Taxes in Japan for Foreign Residents 2026 — 確定申告, 住民税, Overseas Income & Why It Affects Your Visa | VisaSHOGUN

Good news: if you have one employer and no other income sources, your company's 年末調整 (year-end tax adjustment) handles your income tax filing for you. You do not need to file a 確定申告 unless you want to claim deductions your employer doesn't handle (medical expenses, housing loan deduction for first year, etc.).

Your company's HR will ask you to submit a 給与所得者の扶養控除等申告書 (dependant declaration form) in October/November. Fill it out and return it by their deadline. The company does the rest by December 31.

Salary earners may need to file an income tax return when income other than employment income exceeds ¥200,000, subject to exceptions and how the income is classified. A separate residence-tax declaration may still be required even when an income tax return is not.

Your employer’s 年末調整 does not automatically settle every type of outside income. Check the NTA rules and your municipal residence-tax requirements before deciding not to file.

Freelancers and sole proprietors generally calculate their own business income and deductions. Whether an income tax return is required depends on taxable income and individual circumstances; residence-tax and other filings can follow separate rules.

Key advantage: Self-employed individuals can deduct business expenses — software subscriptions, home office portion, equipment, professional development. Keeping clean records throughout the year makes filing significantly easier. Use accounting software from day one.

A new employer may be able to include income from a previous employer in 年末調整 when you submit the required withholding slip. If all salary income was not covered, or other filing conditions apply, you may need to file a tax return. Check your withholding slips and employer records.

If you left your job before December 31 and your employer did not do a 年末調整 (which only happens at year end), your taxes for that year were not fully adjusted. You likely paid too much tax through withholding — filing a 確定申告 will result in a refund.

Additionally: if you were unemployed at year end, you need to ensure your 住民税 is paid directly (it's no longer deducted from payroll). Check with your municipal office for the payment schedule.

Employees earning over ¥20,000,000 gross per year must file a 確定申告 even if they have only one employer and no side income. 年末調整 does not apply above this threshold. Your employer will withhold income tax throughout the year, but the year-end reconciliation must be done by you personally.

If you are treated as a non-permanent resident for Japanese tax purposes: Foreign-source income may be taxed differently depending on whether it is paid in or remitted to Japan and on other facts. The remittance rules are technical; do not rely only on where the bank account is located.

If you are no longer treated as a non-permanent resident: Japan can generally tax worldwide income, subject to income classification, foreign tax credits and applicable tax treaties. Confirm the treatment of each income source with the NTA or a qualified professional.

Foreign financial account reporting: if you hold overseas accounts with a total balance exceeding ¥50,000,000 at year end, you must file an overseas financial account report (国外財産調書). Failure to disclose is a serious violation.

Even if you're not required to file, you may want to — because you're leaving money on the table. Deductions your 年末調整 often misses:

医療費控除 (medical expense deduction): The medical expense deduction generally uses a threshold based on ¥100,000 or 5% of total income, whichever is lower, subject to eligible-expense and reimbursement rules. Dental work, glasses for vision correction (requires doctor's note), hospital visits, and some health products count. Keep all receipts.

ふるさと納税 (hometown tax donation): Donate to any Japanese municipality and receive significant tax credits plus local food/product gifts. Must be filed via 確定申告 or the ワンストップ特例 (one-stop exception) system.

住宅ローン控除 (housing loan deduction): For the first year of a qualifying mortgage, must be filed via 確定申告 (年末調整 handles subsequent years).