住民税 and 確定申告: Taxation Rules, Who Must File, and Dependent Deduction Requirements for Relatives Abroad

When working and living in Japan, the taxes you deal with most often are the local tax 「個人住民税」 (individual resident tax) and the national tax 「所得税」 (income tax). This article explains how resident tax is calculated and paid, who needs to file a 確定申告 (final tax return) and when, what documents are needed for the dependent deduction when you send money to relatives in your home country, and the procedures before leaving Japan. It is intended as a self-check for company employees, self-employed people, and people preparing to return home or to go abroad for a long time.

Key points

• 個人住民税 is levied on people who have an address in a 市町村 (municipality) on January 1 of the year, and is calculated on income from January 1 to December 31 of the previous year; the standard rate for the income-based portion (所得割) is 10%, and the standard per-capita portion (均等割) is 4,000 yen.
• For company employees, in principle the company deducts the tax from their salary and pays it on their behalf (特別徴収 (special collection (payroll deduction))); other people pay it themselves based on the tax payment notice sent by the municipality (普通徴収 (ordinary collection (paid by the taxpayer))).
• The filing period for the income tax final return is, in principle, February 16 to March 15 of the following year, and the deadline for filing and payment is March 15; a refund return can be filed within 5 years from January 1 of the following year.
• Even with year-end adjustment, you must file in cases such as annual salary income exceeding 20 million yen, or receiving salary from only one employer while having income other than salary and retirement income exceeding 200,000 yen.
• To claim the dependent deduction for relatives living abroad, you must submit documents such as 「親族関係書類」 (documents proving the family relationship) and 「送金関係書類」 (documents proving remittances) (documents in foreign languages must be accompanied by translations); relatives abroad aged 30 or over and under 70 qualify only if they are studying abroad, have a disability, or received 380,000 yen or more for living or education expenses in the year.
• If you will no longer have an address in Japan and need to handle tax matters such as filing returns, you should submit a notification of appointment of a 納税管理人 (tax agent) to the tax office before the date of departure.

Individual resident tax

Who pays

The 総務省 (Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications) explains that individual resident tax is a local tax in the nature of a "membership fee for the local community", consisting of a prefectural portion (都道府県分) and a municipal portion (市町村分), which are paid together to the municipality. It is levied on people who have an address in that municipality on January 1 of the year; people who meet certain conditions, such as those with low income, are not taxed, taking into account factors such as the number of dependents and the amount of income.

Tax components

Portion	Description	Standard amount / rate
所得割（しょとくわり）	Calculated on the previous year's income	10% (道府県民税 (prefectural tax) 4%, 市町村民税 (municipal tax) 6%; 2% and 8% in 政令指定都市 (ordinance-designated cities))
均等割（きんとうわり）	Fixed amount regardless of income	4,000 yen (道府県民税 1,000 yen, 市町村民税 3,000 yen)

In addition, from fiscal 2024 (令和6年度), the national 「森林環境税」 (forest environment tax) of 1,000 yen is collected together with the per-capita portion. The table shows the standard figures; prefectures and municipalities may set their own rates.

The income-based portion is calculated in this order: subtract necessary expenses and similar items from the previous year's revenue to get the 「所得金額」 (income amount) → subtract 「所得控除」 (income deductions) such as the basic deduction and the dependent deduction → multiply by the flat rate of 10% → subtract 「税額控除」 (tax credits) such as those for housing loans and donations (ふるさと納税 (hometown tax donation)). The types of income deductions are basically the same as for income tax, but for many items the deduction amount is smaller than for income tax.

Special collection and ordinary collection

• 特別徴収: the company or other payer of your salary deducts the tax from your salary and pays it on your behalf. Company employees, in principle, receive a 「特別徴収税額通知」 (notice of specially collected tax amount) through their company.
• 普通徴収: the municipality determines the tax amount based on declared income and other information and sends a 「納税通知書」 (tax payment notice), and you pay according to the notice.

Because resident tax is based on the previous year's income, income newly earned in the current year is reflected in the following fiscal year's resident tax.

Income tax final return

Relationship between year-end adjustment and the final tax return

The 国税庁 (National Tax Agency) explains that most salaried workers have their income tax determined and paid through their company's 「年末調整」 (year-end adjustment) and do not need to file a final tax return. Year-end adjustment covers people who worked for the whole year, or who joined during the year and worked until the end of the year, and who submitted the 「給与所得者の扶養控除等（異動）申告書」 (salary earner's declaration of dependents, etc.) before the year-end adjustment date; people whose total salary for the year exceeds 20 million yen are not covered.

Which salaried workers must file

In any of the following cases (except people for whom filing would result in a refund), you must file a final tax return:

1. Your annual salary income exceeds 20 million yen;
2. You receive salary from only one employer with all tax withheld at source, and your various income other than salary and retirement income totals more than 200,000 yen;
3. You receive salary from two or more employers, and the total of the salary income not covered by year-end adjustment and your income other than salary and retirement income exceeds 200,000 yen (not required if your salary income minus certain income deductions is 1.5 million yen or less and your other income is 200,000 yen or less);
4. You are a director or similar officer of a family company (同族会社) and receive loan interest or rent for assets from that company;
5. You were granted a deferral of withholding tax or similar relief under the 災害減免法 (Disaster Relief Act);
6. You receive salary from a person who has no obligation to withhold tax;
7. The tax on your retirement income calculated by the regular method exceeds the amount already withheld.

For self-employed people and others, if total income exceeds total income deductions and the calculated tax exceeds a certain amount, filing is, in principle, required.

Filing period, payment and how to file

• The filing period is, in principle, February 16 to March 15 of the following year, and the deadline for filing and payment is, in principle, March 15 of the following year.
• After you file, the tax office does not send you a payment slip; you must choose a payment method yourself, such as 振替納税 (payment by account transfer), ダイレクト納付 (e-Tax account debit), online banking, credit card, smartphone app, convenience store (QR code) or cash.
• With the 「確定申告書等作成コーナー」 (tax return preparation corner) on the National Tax Agency website, you can enter amounts by following the on-screen guidance and prepare and submit your return from home. First-time e-Tax users need to obtain a 「利用者識別番号」 (user identification number).
• A 「還付申告」 (refund return), filed only to receive a refund, can be submitted within 5 years from January 1 of the year following the year concerned.

Dependent deduction for relatives living abroad

The 国税庁 provides that, from the 平成28年分 (2016 tax year), when you claim the dependent deduction, the spouse deduction, the special spouse deduction, the special deduction for specified relatives (特定親族特別控除, from the 令和7年分 (2025 tax year)) or the disability deduction for non-resident relatives (国外居住親族), you must attach or present the prescribed documents when filing your final tax return. The requirements for the dependent deduction from the 令和5年分 (2023 tax year) onward are as follows:

Age / situation of the relative abroad	Required documents
16 or over and under 30, or 70 or over	親族関係書類 + 送金関係書類
30 or over and under 70, with no address or residence in Japan because of studying abroad	親族関係書類 + 送金関係書類 + 留学ビザ等書類 (student visa documents, etc.)
30 or over and under 70, with a disability	親族関係書類 + 送金関係書類
30 or over and under 70, received 380,000 yen or more for living or education expenses in the year	親族関係書類 + 38万円送金書類 (documents showing remittances of 380,000 yen)

Relatives abroad aged 30 or over and under 70 who do not fall into any of the above categories are not eligible for the dependent deduction.

• 親族関係書類: documents issued by the Japanese national government or a local government (such as a copy of the 戸籍の附票 (supplementary record of the family register)) plus a copy of the relative's passport; or documents issued by a foreign national or local government that state the relative's name, date of birth and address.
• 送金関係書類: proof of remittances made through financial institutions during the year, documents from a credit card company concerning the relative's use of a family card, and similar documents, which must show that living or education expenses were paid to each person as needed on each occasion; from the 令和6年分 (2024 tax year), documents from electronic payment service providers are also included.
• 38万円送金書類: among the 送金関係書類, documents showing that the total amount paid to that relative during the year was 380,000 yen or more.
• Documents in foreign languages must be accompanied by translations. When year-end adjustment is done at your company, you must likewise submit or present these documents to your company.

In addition, when siblings jointly send money to their parents, only one of them can claim that relative for the dependent deduction. There is also a cap on the dependent relative's total income (620,000 yen or less for the 令和8年分 (2026 tax year); please refer to the 国税庁 page for details).

Before leaving Japan: 納税管理人 and 準確定申告

• If you will no longer have an address in Japan but still need to handle national tax matters such as submitting returns, you can appoint a 「納税管理人」 and submit the 「所得税・消費税の納税管理人の選任・解任届出書」 (notification of appointment/dismissal of a tax agent for income tax and consumption tax) to the head of the tax office with jurisdiction over your place of tax payment (納税地), when you decide on the tax agent or before the date of departure, either via e-Tax or on paper.
• 国税庁 No.1920 explains that if a person who needs to file a final tax return leaves Japan without submitting a 納税管理人 notification, they must complete the final tax return by the time of departure (準確定申告 (quasi-final tax return)).
• Employees who become non-residents because of an overseas transfer or similar reasons have a mid-year year-end adjustment done by their company with their last salary payment before departure.
• Because 住民税 (resident tax) is levied based on your address on January 1, leaving Japan during the year does not affect the resident tax already arising for that fiscal year. For how to pay before departure, please check with the 市区町村 (municipal office) where you live.

Relationship to immigration review

Item 7 of the 出入国在留管理庁 (Immigration Services Agency of Japan)'s 「在留資格の変更、在留期間の更新許可のガイドライン」 (guidelines for permission for change of status of residence and extension of period of stay) states that anyone with tax obligations should fulfill them, and that failure to do so is evaluated as a negative factor; the 「永住許可に関するガイドライン」 (Guidelines for Permission for Permanent Residence) also include tax payment among the public obligations to be properly fulfilled, noting that obligations not fulfilled by the original due date are, in principle, evaluated negatively. Individual cases are decided by the immigration review.

Timeline

1. January 1: the municipality that levies your resident tax for that fiscal year is determined.
2. February 16 – March 15: file the final income tax return for the previous year; March 15 is the payment deadline.
3. Resident tax: pay through your company's 特別徴収 or according to the municipality's 納税通知書.
4. Within 5 years from January 1 of the following year: you can file a refund return.
5. Before leaving Japan: appoint a 納税管理人 and submit the notification, or complete the 準確定申告; confirm the arrangements for paying resident tax.

Common misconceptions

• "If I go home in the middle of the year, I don't have to pay resident tax for that year." Resident tax is levied on people with an address on January 1 of the year, based on the previous year's income; leaving Japan during the year does not change this.
• "If my company did my year-end adjustment, I never need to file." You still need to file in cases such as having more than 200,000 yen of income other than salary or receiving salary from two or more employers.
• "If I've sent money to my parents, I can claim them as dependents." You must prepare the 親族関係書類 and 送金関係書類 (with translations for foreign-language documents), and relatives aged 30 or over and under 70 must also meet a condition such as studying abroad, having a disability, or receiving remittances of 380,000 yen or more.
• "Resident tax also uses progressive rates." The income-based portion of individual resident tax uses a flat rate of 10%; progressive rates are used for income tax.