become necessary.
• Demolishing and selling the land: the requirements must be met from the time of inheritance until the time of demolition, and from the time of demolition until the time of transfer. Documents showing the demolition of the building (such as a closed-register certificate) become necessary. For transfers on or after 1 January 2024, the case also qualifies if the demolition, etc. is carried out by 15 February of the year following the year of transfer.

Mode of transfer	Key requirements	Main additional documents
Retrofit and sell	Conformity to seismic standards at transfer (for transfers on/after 2024, conformity by 15 February of the following year also allowed)	Certificate of conformity to seismic standards, work-related documents
Demolish and sell the land	Requirements from inheritance to demolition and from demolition to transfer (for transfers on/after 2024, demolition by 15 February of the following year also allowed)	Documents showing demolition of the building (such as a closed-register certificate)

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Which form applies and the sufficiency of the documents are confirmed with the municipality and a tax accountant. This article stays with information on the framework and does not apply any specific case.

Who judges whether the deduction applies and files, and who handles the deregistration and the sale?

Selling a vacant house moves tax, registration, and sale in parallel with obtaining the confirmation. The roles are divided as follows, and each contracts and proceeds separately as an independent business.

• Preparing and submitting the documents to apply for the Confirmation of the Decedent's Residential House → Yotsuba Administrative Scrivener Office (administrative scrivener). We provide materials and information only and do not make specific legal or tax judgements
• The judgement of whether the special measure applies, the tax calculation, and the final tax return → a tax accountant. Our office does not make tax judgements or file
• Deregistration of the building after demolition (registration of a description) → a land and house investigator
• Inheritance registration (registration of transfer of ownership) → a judicial scrivener
• Brokerage of the sale of the vacant house → Yotsuba Real Estate Co., Ltd. (licensed real estate broker), a separate business. It handles this under a separate contract as an independent business
• Where a dispute over the division of the estate becomes apparent → a lawyer

Consultation on the sale is handled by Yotsuba Real Estate Co., Ltd., a separate business from Yotsuba Administrative Scrivener Office, under a separate contract as an independent business. Whether the special measure applies, the tax calculation, and the filing are for a tax accountant; deregistration of the building is for a land and house investigator; inheritance registration is for a judicial scrivener; and disputes are for a lawyer, each contracting separately as an independent business. Each field is on the premise that you contract separately with each counter or qualified professional, and our office receives no referral fee. Even at a stage when you are unsure about the stop date or the construction-year requirement, consult us before you decide how to sell. For the flow of engagement, see Engagement Flow; for fees, see Fee Schedule; for inheritance work, see Guide to Inheritance Services; and for a general guide to inheritance, see Inheritance Consultation. As related articles, see also The flow of inheritance registration, How to prepare an estate-division agreement, and How to start inheritance procedures and the family-register investigation.

FAQ

Q. Where can I obtain the Confirmation of the Decedent's Residential House?
A. It is issued by the mayor of the municipality with jurisdiction over the house and land you sold (National Tax Agency "No. 3306," accessed 2026-10-31). It is not the tax office. You attach the issued confirmation to your final tax return to receive the special measure (Article 35, paragraph 3 of the Act on Special Measures Concerning Taxation). Because the counter and form differ by municipality, confirm with the latest guidance of the municipality where the property is located.

Q. Why is the stop date of electricity or gas important?
A. Because the special measure presupposes that the house was vacant from the time of inheritance until the time of transfer, the municipality confirms the fact that it was vacant by documents showing the date electricity, gas, or water was stopped. The stop date must be on or after the date the inheritance began; if the stop is before that date, the confirmation may not be granted. It is safer to check the record of the stop date early.

Q. Do the documents differ between demolishing before selling and selling without demolishing?
A. Yes. When you demolish and sell the land, documents showing the demolition of the building (such as a closed-register certificate) are needed; when you seismically retrofit and sell, a certificate of conformity to seismic standards is needed; and the form of the confirmation also differs. For transfers on or after 1 January 2024, the case also qualifies if the demolition, etc. or the conformity to seismic standards is done by 15 February of the year following the year of transfer. Confirm which applies with the municipality and a tax accountant.

Q. Does an administrative scrivener also calculate the tax?
A. We do not. The tax judgement of whether the special measure applies and the tax calculation and final return are the domain of a tax accountant. Our office (administrative scrivener) assists within the scope of preparing and submitting the documents to apply for the Confirmation of the Decedent's Residential House. Tax is contracted separately with a tax accountant as an independent business. Our office receives no referral fee.

Sources (Primary Information)

• e-Gov Law Search, "Act on Special Measures Concerning Taxation," Article 35, paragraph 3 (special deduction for transfer income relating to a decedent's residential property (a vacant house)), Article 20-3 of its Enforcement Order, and Article 18-2 of its Enforcement Regulation (accessed 2026-10-31)
• National Tax Agency, "No. 3306: Special measure when you sell a decedent's residential property (a vacant house)" (deduction up to 30 million yen = for transfers on or after 1 January 2024 where three or more heirs acquire, up to 20 million yen; applicable period = 1 April 2016 to 31 December 2027; built on or before 31 May 1981, not a condominium, no resident other than the decedent immediately before inheritance; transfer price 100 million yen or less; the handling of retrofit and demolition; issuer of the confirmation = the mayor of the municipality) (accessed 2026-10-31)
• Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, guidance on issuance of the "Confirmation of the Decedent's Residential House, etc.," and the issuance guidelines and forms of each municipality (the decedent's removed residence certificate, documents showing the date electricity/gas/water was stopped, a copy of the sale contract, etc., attached to the application) (accessed 2026-10-31)

This article is general information and does not guarantee or judge the tax judgement of whether the special measure applies, the result of calculating the deduction, or the sufficiency of the required documents. Because the requirements, forms, and applicable period are amended and the required documents differ by municipality, always confirm with the latest provisions and the guidance of the National Tax Agency, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, and the municipality where the property is located. Whether the special measure applies, the tax calculation, and the final return are for a tax accountant; deregistration of the building for a land and house investigator; inheritance registration for a judicial scrivener; brokerage of the sale of the vacant house for Yotsuba Real Estate Co., Ltd. (licensed real estate broker), a separate business; and representation in disputes for a lawyer, each as an independent business under separate contracts and procedures. Our office receives no referral fee. Specific legal judgements are made by a qualified professional such as an administrative scrivener after a meeting. Written by Joji Uramatsu, administrative scrivener and licensed real estate broker.