Taxes

Foreign people who have lived in Japan for over 1 year, must pay tax.

税金には、いろいろな種類があります。

National tax (kokuzei)

Income tax (shotokuzei)

The amount of income tax you pay, is decided by the amount of salary you receive in 1 year.

Income tax return(kakutei shinkoku) and withholding tax(gensenchoushuu)・Year-end tax adjustment(nenmatsu chousei)

People who are self-employed at a shop or company they have set up, must inform the tax office of the amount of money and tax they have used for work, out of the amount of money earned between January 1st and December 31st. This is called kakutei shinkoku (income tax return)「確定申告」.

In the case of people receiving a salary from a company, the company deducts and pays income tax from the monthly salary. This is called gensenchoushuu (withholding tax)「源泉徴収」.

Companies consider such things as life insurance, and calculate the amount of tax an employee pays in a year, when paying a 12 month salary. This is called nenmatsu chousei (year-end tax adjustment).

Some time between December and January, companies will hand their employees a statement of earnings(gensenchoushuu hyou )「源泉徴収票」 The amount of salary you have received and the amount of tax you have paid for the year, is written on the statement of earnings.

This statement of earnings is necessary for when you inform places such the city hall about the amount of salary you receive.It is also necessary for when you change your residence status. Please keep the statement of earrings in a safe place.

Tax refund (zeikin no kanpu)

Persons meeting one of the conditions listed below, should inform local authorities of income tax return. You may be able to receive a small return of the amount of tax you have paid.

1. People who have paid a large sum of money to a hospital.
2. People who have given birth.
3. People who have been doing part time work for a year, and whose salary is lower than that of the previous year.

The income tax return can be done from January 1st, at the tax office. It can also be done from a website named E-tax.
Link:http://www.e-tax.nta.go.jp/index.html

For further reference, please also look at this website>

Hamamatsu City “Kanaru Hamamatsu”
Link:http://www.city.hamamatsu.shizuoka.jp/hamaj/08tax/08_1.html

Consumption tax (shouhizei)

Consumption tax is the tax you pay when buying items at a shop, or services. The consumption tax rate is an extra 8% of the price of the items or services you have bought.

Local tax (chihouzei)

Municipal tax (shiminzei, shikenminzei)

Municipal tax, is a tax that you pay in order to receive necessary daily services in the area where you live.

It is because of everyone paying municipal tax, that we are able to do such things as calling an ambulance or fire service, go to schools, have a refuse collection service, and so on.

You can pay municipal tax either by having it deducted directly from your salary by your company, or by paying it yourself using a payment slip (noufusho ).

Automobile tax (jidoushazei)

Persons owning a car, must pay automobile tax.

nce you have received a automobile tax payment notification(nouzei tsuuchisho) from Shizuoka Prefecture, please make the payment at a convenience store or bank, as soon as possible.

Light vehicle tax (keijidoushazei)

Persons owning a motorbike or light vehicle, must pay light vehicle tax.

Once you have received a light vehicle tax payment notification(nouzei tsuuchisho) from the city hall, please make the payment as soon as possible.

Please make sure to fill out and hand the appropriate documents at the Department of Transportation(unrin shikyoku), in the case of selling, giving away or getting rid of your car or motorbike.

Other taxes

Please pay a vehicle weight tax (jidoushajuuryouzei) at the time of your vehicle inspection.

Persons owning their own land or house, must pay a property tax (koteishisanzei).

Tax certificate (nouzei shoumeisho)・Proof of earnings (shotoku shoumeishou)

A tax certificate is a document that shows you have been making the proper municipal tax payments.

A proof of earnings (taxation certificate・kazei shoumeishou) is a document that shows how much salary you have been earning through work and how much tax you should pay.

You can obtain these documents at the city hall.

Procedures to prevent Double taxation (nijuukazei)

Some people use the money they have earned in Japan, for making work or buying land, in their native country.

In these cases, you may be asked to pay tax by your native country.

The is called double taxation.

Persons from the following list of countries, do not have to pay tax in their native country, if they are paying taxes in Japan

64 countries (as of November 2015)

America, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Belarus, Belgium, Brazil, Brunei, Bulgaria, Canada, China, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Egypt, Fiji, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Hong Kong, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Kazakhstan, Korea, Kirghiz, Kuwait, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Mexico, Moldova, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, the Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Slovakia, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Switzerland, Tajikistan, Thailand, Turkey, Turkmenistan, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, Ukraine, Uzbekistan,Vietnam, Zambia.