Usually not, if you have one employer
If you work for one company and it does your year-end adjustment (年末調整), your income tax for the year is normally settled and you do not need to file a tax return (確定申告). The cases below are the exceptions.
Cases where you must file
- Your salary for the year was more than 20 million yen.
- You have one employer, and your income other than salary (for example a side job, freelance work or rent) was more than 200,000 yen.
- You received salary from two or more employers, and the salary not covered by the year-end adjustment plus other income was more than 200,000 yen. You do not need to file if your total salary minus certain deductions is 1.5 million yen or less and your other income is 200,000 yen or less.
- Your salary came from a payer that does not withhold tax.
Changing jobs during the year is also a common reason: if your new employer could not include your old salary because you did not hand over the 源泉徴収票, you settle the tax by filing a return.
If you leave Japan during the year
Your employer settles your tax with a year-end adjustment on your last salary before you become a non-resident. If you also have to file a return (for example because of side income), you must file it before you leave, unless you have appointed a tax agent (納税管理人). With a tax agent, the agent files during the normal filing period the next year.
Cases where filing gets you money back
- Medical expenses: if you and your family paid more than 100,000 yen in a year (or more than 5% of your income if your income is under 2 million yen), after subtracting insurance payouts, you can claim the medical expense deduction, up to 2 million yen. Attach the statement of medical expenses and keep the receipts for 5 years.
- Furusato nozei: if you donated to 5 local governments or fewer and do not need to file, you can use the one-stop exception (ワンストップ特例) instead. Otherwise, include the donations in a tax return.
Family members living abroad
To claim a dependent deduction for a relative living outside Japan, you need documents proving the relationship (親族関係書類) and documents proving you sent money (送金関係書類), with a Japanese translation if they are in a foreign language. Bank transfer records, card statements and similar records count; cash handed over by a friend does not.
- For relatives aged 30 to 69, the deduction is allowed only if they are studying abroad, have a disability, or received at least 380,000 yen from you in the year. Those receiving money need a remittance document showing the total of 380,000 yen or more.
- If the documents were not ready for the year-end adjustment, you can claim the deduction in a tax return.
Deadlines for 2026 income
The filing period for income earned in 2026 is 16 February (Tuesday) to 15 March (Monday) 2027. Tax due must also be paid by 15 March. A return that only claims a refund can be filed before 16 February, and up to 5 years later.
How to file
You can prepare the return on the National Tax Agency's 確定申告書等作成コーナー website and send it by e-Tax. With a My Number card and a smartphone, you can file without visiting the tax office. You can also print the return and post it or bring it to the tax office for your address.
Last checked: 2026-11-04