How to File Your Tax Return in Japan (確定申告)

Reviewed by Jordy Meow & Emi (accountant) · Updated 22 Jun 2026 · About

Every spring, Japan settles up the previous year's income tax. For most company employees this happens automatically; for freelancers and many others, you have to do it yourself with a final tax return¹ (確定申告, kakutei shinkoku). Here is who needs to file, when, and how.

Want a number first? The tax calculator estimates your income, resident tax and insurance from a salary, this page explains how you actually report and settle it.

Year-end adjustment vs the final tax return #

There are two different mechanisms, and most confusion comes from mixing them up:

• Year-end adjustment² (年末調整), done by your employer in December. If you are a regular employee with one job, your company reconciles your income tax for you and you usually do nothing.
• Final tax return (確定申告), done by you, filed with the tax office between mid-February and mid-March. This is for freelancers and for employees whose situation the year-end adjustment can't cover.

Do you need to file? #

You generally must file a final tax return if you are:

• A freelancer / sole proprietor³ or otherwise self-employed.
• An employee with side income over ¥200,000 in the year (freelance gigs, crypto, large investment gains, etc.).
• An employee with a salary over ¥20 million, or with two employers, or who left a job and wasn't adjusted.

You may want to file even when you don't have to, to claim a refund for medical expenses, your first year of a mortgage, or furusato nozei donations.

The deadline (2026) #

For 2025 income, the filing window is:

• February 16 – March 16, 2026. (The usual March 15 deadline falls on a Sunday this year, so it moves to Monday the 16th.)
• e-Tax opens earlier, from January 5, 2026.
• If you owe consumption tax⁴ as a registered business, that return is due by March 31, 2026, see our Invoice System guide.

File late and you risk an additional-tax penalty plus interest, so don't let it slip.

The trap: "worldwide income" #

A common and expensive mistake: assuming money earned outside Japan doesn't need to be declared. How much of your foreign income is taxable depends on your residence status for tax⁵:

• Non-permanent resident⁶ (非永住者), a non-Japanese who has had an address in Japan for 5 years or less within the past 10. You are taxed on Japan-source income plus any foreign income that is paid in, or remitted to, Japan.
• Permanent resident for tax purposes (居住者, after more than 5 years), taxed on your worldwide income, wherever it is paid.

So foreign freelance payments, overseas rental income or dividends can absolutely be in scope. If your situation is cross-border, this is the part worth getting a tax accountant to check.

If you're a freelancer: the Blue Return #

If you registered with the Blue Return System (青色申告), your final tax return unlocks a special deduction:

• ¥650,000 if you keep double-entry books and file electronically by e-Tax,
• ¥550,000 if you keep the books but file on paper,
• ¥100,000 for simplified bookkeeping.

That deduction comes straight off your taxable income, so it is well worth the extra paperwork.

How to actually file #

• e-Tax (online), the National Tax Agency's site builds the return through a question-and-answer flow, with some English support. With a My Number card and a phone, you can file entirely from home.
• By paper, print the forms, or pick them up and fill them in at your local tax office⁷; staff can help during the season (expect queues in March).
• Hire a tax accountant⁸ (税理士), for a few hundred dollars they handle everything, which many freelancers find worth it the first year.

Keep your records, invoices, receipts, payment statements, deduction certificates, through the year and the return becomes mostly data entry.

Official references: National Tax Agency, filing your income tax return · NTA English, income tax

This might help #

¹ Final tax return : 確定申告 kakutei shinkoku
² Year-end adjustment : 年末調整 nenmatsu chōsei
³ Sole proprietor : 個人事業者 kojin jigyōsha
⁴ Consumption tax : 消費税 shōhizei
⁵ Resident (for tax) : 居住者 kyojūsha
⁶ Non-permanent resident : 非永住者 hi-eijūsha
⁷ Tax office : 税務署 zeimusho
⁸ Tax accountant : 税理士 zeirishi