Who Needs to File a Tax Return

Learn whether you need to file a Japanese tax return and what the basic process looks like.

A Japanese tax return is the process of calculating your annual income and tax and filing it with the tax office. It is usually done between mid-February and mid-March.

People who definitely need to file

• Freelancers, self-employed people, and sole proprietors
• People with salary income over ¥20,000,000
• People who receive salary from more than one employer
• People with side income over ¥200,000 per year that is not salary
• People with overseas income that needs to be declared

Employees who may still need to file

• If medical expenses exceeded a certain threshold
• If you used furusato nozei without the one-stop system
• In the first year of a home-loan deduction
• If you left your job during the year and did not receive a year-end adjustment

People who often do not need to file

If you have only one employer, your year-end adjustment is complete, and your side income is low, you often do not need to file.

How to file

• e-Tax: online filing, often the easiest and fastest for refunds
• In person: submit the forms at your local tax office, though it is very busy during filing season

Important point for foreign residents

Depending on your tax-residency status, you may need to report not only Japan-source income but also overseas income. If your situation is complicated, professional advice is safest.

Refunds

If you paid too much tax, filing can result in a refund. This is common in years with high medical expenses or when you left a job partway through the year.