Filing Income Tax in Japan: A Step-by-Step Guide for Foreign Residents

2026年8月23日

Filing Income Tax in Japan: A Step-by-Step Guide for Foreign Residents

If you live and earn income in Japan, you may need to file a national income tax return—called a kakutei shinkoku—even if your employer already withholds tax from your salary. The key questions are whether your employer completed a year-end adjustment, whether you had other income, and what Japan considers taxable based on your tax-residency status.

For income earned during 2026, the ordinary filing period is scheduled for February 16 through March 15, 2027. If you will leave Japan before then without appointing a tax agent, you may have to file and pay before departure.

This guide is for foreign employees, freelancers, people with overseas income, workers with more than one job, and families claiming deductions in Japan.

Quick orientation:

One employer and a completed year-end adjustment often mean no return is required.
Side income over certain thresholds, multiple employers, self-employment, or overseas pay may create a filing obligation.
Your visa category does not by itself determine your Japanese tax-residency category.
Filing a return is free, but any outstanding tax generally must be paid by the deadline.
National income tax is handled by the National Tax Agency; resident tax is calculated separately by your municipality.

TOC

First decide whether you need to file

Many employees do not file because their employer settles their salary income through the year-end adjustment, or nenmatsu chōsei. That process does not cover every type of income or deduction.

You will generally need to examine filing more closely if any of these situations applies:

Your total employment earnings exceeded ¥20 million during the year.
You had one employer and more than ¥200,000 of total income other than employment and retirement income.
You received salary from two or more sources, and the combined amount of secondary salary plus other relevant income exceeded ¥200,000, subject to exceptions.
You received pay from a person or organization that was not required to withhold Japanese income tax.
You earned freelance, business, rental, investment, or certain overseas income.
Your employer did not complete a year-end adjustment—for example, because you changed jobs and did not give the new employer your previous withholding slip.
You left a job during the year and too much tax may have been withheld.

The ¥200,000 rule is often misunderstood. It is an income-tax filing exception for certain employees, not a general exemption for side income. It also does not automatically remove any obligation to report income for municipal resident-tax purposes.

When filing may produce a refund

You may choose to file even when you are not required to do so. Common reasons include:

Excess tax was withheld after you stopped working during the year.
Eligible medical expenses were not reflected in your year-end adjustment.
You made qualifying donations, including furusato nōzei donations that must be reported on a return.
You are claiming an eligible housing-loan credit for the first time.
Deductions for a spouse, dependants, social insurance, or other eligible expenses were omitted.

A refund return can generally be filed for up to five years from January 1 of the year following the relevant tax year. Once you file, however, you must report all income that belongs on that return—not only the item that generates the refund.

ここがポイント: A year-end adjustment settles tax on employment income handled by an employer. A final return settles your complete national income-tax position for the year, including income and deductions the employer did not handle.

Confirm your tax-residency category before counting income

The hardest issue for many foreign residents is not completing the form; it is deciding which income belongs on it. Japanese tax-residency categories are separate from immigration statuses such as Student, Engineer/Specialist in Humanities/International Services, or Permanent Resident.

Resident other than a non-permanent resident

A resident who is not classified as a non-permanent resident is generally taxed on worldwide income. This can include salary, investments, rent, and other income arising outside Japan, subject to detailed rules and possible foreign tax credits.

Non-permanent resident for tax purposes

In broad terms, a non-Japanese national who has been resident in Japan for no more than five years during the previous ten years may fall into this category.

Such a person is generally taxed on:

Income other than foreign-source income;
Foreign-source income paid in Japan; and
Foreign-source income paid abroad to the extent treated as remitted to Japan.

The remittance rules are technical. A transfer from an overseas account can matter even when the transferred money is not visibly linked to the income you earned that year. Obtain professional advice if you have substantial overseas income, investments, asset sales, or cross-border transfers.

Non-resident for tax purposes

A person without a domicile in Japan who has not maintained a residence here continuously for one year or more is generally a non-resident. Japanese tax then normally focuses on domestic-source income, although withholding rules and tax treaties can change how particular income is handled.

Work performed in Japan can be Japanese-source employment income even when an overseas company pays the salary into a foreign bank account. Do not assume that overseas payment makes the income tax-free in Japan.

Prepare the records before opening the filing system

Collecting complete records first prevents most filing delays and omissions. The exact documents depend on your income, deductions, family, and tax-residency category.

Identity and filing details

Prepare:

Your My Number;
Your current name, Japanese address, date of birth, and occupation;
My Number Card and its PINs if using card-based e-Tax;
Bank-account details in your own name if you expect a refund;
Your previous return and e-Tax user identification number, if applicable.

A residence card proves immigration status but is not a substitute for entering your My Number where the return requires it.

Income records

Employees should collect every gensen chōshūhyō, the annual withholding slip issued by an employer. If you changed jobs, check that you have one from each employer and that your new employer correctly included the previous job in its year-end adjustment, if applicable.

Depending on your situation, also gather:

Payment statements for freelance or contract work;
Sales and expense records for a business;
Rental-income and property-expense records;
Pension statements;
Securities transaction statements;
Records of overseas salary, interest, dividends, rent, and asset sales;
Dates and amounts of money transferred into Japan;
Documents showing foreign tax paid.

Convert foreign-currency transactions into yen using an appropriate, consistently applied method. The correct conversion date and rate can depend on the transaction, so complex portfolios or repeated overseas payments deserve specialist review.

Deduction records

Useful documents may include:

Certificates for Japanese social-insurance premiums;
Life and earthquake insurance deduction certificates;
Medical-expense statements and reimbursement records;
Donation receipts;
Housing-loan and property documents;
Records supporting spouse or dependant deductions;
Documents proving your relationship to relatives living abroad;
Evidence of qualifying remittances to overseas relatives;
Japanese translations where required.

Claims involving relatives outside Japan have special document requirements. Age, student status, disability, relationship, and the amount transferred can affect eligibility. A simple international transfer receipt may not be enough on its own.

File the return in seven practical steps

The safest workflow is to establish your taxable income first, enter deductions second, and review withholding and payment details last. Do not begin by guessing whether you should receive a refund.

1. Choose e-Tax, printed mail, or in-person filing

The National Tax Agency’s online return-preparation system can calculate the return from the information entered. The completed return can be:

Sent electronically through e-Tax;
Printed and mailed to the competent tax office; or
Submitted according to the tax office’s current filing arrangements.

A My Number Card and compatible smartphone are the usual convenient route for electronic filing. Other login methods may be available to existing users. The NTA’s filing interface and much of its detailed guidance remain Japanese-heavy, so allow extra time if you cannot read tax terminology.

Tax-office filing support can be crowded during the February–March season and may require advance admission procedures. Check the office’s current instructions rather than arriving without an appointment.

2. Enter your identity and tax-residency information

Use the name and address associated with your official Japanese records. If you moved, confirm which tax office has jurisdiction over your address when you file.

Foreign residents should take special care with:

Date of arrival in Japan;
Periods previously lived in Japan;
Nationality;
Planned departure date;
Tax-residency classification;
Overseas income and remittances.

A mistake here can change the scope of taxable income, not merely the spelling on the form.

3. Enter every relevant income source

Enter the amounts from each withholding slip and add other reportable income under the correct category. Freelance work is not automatically “business income”; its treatment depends on the facts, continuity, scale, and how the activity is conducted.

Do not report only income that arrived in a Japanese bank account. The place where work was performed, the source of income, your tax-residency category, and remittances can all matter.

4. Claim deductions with supporting evidence

Enter only deductions for which you meet the conditions and can retain or provide the required evidence. Some records are transmitted electronically, some must accompany a paper return, and others must be kept for possible review.

Medical-expense deductions are based on eligible expenses after relevant reimbursements and the applicable threshold—not simply the total shown on hospital receipts. The regular medical-expense deduction and the self-medication special system cannot both be used for the same year.

5. Review tax already withheld

Your withholding slips show tax already collected from salary. Estimated income-tax prepayments and eligible foreign tax credits may also affect the balance.

A foreign tax credit is not automatic. It requires the income and foreign tax to meet Japanese conditions, and the credit is limited by a calculation. A tax treaty may also affect which country has the primary taxing right.

6. Submit and save proof

Before submission, compare the return against your original records. Check names, income totals, withholding tax, bank information, and My Number.

After filing, retain:

A copy of the completed return;
The e-Tax acceptance message or paper proof of submission;
Calculation worksheets;
Income and deduction records;
Payment confirmation.

Do not treat the on-screen calculation alone as proof that e-Tax received the return. Confirm that transmission was completed and accepted.

7. Pay the balance or monitor the refund

Submitting a return does not by itself pay the tax. Follow the payment instructions and complete payment by the applicable deadline. Available methods include account transfer and other electronic or cash-based options, subject to their individual conditions.

If using account transfer, make sure the registered account has enough money on the transfer date. A failed debit can lead to delinquent tax calculated from after the statutory due date.

Deadlines and the real cost of filing

Preparing and submitting your own return through the government system has no filing fee, but unpaid tax, professional help, and late filing can create costs.

For the 2026 tax year:

Income is counted from January 1 through December 31, 2026.
The ordinary filing period is February 16 through March 15, 2027.
Tax due should generally be paid by the applicable statutory deadline.
Refund-only returns can usually be filed earlier and remain possible within the five-year limit.

If a statutory deadline falls on a weekend or national holiday, the due date may move to the next business day. Confirm the final calendar and payment dates on the NTA website when filing opens.

Tax-accountant fees are private service charges, not government filing fees. Prices vary with the number of income sources, bookkeeping condition, overseas assets, foreign tax credits, property, and language support. Ask for a written scope before hiring someone.

Late filing or payment can lead to additional tax and delinquent tax. If you discover an error after filing, the correct procedure depends on whether the correction increases or decreases the tax. Contact the tax office or a licensed Japanese tax accountant promptly instead of filing a second unrelated return.

Leaving Japan changes the timetable

A person departing Japan may need to settle tax before the normal filing season. This is especially important for workers whose assignment ends before February or March.

If you will lose your Japanese domicile or residence for tax purposes and still have filing obligations, you generally have two routes:

Appoint a tax agent in Japan: Submit the required notification, then the agent can handle the return and payment by the normal deadline.
Do not appoint a tax agent: File the required return and pay before departure.

For someone departing between January 1 and March 15, an unfiled return for the preceding year may also have to be completed before leaving. Income arising after departure or continuing Japanese-source income can create further obligations.

A tax agent can be an individual resident in Japan or a Japanese corporation. This role is different from an immigration representative and does not automatically mean the person is a licensed tax adviser.

National income tax and resident tax are not the same bill

The final return primarily settles national income tax, while your municipality separately calculates resident tax. Information from the national return is normally passed to the local government, which then uses it for the resident-tax calculation.

Resident tax commonly creates confusion because it is generally based on the previous year’s income. A person who leaves a job or experiences a large pay cut may still receive a substantial resident-tax bill based on earlier earnings.

Municipal procedures can differ. Depending on your employment and departure timing, resident tax may be:

Deducted from salary;
Paid using municipal payment notices;
Collected in a lump sum when employment ends; or
Handled through a separately appointed tax representative after departure.

The national ¥200,000 side-income filing exception does not necessarily remove local reporting requirements. Ask the municipality where you were registered on January 1 how it handles your case.

Common mistakes that cause expensive corrections

Most avoidable problems come from treating one employer’s paperwork as a complete record of the year. Review these points before submitting:

Omitting a second withholding slip after changing jobs;
Assuming foreign salary is outside Japanese tax because it stayed overseas;
Confusing immigration status with tax-residency status;
Treating revenue as profit without calculating allowable expenses correctly;
Claiming an overseas dependant without the required relationship and remittance documents;
Forgetting that filing a tax return can cancel the furusato nōzei one-stop treatment, requiring all qualifying donations to be entered on the return;
Reporting only the deduction that creates a refund while omitting other income;
Filing electronically but failing to complete the separate payment step;
Leaving Japan without filing or appointing a tax agent;
Assuming national filing rules and municipal resident-tax rules are identical.

Overseas assets can also trigger separate information-reporting duties when statutory thresholds and conditions are met. These reports are not replaced by the ordinary income-tax return.

When professional advice is worth the cost

Professional help is most valuable when the uncertainty concerns what is taxable, not when it concerns where to type a simple salary figure. Consider a licensed Japanese tax accountant if you have:

Income paid by an overseas employer for work performed in Japan;
Significant remittances or foreign-source income;
Stock options, restricted stock, cryptocurrency, or cross-border investments;
Overseas rental property or a property sale;
Income taxed in two countries;
A move into or out of Japan during the year;
A business with unclear expense treatment;
Large foreign assets or possible reporting obligations;
A correction for an earlier year.

Ask whether the adviser’s quote includes foreign-income analysis, foreign tax credits, resident-tax questions, amended filings, and communication with the tax office. “English support” alone does not define the work included.

Your action plan before the filing season

Do not wait until February to determine your tax-residency status or locate overseas records. Use the remaining months of 2026 to build a complete file.

List every employer and income source for the year.
Record your arrival, departure, and previous periods of residence in Japan.
Keep evidence of overseas income, foreign tax, and transfers into Japan.
Collect deduction certificates and documents for overseas relatives.
Confirm whether your employer will complete a year-end adjustment.
Decide whether you can use e-Tax and test your My Number Card PINs early.
If leaving Japan, appoint a tax agent or prepare to file before departure.
Recheck the NTA’s 2026 return guide and final deadline when released.

The next practical watchpoint is the publication of the NTA’s full guide and online forms for 2026 income. Until then, organize records using the current rules, but confirm thresholds, deductions, system requirements, and filing dates again before submission.

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