International Money Transfers and Japan’s Gift Tax

By MISAWA Masaki, Certified Tax Accountant (Zeirishi, Reg. No. 157367) — formerly of Japan’s tax authorities · Published July 11, 2026 · Reviewed July 17, 2026

When you receive money from family overseas, Japanese gift tax can come into play. The point to grasp is that if the recipient (the donee) has an address in Japan, a gift from abroad is, as a rule, within the scope of Japanese gift tax. "My parents sent it between accounts in my home country, so Japan is not involved" does not necessarily hold.

In judging whether tax is actually due, two rules come first.

The ¥1.1 million annual exemption

If the gifts you receive in a calendar year total ¥1.1 million or less, no return is needed. Above that, a gift tax return and payment are due between 1 February and 15 March of the following year. The rates are progressive, and gifts from lineal ascendants (parents and grandparents) to children or grandchildren aged 18 or over qualify for preferential rates.

Living and education costs

Property received by gift between persons under mutual support obligations (spouses, lineal relatives and so on), to be applied to living or education costs, is non-taxable to the extent normally necessary.

The overseas remittance statements

Separately, cross-border remittances are covered by the Act on Submission of Statements of Overseas Wire Transfers for the Purpose of Securing Proper Domestic Taxation. Financial institutions must file with the tax office a statement of overseas wire transfers for each outbound or inbound international transfer exceeding ¥1 million, recording the names of sender and recipient, the amount and the stated purpose; these statements are used as basic material in tax administration. Records of money arriving from abroad are, by design, kept in this way.

Records to keep

Gift tax turns on "from whom, how much, for what purpose, and spent on what". Keeping records that show the purpose and use of a transfer — messages, contracts, payment records — is the first step in being able to explain it later.

Transfers between spouses, and the down payment on a jointly purchased home, also carry the risk of being characterised as gifts (see the separate article). Before a large transfer, check the tax position first.