Tax declaration time Feb.16th -March 15th………do you need to

 Final tax return is the process of declaring your income for the previous year and adjust the appropriate tax on it.

If you are working in an institute or company, it is very likely that your employer will make the adjustments for the withholding tax in the end of the year.       

Such adjustment is called “Year-end tax adjustment” or “Nenmatsu-chousei (年末調整)

At the December or next January payroll you will receive the “tax withholding slip” called Gensenchushouhyou (源泉徴収).

Thanks to this system, most employees in Japan do not need to file a tax return.

Please check with your employer if you are unsure whether they will submit your income declaration.

If you are a student and /or on a fellowship and you had no taxable income between January and December 2023, you still need to go to the Tax Division in the city office of your residence and submit a 0-yen tax report between February16th and March 15, 2023.

Without the tax report, if you are enrolled in National Health Insurance, the insurance premiums cannot be calculated correctly and you may end up paying more than needed. If you have a spouse, they too need to fill out a tax declaration.

You will also not be able to get the resident taxation (tax exemption) certificate or tax payment certificate needed to renew your Residence Card.

And if you are applying for school expense subsidies, entrance into public housing, etc., you will need a Tax Exemption Certificate or a Certificate of Income.

Resident taxes are based on your income for the previous year and issued by the municipality where you resided on January 1^st.If you had taxable income in 2023, the city will send you a notification with the amount of your municipal & prefectural tax in June 2024 and how you can pay it.