Japan New NISA Calculator: Tsumitate and Growth Quotas, Annual Limits and the ¥18 Million Lifetime Limit

The annual investment limit (the most you can buy in one calendar year) is ¥1.2 million for the tsumitate investment quota (つみたて投資枠) and ¥2.4 million for the growth investment quota (成長投資枠), or ¥3.6 million a year if you use both. The lifetime tax-free holding limit (非課税保有限度額, the "総枠") is ¥18 million across both quotas, and only ¥12 million of that can be held in the growth quota — it is part of the ¥18 million, not on top of it.

The products differ too. The tsumitate quota is for investment trusts that meet the FSA's criteria for long-term, diversified installment investing, bought as a regular plan. The growth quota can hold listed stocks, investment trusts and more, bought as a lump sum or in installments, but not securities being delisted or under supervision, or investment trusts with a trust period under 20 years, monthly-distribution types, or certain funds that use derivatives. For either quota, you can open an account if you live in Japan and are 18 or older on January 1 of the year you use it.

On book value (the total you paid). The FSA's FAQ says the lifetime limit is managed on the purchase balance (book value balance). Gains from investment growth do not use up any of the limit.

For example, if you put ¥100,000 a month into the tsumitate quota, your book value reaches the ¥18 million limit in December of year 15 and you cannot buy more after that. But if your investments returned 5% a year, the market value would be ¥33,936,776 after 20 years — well above ¥18 million, and still tax-free.

Yes. The book value of what you sold frees up room in the lifetime limit from the following year (FSA FAQ). The statute (Act on Special Measures Concerning Taxation, Article 37-14) tests the lifetime limit against the book value you held on December 31 of the previous year, plus what you have bought so far this year, so selling in a given year does not free room until the next January 1.

The annual limit is counted on the total you buy during the year, so selling does not bring back any of that year's annual limit either. The calculator's stop-contributing and withdraw option uses exactly this rule to work out when room reopens (see the withdrawal example above).

The room that opens up is the book value of what you sold, not the amount you sold (FSA FAQ). In the example above, you sell ¥2,400,000 in year 16, but only ¥1,588,878 of room opens up; the difference is investment gain.

The Order for Enforcement of the Act on Special Measures Concerning Taxation (Article 25-13, paragraph 26) says book value is calculated per product, following the average-cost rules for the cost of securities. This calculator treats each quota as one product and reduces the book value by the share you sold (book value × amount sold ÷ market value). If you hold several products, each has a different ratio of book value to market value, so which one you sell changes how much room opens up.

No. The growth quota alone can hold at most ¥12 million (FSA FAQ). Of the ¥18 million lifetime limit, the remaining ¥6 million can only be used in the tsumitate quota. The tsumitate quota, on the other hand, can fill the whole ¥18 million by itself. In this calculator the growth quota stops accepting purchases as soon as its book value reaches ¥12 million.

The annual limit is counted per calendar year (January 1 to December 31). The calculator assumes year 1 starts in January, so if you start in October, you can buy for only three months of year 1 and your actual first-year purchases will be smaller than shown. Over a long period the effect is small; if you want it exact, subtract the missing months of year 1 by hand.

No. According to the FSA, gains and losses in a NISA account cannot be netted against gains and losses in a specific account or general account, and a loss cannot be carried forward to later years. In the comparison with a taxable account, this calculator taxes each quota's gain on its own, so a loss in one quota does not reduce the tax on the other.

Gains on listed stocks and investment trusts are taxed at 15% income tax and 5% resident tax, plus a special reconstruction income tax of 2.1% of the income tax (National Tax Agency, Tax Answer No.1463). Together that is 20.315% (15% + 0.315% + 5%), the same breakdown the FSA gives. The calculator assumes you sell everything at the end, applies that rate to the gain, and rounds the tax down to a whole yen. It ignores dividends along the way and any loss offsetting or carry-forward.

No. The FY2026 (Reiwa 8) tax reform (Act No. 12 of Reiwa 8) removes the age requirement for the tsumitate quota, so from January 1, 2027 a separate tsumitate account is available for ages 0 to 17. The statutory limits are ¥600,000 a year and ¥6 million in total. According to the FSA, from age 12 the parent or guardian can withdraw money if certain conditions are met, such as a document showing the money is used for the child and the child's consent. This calculator covers the ordinary new NISA for people aged 18 and over (¥1.2 million and ¥2.4 million a year, ¥18 million in total). For Kodomo NISA, use the dedicated Kodomo NISA calculator.

Nobody can know future returns, so this calculator cannot tell you which figure to enter. The return you enter is treated as a constant annual rate after fees such as trust fees. Real returns rise and fall from year to year and can fall below your principal. Try a range: use the table showing a 2-point difference below the results, and try 0% (no growth) as well.

Each month it buys in the tsumitate quota first and then in the growth quota, at the start of the month, and adds that month's growth at the end of the month (the annual return is converted to a monthly compounded rate). Each purchase is cut back to whichever of the annual limit, the growth quota limit and the lifetime limit has the least room left. As in the statute, the lifetime limit and the growth quota limit are tested against the book value on December 31 of the previous year plus what you bought so far that year.

You can choose to buy the growth quota in equal monthly amounts or as a lump sum every January. If the lifetime limit has room for only one purchase in a month, the tsumitate quota is filled first. Withdrawals are made at the start of each month, after any purchase and before that month's growth; you can choose to sell from both quotas in proportion to market value, from the tsumitate quota first, or from the growth quota first. Dividends, a start partway through a year and Kodomo NISA are not included. This is general information, not tax, legal, or financial advice.