🌐 Basics of Individual Income Tax in Japan Key points everyone should know

1. Tax Filing Deadline (Kakutei Shinkoku)

📅 Personal Income Tax Return
Filing period: February 16 – March 15 every year
Applies to income earned from January 1 to December 31
Tax payment deadline is the same date
Extensions are generally not available for individuals
(except in special cases such as natural disasters)

2. Who Must File a Tax Return?

👔 Employees (Salary Earners)
You must file a tax return if:
You receive salary from two or more employers, and the secondary salary exceeds ¥200,000
Your annual salary exceeds ¥20 million
You wish to claim a tax refund, such as:
Medical expense deduction
Donations (including hometown tax donations)
Casualty losses
You are claiming the Home Loan Deduction (first year only)
You have non-salary income (side income) over ¥200,000

💼 Self-Employed / Freelancers
Filing a tax return is always required, regardless of income level
Two types of filing:
Blue Return (青色申告) – bookkeeping required, tax benefits available
White Return (白色申告) – simpler but fewer advantages

🏠 Real Estate Income
A tax return is required if you earn:
Rental income
Sublease income
Income from land or building rights
Related expenses may be deducted (taxes, depreciation, insurance, repairs, etc.).

📈 Investment Income
A tax return is required when:
You want to offset investment losses and gains (損益通算)
You want to carry forward losses to future years
Your securities account is not “withholding included” (源泉徴収あり特定口座)
If you use a tax-withholding account, filing is often not necessary.

👵 Pension Income
You must file if:
Public pension income exceeds ¥4 million, or
Additional income (interest, dividends, etc.) exceeds ¥200,000
✔ When You Do NOT Need to File
Most employees do not need to file a tax return if:
They have only one employer,
Year-end tax adjustment has been completed, and
Side income is ¥200,000 or less