For most employees Japan's taxes run on autopilot — income tax is withheld each month and reconciled by the company in December, no filing needed. The trap is residence tax, charged on last year's income starting the following June, which makes year one feel artificially cheap and year two bring a bill many newcomers never budgeted. Freelancers, double-jobbers, and anyone with side income over ¥200,000 must file a return each spring, and unpaid residence tax follows you into visa renewals and out the departure gate.
Key facts
- Income tax (national)
- Progressive 5–45%, withheld monthly
- Residence tax (local)
- ~10% of last year's income, from June
- Year-end adjustment
- Employer files for most employees
- Must file a return
- Freelance, 2+ jobs, side income >¥200,000
- Filing season
- Mid-February to mid-March
Tax filing quick guide (2026)
| Item | Details | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Who does not file | Single-employer company workers — year-end adjustment settles it; keep the gensen choshuhyo slip from December, housing and visa renewals ask for it | Official |
| Who must file | Multiple part-time jobs, side income over ¥200,000, freelancers, and anyone who left a job mid-year and missed year-end adjustment | Official |
| Filing window | February 16 – March 15 each year, covering last calendar year; pure refund filings can be made any time within 5 years | Official |
| What to bring | Withholding slip, My Number, a bank account in your own name, and deduction evidence (insurance premiums, medical bills) | Official |
| Overseas dependent deduction | Remittances to family back home reduce your tax — kinship documents plus per-person transfer records required; dependents aged 30–69 face extra conditions | Official |
| e-Tax | My Number card plus a phone files everything from home; during the season tax offices run free help desks, some municipalities multilingual | Official |
The autopilot part
If you’re a regular employee, two systems run without you: monthly withholding takes an estimated income tax from each paycheck, and the December year-end adjustment (nenmatsu chōsei) reconciles it — most employees in Japan never file a return in their lives. Keep the gensen chōshūhyō slip your company issues each January; immigration asks for it at visa renewals, and it’s the document that proves your income exists.
The part nobody warns you about
Residence tax is the newcomer’s ambush: roughly 10% of your income, but charged a year in arrears, starting the June after you earned it. Year one in Japan feels light because you’re paying residence tax on a year in which you earned nothing here. Year two, the real rate arrives — and it also explains why part-time students who scale back hours suddenly owe tax that chases last year’s busier schedule. The bill survives job changes and even emigration, which is why leavers appoint a tax agent to settle it.
Who has to file, and who should anyway
A spring tax return (kakutei shinkoku, mid-February to mid-March) is mandatory for freelancers, people with two employers, and anyone with over ¥200,000 of side income — including undeclared delivery-app or resale earnings, which tax offices increasingly cross-check. Filing is voluntary but profitable when you have big medical bills, home-loan credit, or donations to claim. And the quiet thread through all of it: tax payment certificates sit next to pension records in the permanent residency file — the cheapest PR strategy is simply a clean payment history.
The first filing, as a route
Late January, gather the pile (withholding slip + remittance records + deduction receipts) → open the NTA’s online return-preparation corner and answer its questions in order → submit via e-Tax with a My Number card, or print and mail or hand it to the tax office. About an hour end to end. For anyone remitting home, this is where the money comes back: a year of itemized transfer records plus kinship papers converts into the overseas dependent deduction, routinely worth tens of thousands of yen in refund — which is exactly why the remittance page tells you to keep every receipt. If you are owed a refund rather than owing tax, missing March 15 is harmless: refund filings stay valid for five years.
Japanese you will use on this page (tap ▶)
| 確定申告に来ました。 Kakutei shinkoku ni kimashita. I am here to file my tax return. | |
| 初めてなので、書き方を教えてください。 Hajimete na node, kakikata o oshiete kudasai. It is my first time — please show me how to fill it in. | |
| 源泉徴収票はこれです。 Gensen chōshūhyō wa kore desu. Here is my withholding slip. | |
| 国外の家族を扶養に入れたいです。 Kokugai no kazoku o fuyō ni iretai desu. I want to claim family overseas as dependents. | |
| 還付金はいつ振り込まれますか。 Kanpukin wa itsu furikomaremasu ka. When will the refund be transferred? | |
| この控除について教えてください。 Kono kōjo ni tsuite oshiete kudasai. Please explain this deduction to me. |
Audio synthesized with VOICEVOX:Meimei Himari at standard pace for shadowing; real conversations run faster and carry accents.
Common mistakes & warnings
- Budget for the second-year shock — residence tax on your first year's income lands from June of year two, roughly one month's pay spread over the year. It hits hardest when income drops, since the bill chases last year's higher earnings.
- Quitting a job doesn't cancel residence tax — the remaining installments on last year's income are still due, often collected as a lump sum from your final paycheck.
- If you leave Japan mid-year, appoint a tax agent (nōzei kanrinin) before departure — residence tax billed after you're gone doesn't vanish, and unpaid tax surfaces at any future visa application.
Frequently asked questions
My company handles everything — do I ever need to file?
If you have one employer and under ¥200,000 in side income, the December year-end adjustment closes your year and you never see a tax office. File anyway when you want deductions the company can't claim — medical expenses over ¥100,000, first-year home-loan credit, or donations.
Why was my first year so cheap?
Because residence tax is charged on the previous year's Japanese income, and yours was zero. The ~10% catches up from June of your second year — it's not a raise disappearing, it's the real tax rate arriving.
Do foreign students pay tax on part-time income?
Below about ¥1.03 million a year, income tax is effectively zero anyway. Some students benefit from tax-treaty exemptions — China's treaty famously exempts students' part-time wages — but the paperwork must be filed through the employer to apply.
Official sources
- National Tax Agency — guide for foreign residents (2026-07-17)
This page provides general information only and is not legal advice. Immigration rules change; always confirm details with the official sources listed above before making decisions.