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Are You a Tax Resident of Japan?
Resident, non-permanent resident or non-resident — the classification every other question starts from.
Property investors and non-residents
A Tax Guide to Japanese Real Estate — Part 1: Buying and Owning
The source-country principle, the one-time taxes at purchase, and the taxes that arise each year of ownership.
A Tax Guide to Japanese Real Estate — Part 2: Selling and Compliance
The withholding on sale proceeds, the capital gains calculation, and the tax agent you must appoint.
Selling Japan Property as a Non-Resident
The 10.21% withholding, the capital gains computation, and how the refund comes back.
Depreciation of Japanese Buildings
The land–building split, useful lives for second-hand buildings, and differences from other countries’ rules.
Recovering Japanese Consumption Tax on Your Resort Investment
Licensed lodging vs residential leasing, the input tax credit, and the election that must come before the purchase.
The Tax Agent (Nōzei Kanrinin)
The role of the tax agent for non-residents, and the specified tax agent system.
How Japanese Tax Examinations Work
Advance notice, the periods examined, and the issues that arise for foreign property owners.
Assets, inheritance and life in Japan
The Overseas Assets Report
Who must file Japan’s Report of Foreign Assets, and how the CRS moves account information between countries.
The Foreign Tax Credit
How the credit works, the treaty procedures that come first, and a worked example of the credit limit.
Selling Your Home Abroad After Moving to Japan
How yen conversion creates a gain on its own, and the ¥30 million special deduction.
Cryptocurrency and Japanese Tax
What the 2026 reform changes, when the flat 20% starts, and what stays under aggregate taxation.
International Money Transfers and Japan’s Gift Tax
When remittances from family become taxable, and the records the tax office already holds.
Buying a Home in Japan as a Couple
Why ownership shares must follow the money, and the deemed gift when they don’t.
Inheriting Japanese Assets from Overseas
The deadlines, the documents that replace the seal system, and how heirs abroad file and register.
Leaving Japan: A Tax Checklist
Income tax, resident tax, and the pension lump-sum withdrawal payment — in the right order.
There Are No Franking Credits in Japan
Australia’s imputation system and Japan’s credit for dividends, compared at a glance.
How to Read the Fixed Asset Tax Notice
How fixed asset tax works, and each Japanese item on the annual notice translated and explained.
Business in Japan
Starting a Business in Japan
How share capital affects consumption tax, the per-capita levy, and registration costs.
Foreign Freelancers and Japan’s Invoice System
Whether to register, the 20% and 30% special rules, and the transitional timetable.
The Rules on Directors’ Compensation
Why compensation is fixed for the year, the cost of a mid-year increase, and the deteriorated-performance exception.
Necessary Expenses and Business-Use Apportionment
The three categories of spending, home-office and car apportionment, and the records that support the split.
The Withholding Obligation
Withholding on salaries and fees, the 10.21% calculation, and the semi-annual payment exception.
The Sole Proprietor’s Tax Payment Calendar
Resident tax, enterprise tax and estimated prepayments — what arrives when, after you file.
What Is the Blue Return?
The four benefits, a worked example of the saving, and the application deadlines.
Cross-border payments and tax treaties
Payments to Non-Residents and the 20.42% Withholding
When 20.42% applies to cross-border payments, the treaty form, and the three checks before the money moves.
Domestic Law or Tax Treaty — Which Prevails?
Article 98(2) of the Constitution, why treaties prevail in Japan, and the U.S. later-in-time rule.
How the Tax Authority Gathers Information
Information returns, treaty-based exchange, the CRS — and the CARF rules for crypto-assets.
Winter Seasonal Workers in Niseko and Japanese Tax
Why the 183-day rule rarely helps seasonal staff, and the 20.42% withholding from the first payday.
Niseko and Hokkaido
Accommodation Tax in the Niseko Area
Why Kutchan taxes by percentage, the 2026 changes, and the owner’s role as collection agent.
Four Prices for One Parcel
The official land price, the rosenka and the fixed asset tax value — and where each is used.
Shinkansen and Expressway: Access to Niseko
The Shinkansen extension, the Yoichi–Kutchan expressway, and what they mean for the resort.
Why Is Niseko’s Snow So Light?
Siberian cold, the Sea of Japan and two mountains — the geography behind the powder.
The Town the Australians Changed
From farm town to international resort: word of mouth, condominiums and global capital.
Niseko Without Snow: The Green Season
Cool summers, the Shiribetsu River, potato blossoms and the harvest.
Our services
Tax agent (nōzei kanrinin) service
Receiving tax office documents, filing returns, paying tax and collecting refunds on your behalf while you are overseas.
Japanese tax for non-resident property owners
Rental income returns, the withholding settlement when you sell, and the tax agent role — for owners who live abroad.
Tax support for foreign residents and business owners in Japan
Income tax returns that take overseas income and assets properly into account, and the filings that come with living or doing business here.
Can’t find your question?
We answer specific cross-border tax questions for individuals and businesses — by email.
Every enquiry is read and answered personally by the principal — first reply within 3 business days.
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