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Filing Japanese Income Tax

IMPORTANT NOTE: The information on this page is NOT financial or tax advice and does NOT replace a tax accountant. Some of this information may be incorrect. If you learn something that conflicts with anything on this page, let us know! You are responsible for correctly filing your own taxes. Use this guidance at your own risk.

Documents to prepare​

Prepare these documents when you submit your tax return:

  • Income tax return
  • Documents to prove your income — like a withholding record (gensen chōshūhyō, 源泉徴収票) or payment report (shiharai chōshō, 支払調書), if available
  • Documents to prove you're eligible for exemptions, deductions, or credits — like a deduction certificate (kōjo shōmeisho, 控除証明書) or medical expense notice (iryōhi no oshirase, 医療費のお知らせ)

You will also need your ID (attaching a copy if you're mailing your return):

  • MyNumber Card — no other document is needed
  • Other documents with your MyNumber on it (like your MyNumber notification card) plus one photo ID (like your residence card or passport) or two photo-less IDs (like your health insurance card)

If you submit your tax return online, you do not need to attach third-party documents (like deduction certificates) for your exemptions, deductions, or credits.

Filling out your tax return using e-Tax​

You can visit the e-Tax website here. You will see options to submit your tax return online, as well as an option to print out your tax return.

1. Filling in the Statement of Earnings and Expenses​

If you want to claim necessary expenses, start by filling in a statement of earnings and expenses.

The only type of earnings category relevant for most YWAMers will be miscellaneous earnings (operations) unless you qualify to report business earnings.

In the earnings section, list the groups or people you received earnings from in order of how much you received from each. You can combine the rest for the fifth space if you have more than four sources.

In the expenses section, enter the amount you spent for each category.

Finally, add your personal details and continue to the income tax return. It helps to choose the option to carry over the information you have already entered.

2. Reporting your income​

If you claimed necessary expenses and chose to carry the information over, you will need to check the information before you can move forward.

If you did not claim necessary expenses, did not carry the information over, or had earnings in other categories, you will need to add this information.

Whether you're checking or adding earnings information, you'll need to add a description for your earnings. One option is to enter "payment for activities" (katsudō hōshū, 活動報酬). It is easy to miss the text box for this description, as your browser translator may translate the title to something like "event."

The e-Tax website will automatically subtract your expenses from your earnings. Once you have checked or entered your earnings and expenses, you can move on to the section for exemptions and deductions.

3. Claiming exemptions and deductions​

The basic exemption is already included, so enter the information for any other exemptions or deductions.

4. Claiming credits​

Enter the information for any credits.

5. Result screen​

Continue, and you'll see a screen that tells you how much income tax you owe.

The next screen will ask for extra information that applies to calculations for your resident tax. You can ignore it and move on if none of the things listed apply to you. You'll receive a resident tax notice in June if you owe any resident tax.

6. Select your payment option​

You'll see a screen with different payment methods if you owe income tax. You can pay via bank transfer, internet banking, credit card, and a few others.

7. Print, save data, and submit​

You'll have the option to save your tax return data in this section. You can use this data to make future tax returns easier.

If you chose the print option at the very start, you can now export a PDF file of your completed tax return.

If you chose the online submission option, you can submit your tax return through the internet. You will also be able to export a PDF file of your return to keep as a record.

Your local tax office​

You can check your local tax office's website if you'd like to receive free tax advice or submit your tax return in person. Each office's website has information on the following:

  • What days and hours they are open
  • The location of the office
  • What documents to bring with you

You can find the website of the tax office in charge of your area by entering your postal code in this tool.

Payment dates​

The deadline for income tax payment is 15 March. It can be extended till 31 May with a 0.9%/year interest rate if over 50% is paid by 15 March. If you chose to pay via debit, the payment will be withdrawn on 24 April (for 2023).

Income tax has a variable rate starting at 5%, but resident tax has a fixed rate of 10%. This means that relatively low earners like us will likely pay more resident tax than income tax. Thankfully, you can pay resident tax in installments.

If you owe resident tax, you'll receive a notification from your local city office in June. You can pay the amount in full by the end of the month or in four installments throughout the year. Deadlines may vary depending on the year and city.