I worked really hard to get my salary up to ¥10 million a year, but now it feels like every raise just gets eaten up by taxes and social insurance. My take-home pay hasn't increased nearly as much as I expected.

What are the best legal ways to reduce taxes in Japan? Any tips, strategies, or lesser-known deductions that have made a noticeable difference for you?

For people planning to stay in Japan permanently with a larger portfolio (say ¥100m+), how do you think about letting it keep growing if the goal is eventually to leave it to your children?

If ¥100m compounds at around 7%, after 30 years it could theoretically be around ¥800m. At that level, a significant part of what you built up could eventually be lost to inheritance tax, with the highest marginal rates reaching 50%+.

So does there come a point where constantly maximizing portfolio growth doesn’t make much sense anymore? Instead of letting everything compound until death, maybe withdrawing 2–3% a year earlier and actually spending it would be the better approach, even if that means slower portfolio growth.

For those with larger portfolios who intend to stay in Japan long term, has inheritance tax made you more willing to spend your assets during your lifetime rather than maximize what you leave behind?

I have PR. I’ve been here 16 years. I have an elderly dog.

After she passes I’m thinking of taking a break from Japan for at least a year. Maybe 🤔 up to five. Decide if I want to come back.

I am completely retired and I pay a lot of National and ward tax to Japan.

Can I leave and not continue to pay tax? Will I pay an exit tax? Can I return if I miss my old life here?

Thank you all for any info.

On September 24, 2026, the NTA will begin using its new data management and compliance monitoring software, officially named "次世代国税総合管理システム" but more commonly known as "KSK2". I thought some people might be interested in reading about the capabilities of the new software and how it will affect taxpayers.

TL;DR

All national tax forms look different now. NTA communications will use an "inquiry number" instead of a "reference number". e-Tax will not be available during Silver Week. The NTA's compliance monitoring capabilities are about to get a lot more efficient.

Background

The software the NTA currently uses is called "KSK" (国税総合管理 = Kokuzei Sōgō Kanri). It was built between 1995 and 2000 and has a number of known limitations, including:

• Limited OCR capability (tax returns filed on paper often have to be manually entered into the database and the paper version remains the authoritative version).
• COBOL-based and can only be accessed on-site at NTA offices.
• Separate databases for different taxes (e.g., income tax, inheritance tax, corporate tax, consumption tax) with no cross-referencing.
• No access to the internet (e.g., for exchanging information with financial institutions or foreign tax authorities).
• No integrated payment management system (completely separate software systems are used for tax declarations and tax payments/refunds).
• Limited capability to output data in digital form (it seems to mostly output printed reports, which NTA staff use for analysis, etc.).

In 2020, the Japanese government commissioned five companies (primarily Accenture, but also NTT Data, BSD Information Technology, IBM Japan, and Nomura Research Institute) to build a replacement. (There is an image here that shows which companies were responsible for which aspects of the project.) As noted above, the new system will begin operation on September 24, 2026.

What can KSK2 do?

KSK2 can be accessed from any computer connected to the GSS Network, so it will be much easier for NTA staff to access taxpayer data. The NTA seems particularly excited about the ability to access taxpayer data from outside an NTA office (during an on-site audit, for example).

KSK2 uses a single database to store all taxpayers' data, instead of separate databases for different types of taxes. This will make it much, much easier for the NTA to identify discrepancies (e.g., between a taxpayer's income tax return and their employer's corporate tax return). Of course, it is possible for the NTA to identify such discrepancies using the current system, but it is extremely time-consuming. With KSK2, discrepancies should be apparent immediately.

According to the NTA (e.g., see slide 38 of this PDF) KSK2 has AI-assisted OCR capabilities, which will apparently allow NTA offices to become effectively paperless. (By all accounts, NTA offices are currently quite paper-based, largely due to the limitations of KSK.)

Based on published information, it also appears that the NTA intends to use AI tools to analyze the contents of KSK2 and run scripts on the database for various purposes. The NTA has recently started hiring people with STEM backgrounds in connection with this project (previously, only people with backgrounds in law, economics, humanities, etc., were eligible).

Finally, the NTA has said that KSK2 will be able to receive information from financial institutions and foreign tax authorities directly. For example, KSK2 will conform to the specifications of the CRS and therefore be able to receive information from foreign tax authorities about accounts held by Japanese tax residents in countries with which Japan has an active CRS relationship. It is also expected that financial institutions will send notifications of large remittances (e.g., more than 1 million yen) directly to KSK2.

What Will Change for Taxpayers?

The NTA has a full list of changes here, but the biggest change is to the look and layout of the various forms taxpayers submit to the NTA. Around 2,000 forms have been changed to conform to KSK2's AI-OCR requirements. You can see some of the new income tax return-related forms on this page, for example.

As you will see, the forms no longer have any color (apparently this is for AI-OCR reasons). So the "blue" tax return form is no longer green (or blue, depending on who you ask). The NTA will continue to refer to it as 青色申告 though.

Most NTA-related forms will now also be A4-size. This will affect, for example, annual withholding summaries issued by employers (源泉徴収票), which have traditionally been smaller than A4. You can see the new annual withholding summary format here.

Another change is the introduction of a 13-digit "inquiry number" (お問い合わせ番号) system, replacing the old 8-digit "reference number" (整理番号) system. The NTA will use this number on communications with taxpayers and taxpayers can use it to identify themselves (e.g., when making a tax payment).

Among other minor changes, the NTA is expanding the scope of notifications that can be received electronically (via e-Tax), and will enable taxpayers to consent to the electronic delivery of all future notifications (where electronic delivery is possible). Currently, it is necessary to give consent for each type of notification separately. The ability to consent to the electronic delivery of all future notifications will be available via e-Tax from September 24.

In bad news for anyone who was planning to use their Silver Week holidays to file a late tax return, e-Tax will be unavailable through September 19–23, and also on September 26. See here for details.

Finally, perhaps the most interesting change is the NTA's vastly improved ability to detect discrepancies across different types of taxes and what it could mean for enforcement. The NTA has said they intend to use algorithms to identify red-flag patterns (e.g., sudden increase in foreign dividend income, no gift or inheritance tax return). In a way, of course, they are already looking for these kinds of patterns. But with KSK the analysis can only be done manually. With KSK2, the analysis can be automated.

Speculation among tax accountants seems to be that KSK2 will result in a significant increase in the number of "簡易な接触", which is where the NTA contacts a taxpayer by phone or mail and says: "It looks like there's a mistake in your declaration. Would you like to fix it?" Taxpayers are not obliged to comply with these requests, but they effectively give the taxpayer a chance to correct the record before the NTA proceeds with a full audit.

I will probably need to consult a tax advisor anyway but would appreciate some advice

- my mother has passed away (father already dead) and I received 50% of the inheritance (other 50% to my brother)

- did not pay any inheritance in my native country as below tax allowance threshold

- Japan tax authorities (several calls) claim that inheritance tax is due on the total amount (and not only the 50% that I received) and strongly recommmend the involvement of a specialized tax advisor

1) Being taxed on the total amount seems illogical to me (I only received 50%)

2) Kokuzeikyuoku advised to involve a specialized tax advisor: any reommendation for Tokyo (West Tokyo) Area?

Thank you

Finances look something like this at the moment:

403B: $437,000

401A: $40,000

Brokerage Acct: $63,000

HYSA: $28,000

Roth IRA: $90,000

HSA: $2.000

Total: $660,000

I am wondering a few things. EDIT: I am age 32 for reference.

1. My understanding is that Roth IRA withdrawals are counted as taxable income by the Japanese government, even though the US recognizes their tax-free status. I was originally thinking about rolling my 403B into a TIRA and doing a Roth conversion ladder, but it sounds like that doesn't really make sense once I move to Japan. What alternatives, if any, are available to access my retirement money over the next 10-20 years? What would you do in my shoes, especially w.r.t. the 403B money?
2. Related to above, but I know that you can withdraw Roth contributions at any time tax free. Are there any tax implications with withdrawing my full Roth contribution amount prior to establishing residence in Japan?
3. On a different note, what are the potential tax consequences of establishing residence in Japan as a Japanese citizen? I know I will need to start paying for healthcare and pension, but what happens if I leave Japan 15 years down the line? Am I still eligible for Japanese pension? Would I still be eligible for Social Security in the US? Are there other considerations that I am not seeing?
4. If anyone has been in a similar situation, please share your experiences, even if not directly related to the above!
   

Thanks in advance for your time

Posting on a throwaway just in case.
(EDIT: Thanks so much y'all for the comments, I'm reading them all and am looking into the options raised!)

I am an Australian citizen and permanent resident of Japan. My parents are Japanese and US citizens respectively, living in Australia. I have a brother living in Australia.

My parents want to protect their estate from my brother's wife and decided to write their wills in a way where I would receive the full inheritance, and they want me to give half to my brother later (though they didn't specify that in the will). This includes a house worth enough that the inheritance tax due the following year would financially ruin me. And, it's just a colossal waste.

I've been told by a Japanese lawyer that in the very least, gift tax won't apply when I give my brother his share, but I will still face the inheritance tax which makes this plan infeasible. Also, I am not willing to risk my life here by committing tax evasion. I am also not going to throw away my residency and mortgage to leave the country for 5 years as has been advised in similar posts. There must be a better way to protect their estate.

I have tried to explain the situation to my parents but they are too old to understand or remember any of the facts and they think you can just ignore taxes like it's the 50s. My dad is still trying to make me put my name on the deed to his house when this would incur a MANY TIMES BIGGER gift tax!!!

Yes I am seeking legal advice but I'm asking around while I wait.

Has anyone faced a similar situation and what did you do?

Hello everybody. I'm in an unusual situation, and I'm looking for advice, thanks in advance.

I'm an Australian Citizen, a high income earner. I'll be retiring in about 5 years. I knew a Japanese woman in Australia as a friend only. She returned to Japan to get married a while ago. Her husband was a deadbeat piece of crap, who got a taste for daily beatings, finally she had enough, and divorced him, but she was pregnant at the time.

She was desperate for help, so I was happy to do so. The money doesn't hurt me yet, and I've given them both a life.

I DO know she never applied for Child Rearing allowance. I don't know why, but there you go. So there is no worry there.

My question is Gift Taxes. Can I, a foreign citizen gift her money for living expenses more than Y1.1 million over 12 month period? I've read I can gift her child the same amount? I'm wondering if this is true. 95% of this money is for living expenses, and she has some medical bills as well. I'd hate for the tax man to come visiting because I've helped her and her child, you know, LIVE above desperate poverty.

As she is renting, that is an awful lot of money down the drain, which could be used for other purposes, like life. I was also considering an Akiya, done up and letting them move in. However, the research I've done here is scary.

1. I cannot become a Japanese Citizen for tax purposes, because my money will be in Australian Super, when I retire, which would be taxed at 20%. It's already been taxed 3 times. That's not feasable. Therefore I'm restricted to Visitor/Tourist visas and leaving every 3 months if I buy an Akiya for them and occasionally visit.

2. I can't buy an Akiya and gift it to her, as that would attract Gift Tax for sure, and transfer property taxes and other crap to her burden.

3. I was wondering however, is there a law requiring a certain amount of rent to be collected for a renter? If I bought the Akiya, kept up the property taxes, and allowed her to move in for Y10000 a month, for example? I'd have to pay tax on that of course. But. for example, if the average rent in the area was Y50000, is it likely that would be classified as a gift as well?

   The Japanese Govt REALLY love their taxes, don't they?

Thanks for reading.

Singaporean with Japanese spouse, planning my retirement (near future, between 2 - 5 years) by splitting between Thailand and Japan.

Why Thailand

1. LCOL option, allows me to rent out my existing Singaporean home for additional source of income, in addition to investment income.
2. High quality healthcare in BKK, close to Singapore.
3. Visa situation: Eligible for Non Immigrant O-X visa for long term stay (past age 50, requires 3 mil THB deposit)
4. Tax situation: Tax resident if length of stay is less more than 180 days, else would need to pay foreign sourced income to TRD (Thailand Revenue Department)

Why Japan

1. Wife prefers Japan than Thailand for retirement.
2. Visa situation: spouse visa, but I may want to keep as a tourist visa (max of 90 days for Singaporeans) since I don't plan to stay more than 90 days.
3. Tax situation: My wife will rent a place. If I am on a tourist visa, it means I don't have to declare a juusho (住所). Will transfer money (300k yen monthly) to my wife as cost of living allowances. Nothing major (> 1.1 mil yen) that will attract zōyozei (贈与税) from National Tax Agency.

Other tax jurisdiction

1. I will pay Singapore taxes on the rental income of my property. Investments are Singaporean companies and no capital gains/dividend taxes.

Target Operating Model

1. March - May in Japan, (Spring)
2. June - Sept in Thailand (less than 180 days)
3. Oct - Dec In Japan (Autumm)
4. Jan - March in Thailand (less than 180 days)

If given a choice, our common preferred destination is Taiwan for retirement but they don't have a retirement visa option and I am not keen to start a company and get APRC later since there is uncertainty.

Question: From my research, if I don't stay more than 90 day or acquire any status beyond a tourist, that should be fine for me. And for my wife, as long as I provide for her COL, it won't attract gift tax for her? Have anyone done something like this?

I am making a list of tax surprises that people run into in Japan. Things that just come out of nowhere, that you were not expecting and don't make sense initially (or ever). I get the feeling I am missing some though.

For me one of the biggest ones was inheriting the cost basis of assets. So you can inherit a house, pay inheritance tax based on the market value of the house, and then pay capital gains tax based on the original purchase price when you sell it. Mad.

What are yours?

Source : https://news.yahoo.co.jp/articles/8272cd1228d12b59cdae375d10f7fc427fba8850

The revision to add a cap to furusato nozei will likely be in next year's tax reforms. Effective 2027.

The entire Yahoo Japan section thinks this is stupid because furusato nozei is the only little fun high income people have had from being taxed at an effective rate of 50% - 55%.

Anyone want to guess what the possible cap will be?

I have $50,000 in Roth IRA contributions, and am 32 years old. EDIT: I am also a dual US JP citizen. I was thinking about withdrawing all of the contributions before moving to Japan, and then putting what I can into NISA. In my mind this makes sense because after reading the literature and posts on this sub, it seems like Roth withdrawals have a decent chance to be considered taxable income by the Japanese government.

I'm wondering what you all did with your Roth IRA money when you moved. Does my thinking and strategy make sense? My one concern is bumping up against NISA contribution limits really fast for this year and next year, and then having nowhere to put the remaining money. But imo that's still better than paying taxes on it later.

Now in my 30s, and my mom is almost 80. She's been in the US for 40 years. But she hasn't been very responsible with her retirement. No social security, no medicare, she's never worked in America, she can't speak English, she's a covert narcissist, a functional alcoholic, has gaslit me all my life, and has put my life through a considerable amount of misery. I've told her for decades, that she needs to learn English, or that she's not going to be able to live in this country (US) when she gets older. That I'm not going to be able to take care of her. For years and years, she's refused to move back to Japan and has refused to learn English. It's been difficult for me to take care of her financially and her gas lighting and narcissism has taken a significant mental toll, and I'm actually living with complex PTSD due to this. I've felt like for years, that financially it'd be easier to take care of her, if she lived in Japan, where she still owns her own home, and where she can actually communicate with people. Where the cost of living is much lower, and her healthcare costs would be much lower.

Well, I think I finally got her to say yes.

But what makes this difficult is, I have accumulated a lot of assets and income in the US. And, with the way the tax laws are in Japan, I've always felt like I can't actually move to Japan for the long term.

To make it worse, I found out in my 20s, that my mom kept my Jyuminhyo in Tokyo, despite the fact that I lived basically my entire life in America, and she also kept me on the national health insurance, and that she had been filing my tax returns for those years in Japan, reporting zero. She would tell me, it's zero because it's zero in Japan.

I would tell her, she should have moved our Jyuminhyo overseas, because then we wouldn't have to file tax returns or owe taxes. But, as a narcissist, she would invalidate everything I say.

I did eventually move my jyuminhyou overseas, and got off the national healthcare plan in my 20s.

So I worry. If I were to move to Japan, I'd have to start filing tax returns, and it would raise red flags with the Japanese government, when I start reporting assets and income from overseas, from someone that, for 20 years or so, was filing zero on their tax returns.

It would basically show me as someone, returning to Japan, with notable income and assets.

And I'm worried, the Japanese Tax Authority will do a deep dive into my finances, and US tax returns. I've always been honest with the IRS, but I don't want the Japanese government diving deep into my US tax returns or my finances, because I have extremely complicated tax returns. I also wonder if they'd look at my returns beyond five years. I've heard horror stories about the Japanese Tax Authority, and I don't want them auditing me, and I feel like I'd stick out like a sore thumb, if I suddenly started filing tax returns in Japan.

I worry that if I moved to Japan, and started filing tax returns, an audit would be likely.

But when I finally convinced my mom to move back to Japan a few days ago, I promised her I'd live with her in Japan.

But realistically, I don't think I can live in Japan for longer than six months out of a calendar year, or else, I'll have to file my Japanese tax returns, and report my overseas assets.

That is to say, is this the trap I have fallen into?

What is even more so on my mind is, even being in Japan for six months, I won't have the national health insurance, so while I could get traveler's insurance, that wouldn't cover me for routine healthcare, and so it makes me wonder how that could affect my healthcare needs in the future, if I spent six months out of the year.

I also feel like, because of my finances, I can never really live in Japan. And once my mom moves back to Japan, my entire family, all of my relatives, will be in Japan. And, I will be the only one in my family, living in America. But I've been so Americanized, that I don't feel whole, but it also feels so lonesome.

And my mom probably doesn't have many more years to live. But then, if she were to get sick, I couldn't even spend more than six months in Japan.

Are my concerns valid here?

My mom doesn't want to move back to Japan, but I finally convinced her to. And I think it's the best for her. But it feels like I'm setting something into motion, that I'm not fully grasping.

Throwaway account for obvious reasons.

A few months ago, I was audited by the tax authorities, and I thought I'd share my experience.

Some background:

• I'm a foreigner (not from the US) running a Kabushikigaisha with my Japanese fiancee. My fiancee is the CEO and hires me, so I am technically just a regular jyugyoin with a normal work visa receiving salary. Been in Japan a bit over 10 years.
• Our main business is in the travel industry, but we’re also involved in real estate, a little FX trading, and a good chunk of cryptocurrency (mainly Bitcoin).
• In our first years, we were in the red, accumulating around minus 13 million JPY. However, sales skyrocketed after covid, reaching over 60 million JPY annually (with a profit, after all expenses, of around 15 million JPY). This year looks to be similar.
• We have a small loan of 5 million yen for real-estate.
• We have a personal loan from myself of close to 30 million yen.
• We rent a tiny office and own one simple company car.
• While we handle some of the accounting ourselves (mainly entering sales and expenses into a program), we rely on a highly trusted and reputable accounting firm for most of the work. They have been in business for ages and are very thorough, thus they only deal with about 1 audit per year for all their clients. We were probably selected because of our sudden surge in sales. Maybe also cause we are only two people, one being foreigner, but idk for sure.

The audit was announced to our accountant with less than a month's notice. We were initially told that two auditors would come, but on the day, they sent a very young guy with little experience. The poor chap was visibly nervous, literally shaking lol. "It's my first time doing audit on my own. I was told just before that I need to do this on my own". It was just him, my fiancee and me, plus two accountants at our office.

The session began with general questions about our business and how we generate revenue. We also explained our real estate ventures and cryptocurrency profits.

He then requested various invoices we’ve sent out (most of our clients are overseas B2B customers). He asked if we had an overview of each case and its profit, which I showed him (I keep an Excel file with all the details for our own records). He requested a copy of this.

Next, he went over our business expenses. We work with many freelancers, so he picked a few at random and noted down their information. I noticed he singled out some random freelancers with foreign names (either foreigners or Japanese with foreign surnames) and businesses with foreign names, alongside some Japanese ones.

The auditor and accountants then went over a few minor expenses that were unclear, but we explained everything thoroughly. He complimented our records, saying he had never seen such detailed work (huge credit to our accountants!).

The audit then shifted to our real estate transactions. He asked to see the business card of a foreigner from whom we had bought a house, which we provided, and he copied it. He also asked if we personally knew him. Our accountant subtly hinted we didn’t need to give the card, but I thought he was just checking our organization skills. In hindsight, our accountant told us the auditor was likely looking for future "targets" for audits. They will likely cross-check our house purchase price with the seller’s price to ensure everything matched up.

There were just one unpaid tax for a real-estate document (those postal stamp things), which we had to pay. I believe there was a tiny fine for that, but I don't remember. If it was, it was not much at all.

Finally, he asked how we survived the Covid years with virtually 0 income. I explained I had money overseas that I was transferring to keep us afloat. He asked where the money came from, and I told him the truth—it was inherited. He then requested copies of my overseas account details (just a screenshot of my account and balance) and also took my Japanese account info. They can check my Japanese account in some way, apparently.

After some copying, our printer run out of ink (of course), so we were unable to provide more copies. He didn't bother with more copies after that (so maybe just run your printer out of ink before an audit and save yourself some work? haha).

The audit was scheduled for two days but wrapped up in one full day with lunch in-between (eaten separately). The atmosphere was nervous at first, but was kind of fun eventually. Did some personal talking as well, taking about our and his hobbies, his work etc. I tried to dig into why they chose us and directly asked if they target foreigners more, but he said no and that he couldn’t comment on their procedure (understandably).

We later sent additional documents, and after a moth or so, they confirmed that nothing suspicious was found. That was the end of it. I suspect it will be a long time before we face another audit, which is great.

We are incredibly grateful to our accountant. They have been awesome with tax savings, explaining laws, setting us up with other companies, and going above and beyond with complicated tasks like cryptocurrency accounting, which is a freaking nightmare (I've been trading between accounts and tokens. It gets messy real quick). They’re slightly more expensive than others, but the peace of mind they provide is well worth it (especially since we have no time to handle accounting ourselves). So, the takeaway is: don’t skimp on a good accountant.

AMA if you have questions.

Through inheritance I recently came into a fair bit of money that is in mutual funds, stock investments and savings. All at the Royal Bank of Canada.

Long ago I filed the papers with the Canadian consulate in Nagoya regarding taxes. I have Japanese PR and will mostly likely spend the rest of my life here. My wife is Japanese. No children.

The accountant currently in charge accounts suggested that I move all the savings to Japan.

We would prefer to leave the money in Canada as it will eventually go to my niece and nephew, but we have access to it until then.

Is this possible? if so, how?

I just received a letter from my local tax office initiating an audit, requesting I contact them by July 10th.
I immediately called the agent assigned to my case. They claim that for the past 3 years, I failed to report and pay taxes on RSUs from my US-based employer.
Here is the catch: I absolutely did report and pay taxes on them.
Year 1 (3 years ago): I hired a certified tax accountant to handle it.

Years 2 & 3 (Last 2 years): I filed via e-Tax myself, after getting explicit guidance from a local tax office staff member. I only have my salary and RSU as income.

Payments: The calculated tax amounts were automatically deducted from my bank account all three years.

My Theory: A Name Mismatch I noticed the audit letter addresses me by my full English name. However, my previous tax returns and gensen chōshū hyō (源泉徴収票) use Katakana, and they actually have two different variations:
One version with a space between my first and middle name.

One version with no space.

Could this bureaucratic mismatch be causing the system to think I never filed?

The agent is calling me back tomorrow, and I want to resolve this as quickly as possible. I currently have:
The last 2 years of digital e-Tax files.

Bank account statements showing the automatic tax deductions.

The ability to contact my former accountant if needed.

Has anyone dealt with a similar glitch due to name formatting on Japanese tax returns? What is the best way to present my evidence tomorrow to shut this down smoothly? Any advice would be highly appreciated.

I am moving to Japan with my spouse in 3 months. We are building a house in both of our names in Japan. We have US assets and investments. I am trying to understand remittance timing, gift tax among spouses and potential foreign currency tax on remittance. If I remit the funds for building the house before we move I don't pay remittance, but their may be foreign currency due as the building is complete next June. If I wait to remit in 2027 when I am in the country, I pay remittance tax, as my US dividend and investment income will exceed the remittance.

Ideally, I would like a professional cross border specialist that I can hire and consult with. How do I go about finding one?

Hi All!

Im almost hitting my 3 year mark living in Japan and starting to get anxiety about all the tax complexity im reading about having to manage.

Im (stupidly) learning late that there's some stuff that I havent done that I needed to, and that my tax situation becomes more complicated after the 5 year mark. I dont mind paying my fair share of taxes here, Im just anxious about not understanding the system and being late to the game.

A few notes about me: Im a US national on a spouse visa married to a japanese national. Im a full-time parent, I dont have a job here or anywhere else. I have a fair amount of investments in the states divided evenly between retirement accounts and robo-advisor funds. I dont sell anything, but I do think they generate some minimal dividend income.

Can anyone help me navigate a few things:

1. Declaring assets - is there a penalty for doing this late? Is it done separately from tax returns? How do I declare late? Im over the 50M threshold and havent filed since moving here.
2. Annual tax filing - Once I do declare my assets, is it true that it will cost something like 300,000yen per year to file my taxes because of the investments? I read that I only get taxes on money remitted here; I use my credit card for things here and there for shopping.
3. The dreaded exit tax - Im unsure of how this works - If 401K/IRA are not included I think I'm safe but there seems to be debate on whether they get included or not. How is this even enforced?
4. What vendors do people use to file their taxes? Do you use independent accountants or are there any vendors similar to Turbo tax where I can just stress free plug in my information and the system takes care of the rest? Are you able to do it all yourself?

Sorry for the boatload of questions! Any help would be appreciated.

Cheers!

edit: thanks all for the great advice. It’s really put my mind at ease to at least have a roadmap for what I should be doing. Much appreciated!

I used to live in Japan for several years. I was a private company employee the whole time. I regularly paid my taxes for my income and everything. I tried stock trading and got some capital gains. I always paid the capital gain tax for that year manually in the next year’s tax payment time (In March- as per the govt. rule)
However, I left in November and I couldn’t pay the capital gain tax for that year because the tax paying period was not started yet. ( I would have paid on the next year's March if I was there)

Now, I am already out of the country for good. No residency. So, what should I do now? And what can happen? 15% of that year's gain is around 500 maan jpy.

Living in Japan sind more then 10 Years, Permanent Visa.

I bought pre-sale token via the cypto wallet i made at the begining of the year. One of those token the pre-sale will end this months. I unfortunetly also clicked the staking for the purchased tokens in japnuary as i bought them. Now i read that staking token create financial gain when claimed ... but most likely they will have not enough liquidy when it will be launch on the market not gained momentum to be able to sell them for the tax amount i would need to pay for them (5 Mio Token from staking, lauch price will be 0.015 USD... but as usual with new token and the initial dump, the price will fall dramatically i guess. What if i just dont claim the staking tokens after the 7 day vesting periode ?? (after TGE, purchased tokens i could claim at TGE) .I contacted a cypto tax accountant who chan write in english, but he wants 300.000yen just to answer that question... Anybody expirience how to handle this or should i just delet the wallet and seed phrase and forget about the whole try into the crypto stuff?

Long story short, wife and I are in bad situation, I hate teaching, and I own my own school. Its small, about 40 students, looking to move on from Japan. How much trouble is it to sell a school and make a clean break? Thanks

Howdy, moving to Inzai, Chiba Japan in August of next year to pursue college on a student visa.

I’ll be pursuing a Bachelors & Masters degree. 4-8 years.

I love Japan-beautiful country & I’d like for my future to be there & become a citizen with a wife & family someday.

-now the main point.

I’m going to be looking at a total of a 150-300million yen inheritance (depending on real state & stocks).

I believe that’s taxed at around a 44% rate?

Will I have to pay this if I stay on a student visa for the entirety of my college career?

If I marry a Japanese citizen-but I am not a citizen & not a permanent resident-still on student visa; will I have to pay this tax?

How would I be able to legally avoid this tax?

Is there a way to transfer all assets through a living trust-non accessible until the death of both parents before I become a permanent resident?

Would just having my name on the house; bank; and stock accounts before becoming a permanent resident help avoid the tax since i technically “already have access to and share ownership?”.

Any insight and help would be greatly appreciated. This money thing is quite new to me actually. Family grew up super poor and just inherited a substantial amount. -grew up with older parents-father is in his 70’s and not in great health. I’m in my 20’s & unfortunately also not in good health. (CLD)-Cystic Lung Disease.

My parents understand my dream of living in Japan and this (inheritance tax) thing has seemed to throw a wrench into future plans. My parents & siblings are also not very fond of the idea of my inheritance being halved.

I have lived in Japan for the past 11 years on a Business Manager Visa but am now considering leaving Japan for obvious reasons.

I will likely received an inheritance from a relative in another country after leaving Japan and am confused about the various contradicting information I have found online.

Once I leave Japan (and cancel my Business Manager Visa) will I be subject to inheritance tax? Is there a specific time period where I might be subject?

Any advice is appreciated.

Hi,

I just had a report done about my tax situation with a Japanese accountant. Essentially, he's saying that my Roth IRA in the US, and any transactions that happen inside of the account, can still be taxable in Japan even if I never withdraw them. He even notes that there's a professional debate in Japan as to whether the Roth IRA should instead be treated as a pension or trust, or taxed only under distribution. No published ruling or court decisions have settled the question. The conservative and majority practice is the ordinary brokerage account treatment, described, and he recommends planning on that basis.

He says that capital gains that are acquired after moving to Japan are taxable even without remittance. Gains on securities acquired before the move are foreign source and effectively untaxed while you are a non-permanent resident. He says that from six years onward, all income inside the account, dividends and gains, becomes taxable in Japan annually.

He says that, since the 2017 amendment, the law carves out the following from foreign source income: gains from selling securities that a non-permanent resident acquired during the period of non-permanent residency within ten years before the sale (Article 95(4) Enforcement Order, Article 17(1)). He says in plain English: if you sell a stock you already own before moving to Japan, it's taxed only if remitted while you are a non-permanent resident. If you buy a stock after arriving in Japan and later sell it, it's taxable in Japan in full, even if you never remit a cent.

My question is, because it seems that the community's consensus and the wiki is that activities within the Roth IRA are non-taxable only after withdrawal, would that be taxed?