Gov't starts accepting income tax returns
TOKYO —
The government on Monday officially started accepting income tax returns nationwide. Anyone filing an income tax return must do so by March 15.
As in previous years, the National Tax Agency is encouraging people to file their tax returns online. Helping to promote e-tax applications on Monday morning were actor Hideki Takahashi and his wife in Tokyo, and Olympic wrestling champion Saori Yoshida in Nagoya.
Consultation corners have been set up at tax offices to help people file their tax returns.
Japan Today
Order by Time Order by Popularity
29 Comments
Login to comment
2
GW
I REALLY hate this time of year precisely because of this!
0
Bootsy
But it has been SOOOO easy this year with the assistance of Olympic wrestlers ... (O.o)
3
cleo
I like it when the figures all add up like they should and I get a rebate.
3
Maria
May I ask what might seem to you like a dumb question?
I work FT for a company, no other freelance work. I get my paypacket, they take out health insurance etc. Am I supposed to file tax returns myself?
Moderator
According to our information, you only have to file an income tax return if you receive income from sources other than your company.
1
Bluebris
Are the rules slightly different in different prefectures? I only ask because most people I've spoken to have submitted their tax returns in the last two weeks.
3
cleo
Maria, the company should be handling it all for you if they're taking out shotokuzei and chihozei. You only need to file if your salary is in excess of 20 million, or if you want a rebate for medical expenses, etc.
0
Alex Einz
super easy online...
1
gogogo
Tax return in Japan.... hahahahaha! no such thing as a tax "return"
0
edojin
No problem here ... I'm always awaiting that one day trip to Nishi-Shinjuku ... to the tax office. Actually, they're pretty fast.
As for the moderator's comment above ... you only have to file an income tax return if you receive income from sources other than your company ... in that case, better make sure your company actually does the paperwork for you. I have seen cases in which there might be some small companies that somehow push it off to their employees to do themselves.
1
BurakuminDes
Good luck to all JTers in minimizing their tax payments to the J-Govt. We need the money more than them, that's for sure and certain!
2
humanrights
haha You never get a return. If you paid too much tax, they reduce the amount over the next year.
1
cleo
No; if you're a sarariman you get an 'adjustment' at the end of the year; if you're self-employed you get a lump sum usually around April.
0
Frungy
Just a note though, most people working for companies don't file tax returns as under Japanese labour law income tax is the company's problem. Futhermore most companies' contracts have clauses forbidding "moonlighting" (i.e. any other sources of income). It isn't just English teachers, it is most people who work for an organisation. Most of my Japanese co-workers just wait for the company to give them their tax certificate, and most are unaware the things like life insurance are tax deductable (I only found out because I asked my office why they wanted to know if I had life insurance).
A note on external income (i.e. income from other than your primary occupation). It is my understanding that there is a threshold value (if memory serves correctly it is 200 000yen per year, but I may be mistaken). If your additional income falls below this amount then it does not need to be declared or taxed. I am not an expert on Japanese tax law, and you'd need to look into this, but if you're just making some pocket money every month from a small side-business in addition to your regular employment then you might fall under this amount and not have to fuss with an additional tax return.
0
knowitall
You can file on Jan. 1 if you don't owe any taxes. If you do owe, filing is starting from today, the day that the tax agency announces as start of filing season when they get celebrities to file in front of the cameras. At least, that is what the guy at the tax office told me a couple years ago.
2
mdepaiva
Japan's Income Tax filing seems quite simple when compared to the USA system. In the USA, individuals are responsible for filing their own income tax paperwork. You either do it yourself, or pay someone to do it for you. The only thing companies do is supply the individual worker with an income statement and report that income to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
1
Manuel D. Valencia III
mdepaiva - Are you surprised by this. I hate to admit, but the U.S. makes many thing complicated that Japanese make simple. This is a good example. Another example is Japanese immigration at airports. Simple, quick, without much fuss. I can also add that medical care and giving birth here is much better, too.
0
Steve Christian
I love the way everyone just talks about this SCAM like its just normal everyday rigamarole. Here is why its a scam: They ESTIMATE what you will owe in the future and take your money in advance. Then they put the burden on YOU to demand your money back if they took too much. They won't track you down and give your excess money back. But if you did not pay enough, they will track you down. Hows that? That is robber-baron behavior!
You might notice that the city waits till the year is done, then they know precisely what you owe and charge you for it. None of this estimate and beg for a return nonsense.
And that is not even getting into how they take way more money from us than they could ever legitimately need and line their pockets and their friends's pockets and build public works of no redeemable value whatsoever. I hope one day to see everyone discussing the real points of this scam instead of discussing ways to be in full compliance with it.
0
Ramzel
I am self employed, so from year to year my income can vary. Japan bases the income tax on previous year's earnings in this case.
Yes, if you pay pre-paid tax the previous year and it is too high, then you get a refund or tax adjustment.
Example - in 2009 March, after the "Lehman Shock", I had paid more taxes than my 2008 income would warrant (based on 2007 income). Thus, I didn't have to pay any income tax.
0
Steve Christian
Not if you don't apply for it. And not if you calculate incorrectly or someone else does. Much easier to do this after the fact, then guess before and try and pick up the pieces later. Why should we have to bother with this silly process?
OF COURSE you paid income tax! You just did not have to pay ADDITIONAL tax.
Income tax itself is a scam. The government only needs that kind of money in war time.
0
Ramzel
Semantics - I paid too much the previous year, so that year I didn't have to pay.
Lived in Europe lately? Tax rates are 50-60% in certain countries...
3
Frungy
Be a little fair, Japanese taxes are low, but they also hit you with lots of little taxes, for example, income tax (about 10%), plus inhabitants tax (another 10%), plus mandatory retirement fund/social security payment (another +/-10%), plus mandatory health insurance (another +/-10%), plus consumption tax, car tax, inheritance tax, property taxes, etc...
All things considered Japan is a bit cheaper than most of Europe, but the taxes aren't as low as it appears at the first glance. Coming from a country where the income tax rate for my bracket was nearly 50% I nearly did a backflip for joy when I saw 10% income tax... then a few years later I did the math again and figured I was paying just a little less... but with more paperwork and in smaller chunks.
That being said, and in the interests of fairness, I get a lot more for my taxes in Japan than I did back home. The streets are spotless, the power is reliable, the police are polite, my city hall is more efficient than back home (note: not amazingly efficient, but these things are relative), there are plenty of parks, the hospitals are top-class (although some of the doctors could do with a refresher course), etc. My feeling is that I'm paying a little less and getting a lot more for my taxes.
Moderator
Back on topic please.
0
fupayme
Oh the joys of tax time.....
its great to know that my hard earned tax dollars are going to pay for my friends new 2013 BMW (he works at the Shiyakusho and takes 3 consecutive months paid leave every year due to "stress") and my wife's friend's husband (he is a regular police officer, who is 29 and is making 78man a month before bonuses)
Yes....I am very happy to pay my fair share to our hard working public servants
0
cleo
fupayme, your wife's friend's husband is not earning 78man a month as a regular police officer at 29. He'd be very lucky to be getting that at age 59. A 30-year-old sergeant earns a little over half that.
Either your wife's friend's husband is not a 'regular police officer,' they have some other source of income, or his wife is pulling your wife's leg.
I also suspect that anyone taking three consecutive months off every year, for whatever reason, would soon find themselves at best sitting in a corner of the shiyakusho on a basic wage, or at worst out of a job.
1
Ramzel
@ Frungy,
Income tax rates are up to 40% (10% income tax is for up to earnings of 3.3M) + 10% ward tax, whereas in Europe it can be 60%+. Health insurance caps out at 800,000JPY a year (about).
0
gogogo
Just found out that this is ONLY for independent people working for themselves, everyone elses' taxes were done months ago.
-1
fupayme
@cleo, I saw my wife's husbands pay stub. He showed it to me when we were out drinking one time cause I was complaining about the taxes I'll have to pay this year. His base is about 50man, but he gets this special HAZARD type pay, since he works extra hours doing some extra dangerous Japanese police work, such as directing traffic or working in the snow. Its not always 78man, but its generally 65~80man a month before bonuses
As for the Shiyakusho guy, he has been doing it now for over 9 years. He works at the Gaikokujin help department , and he is a complete azz towards Foreigners, and complains all the time about how he has to deal with them and how it causes him so much stress that he has to take those paid 3 month stress vacations, while driving in his new 7,800,000 yen BMW
....its completely dumb
-1
fupayme
I meant to say wife's friend's husband pay stub ...lol
Back to top