---
title: "日本 認定NPO法人 — certification route and donor tax benefits"
aliases:
  - "japan-nintei-npo-houjin-tax-benefits"
  - "認定NPO法人"
  - "認定特定非営利活動法人"
  - "nintei NPO houjin"
  - "japan certified NPO"
  - "japan certified specified non-profit corporation"
  - "パブリックサポートテスト PST"
  - "特例認定NPO法人"
domain: non-profit
created: 2026-06-03
last_updated: 2026-07-30
last_tended: 2026-07-30
review_by: 2026-12-03
confidence: likely
tags: [non-profit, japan, npo, certified-npo, tax-deductible, donations]
status: active
sources:
  - "https://www.npo-homepage.go.jp/about/npo-kisochishiki/ninteiseido"
  - "https://www.npo-homepage.go.jp/qa/ninteiseido/nintei-hantei-all"
  - "https://www.nta.go.jp/taxes/shiraberu/taxanswer/shotoku/1263.htm"
  - "https://laws.e-gov.go.jp/law/410AC1000000007"
  - "https://www.npo-homepage.go.jp/about/npo-kisochishiki/nposeido-gaiyou"
---

# 日本 認定NPO法人 — certification route and donor tax benefits

## Wiki route

This entry sits under [[non-profit/INDEX|non-profit INDEX]] and is the **tax-upgrade companion** to the base form described in [[non-profit/japan-npo-houjin-overview|Japan NPO法人 overview]]. The donor-deductibility prize it unlocks parallels the 公益 advantage covered in [[non-profit/japan-koeki-vs-general-zaidan-comparison|公益財団 vs 一般財団 vs 一般社団 vs NPO法人 comparison]], and matters most for organisations pursuing the public-fundraising and research-grant patterns mapped in [[non-profit/japan-research-grant-map-2026|Japan research grant map 2026]].

## TL;DR

A plain [[non-profit/japan-npo-houjin-overview|NPO法人]] confers **no tax deduction on its donors**. The **認定NPO法人 (Certified NPO)** status is the separate upgrade that does — it makes donations **income-tax deductible** for individuals (choice of 所得控除 or 税額控除), **損金算入**-eligible for corporate donors, and **inheritance-tax** deductible. The gateway is the **Public Support Test (PST)**: proof that the organisation is broadly supported by the public rather than a single benefactor.

## Who certifies, and under what law

The following table is scoped to public primary sources (npo-homepage.go.jp, nta.go.jp, laws.e-gov.go.jp). It restates licence / structure / product boundaries from those materials and does not invent market share, ranking, or unstated numerical claims. ^[source:npo-homepage.go.jp; nta.go.jp; laws.e-gov.go.jp]

| Attribute | Detail |
|---|---|
| Statute | 特定非営利活動促進法 (NPO Act); 認定 route added in the **2011/2012 reform**, governance tightened **2024** |
| Certifier (所轄庁) | **Prefectural Governor / designated-city Mayor** — devolved from the National Tax Agency in the 2012 reform |
| Prerequisite | Must already be an established **NPO法人** |
| Standard certification validity | **5 years**, renewable (renewal filed 6-3 months before expiry) |

A historically important shift: certification authority **moved from the NTA to the 所轄庁** in 2012, aligning the certifier with the body that already supervises the underlying NPO. The tax *benefits*, however, still flow through the national tax code administered by the NTA.

## The Public Support Test (PST)

The PST asks: **is this NPO broadly supported by the public?** An applicant must satisfy **any one** of three alternative standards:

| Standard | Threshold |
|---|---|
| **相対値基準 (relative value)** | Donations ≥ **1/5 (20%)** of ordinary income (経常収入) over the evaluation period |
| **絶対値基準 (absolute value)** | An average of **100+ donors per year** each giving **¥3,000 or more** over the evaluation period |
| **条例個別指定 (ordinance designation)** | Designated by local-government ordinance as a body contributing to resident welfare (individual-resident-tax deduction target) |

The PST is the analytical heart of the certified-NPO regime: it converts "broad public support" into a measurable financial test, deliberately favouring organisations funded by **many small donors** over those funded by a single large patron.

## 特例認定 — the PST waiver for young NPOs

For NPOs **within 5 years of establishment**, a **特例認定 (special certification)** is available **once**, which **waives the PST** while still requiring sound governance and a credible public-benefit basis:

- **Validity: 3 years**, **non-renewable**.
- Designed as a bridge: a young NPO without a donor track record can still offer donors tax-deductibility while it builds the donor base needed to pass the full PST later.

This is the NPO-side analogue of a "provisional" public-interest status, lowering the cold-start barrier for new civic organisations.

## Donor tax benefits — the asymmetric prize

The benefits accrue to the **donor**, not the entity, which is precisely why 認定 status widens an organisation's fundraising base:

| Donor type | Benefit under 認定NPO法人 |
|---|---|
| Individual income tax | **所得控除 (income deduction) OR 税額控除 (tax credit)** — donor chooses the more favourable |
| Individual inheritance tax | Inherited assets donated to a 認定NPO are deductible from the taxable estate |
| Corporate donor | Donations qualify for an **expanded 損金算入枠** beyond the general donation cap |
| Resident tax (個人住民税) | Available where the local government designates the NPO by ordinance |
| The NPO itself | **みなし寄付金 (deemed-donation)** treatment for transfers from 収益事業 to non-profit activities |

The **税額控除** option is particularly powerful for small individual donors because it reduces tax liability directly rather than merely reducing taxable income — a deliberate policy lever to broaden grassroots giving.

## How this compares to 公益 status

| Lever | 認定NPO法人 | 公益財団 / 公益社団 |
|---|---|---|
| Base form | NPO法人 (separate NPO statute) | 一般財団 / 一般社団 (一般法人法 family) |
| Certifier | 所轄庁 (prefecture / designated city) | 公益認定等委員会 (Cabinet Office / Prefecture) |
| Gating test | **PST** (broad-public-support financial test) | 公益認定 (public-interest + 50%-expenditure + governance + asset tests) |
| Donor income-tax deduction | Yes (所得控除 / 税額控除) | Yes (所得控除 / 税額控除) |
| Permitted activities | 20 NPO categories | Enumerated public-interest categories |

Both routes reach the **same donor-deductibility destination** from different statutory starting points. The choice between them is upstream — it is the **NPO法人 vs 一般社団/財団** form decision in [[non-profit/japan-koeki-vs-general-zaidan-comparison|the cross-form comparison]] — not a late tax election. An organisation that picked the NPO form for its civic legitimacy and low setup cost climbs via 認定; one that picked a foundation/association climbs via 公益認定.

## Strategic reading

- 認定 status is **not a vanity label** — it is a **fundraising-economics gate**. Without it, a public-fundraising NPO competes for donations against deductible 公益 and 認定 peers at a structural disadvantage.
- The **絶対値基準 (100 donors × ¥3,000)** path is often the most achievable for genuinely grassroots organisations; the **相対値基準 (20% of income)** path suits donation-dominant funding models. Picking which PST limb to engineer toward is a core early-stage finance decision.
- For NPOs adjacent to financial- or policy-research themes, pairing 認定-status fundraising with programme grants from the [[non-profit/japan-research-grant-map-2026|research grant map]] and the institutional context in [[policy-finance/INDEX|policy-finance INDEX]] gives the most resilient funding mix.

## Related

- [[non-profit/INDEX|non-profit INDEX]]
- [[non-profit/japan-npo-houjin-overview|Japan NPO法人 overview]]
- [[non-profit/japan-koeki-vs-general-zaidan-comparison|公益財団 vs 一般財団 vs 一般社団 vs NPO法人 comparison]]
- [[non-profit/japan-ippan-vs-koeki-shadan-houjin|Japan 一般社団法人 vs 公益社団法人]]
- [[non-profit/japan-research-grant-map-2026|Japan research grant map 2026]]
- [[INDEX|FinWiki index]]

## Sources

- 内閣府 NPOホームページ — 認定制度について: https://www.npo-homepage.go.jp/about/npo-kisochishiki/ninteiseido
- 内閣府 NPOホームページ — 認定の判定 PST全般: https://www.npo-homepage.go.jp/qa/ninteiseido/nintei-hantei-all
- 国税庁 No.1263 認定NPO法人に寄附をしたとき: https://www.nta.go.jp/taxes/shiraberu/taxanswer/shotoku/1263.htm
- e-Gov 法令検索 — 特定非営利活動促進法: https://laws.e-gov.go.jp/law/410AC1000000007
- 内閣府 NPOホームページ — NPO制度の概要: https://www.npo-homepage.go.jp/about/npo-kisochishiki/nposeido-gaiyou