Why Furusato Nozei Portal Points Were Banned, and Which Card Points Still Work

Until a few years ago, one way to choose a Furusato Nozei (ふるさと納税) site was to ask which portal returned the most points. That has changed. This guide sets out what was banned, from when, and what still works, based on the text of the ministry's notice revision and its Q&A.

A quick reminder of how Furusato Nozei works

You donate to a local government of your choice, and the part of the donation above ¥2,000 is, as a rule, deducted in full from your income tax and resident tax, up to a limit that depends on your income. Most municipalities thank donors with return gifts, and the ministry's Q&A says a return gift may not cost the municipality more than 30% of the donation, even briefly. To check your own limit, use the donation limit calculator.

What was banned, and from when

On June 28, 2024, the ministry issued a revised notice setting the criteria a municipality must meet to remain designated as a recipient of Furusato Nozei donations that qualify for the deduction. Among the changes, the rule that municipalities may not solicit donations through anyone who gives donors points or similar benefits has applied since October 1, 2025 (the notice's supplementary provisions set that date). The ministry's Q&A defines “points etc.” broadly, as any economic benefit given to a donor whatever it is called, such as “miles” or “coins”. It covers benefits given by portal-site operators directly or indirectly.

The rule works as a condition of designation. The ministry's Q&A (Q32) says that when a municipality is found not to have met the solicitation criteria or the other designation criteria during the designation period or the year before it, its designation will be cancelled unless there are special circumstances, such as a clerical error or a trivial amount of donations received in breach.

Why it was banned

The ministry's overview chart lists, among the situations where compliance with the criteria was in doubt, that “competition over points given with donations through portal sites has overheated”. Its response is to prohibit soliciting donations through portal sites that give donors points, effective October 2025.

The ministry's Q&A (Q1) also describes the system as one in which donors give “of their own free will to their hometown or to a municipality that has helped them”. That statement is made about a different rule, which bars paying third parties to recruit donors, so it is not the ministry's stated reason for the points ban.

Do credit-card points still work?

The ban targets points that portal sites attach to a donation. Points that come with the payment method itself are treated separately. Q1-3 of the ministry's Q&A says that points a credit-card or cashless payment company gives for the payment are outside the ban when they are equivalent to what is given for ordinary commercial payments, while points added on top specifically for Furusato Nozei payments are covered by the ban.

Return-gift rules were also revised

The same notice also revised the “local product” criteria, which decide whether a return gift is closely enough tied to the municipality. The ministry's press release says the criteria now place more weight on the value added in the municipality and on the link to the area. This applies, for example, to products that are only planned in the area but made elsewhere, and to services such as lodging. These are rules about which return gifts municipalities may offer; they do not change what you have to do as a donor.

What this changes for donors

Comparing portals by points no longer makes sense, so the useful comparison is elsewhere: the return gifts on offer, how easy the site is to browse, whether the municipality accepts the One-Stop Exception online (this varies by municipality), and how easily you can keep the paperwork for your tax return. Whichever site you use, the way your donation limit is calculated does not change, so it is practical to check your limit first with the calculator and then look for return gifts.