Frequently asked questions
Short answers. See the guides for deeper dives.
Do I need to file a Japanese tax return at all?
If you are a single-employer salaried worker earning ≤ ¥20 million, with no side income over ¥200,000, and your employer ran year-end adjustment (年末調整), you generally do not need to file. If any of those conditions fail, or you want to claim medical / donation / housing-loan deductions that the employer could not apply, you need to file 確定申告.
What is the difference between NPR and PR?
Non-Permanent Resident (非永住者) is a foreign national who has had a domicile or residence in Japan for at most 5 of the last 10 years. NPRs are taxed on Japan-source income plus the remitted portion of foreign income. Permanent Resident (永住者) for tax purposes is anyone who exceeds that 5-of-10 threshold, or any Japanese national — PRs are taxed on worldwide income.
When is the filing deadline?
February 16 through March 15 of the year after the one the income was earned. Income earned in 2025 is filed between Feb 16 and Mar 15, 2026.
Does TaxNinja JP submit to the NTA for me?
No. We generate a print-ready PDF bundle with every form your situation needs plus an English cover letter. You print, sign, and submit by post or walk-in. e-Tax direct submit via My Number Card NFC is planned behind a feature flag.
Is my data safe?
Passwords are hashed with bcrypt, sessions are httpOnly JWT cookies with SameSite=strict, and My Number (when you opt in) is encrypted with a separate key and deleted within 24 hours of package generation. Full posture: /security.
Can I file for a previous year?
Yes. Returns can be filed or amended within 5 years. Choose a prior year during onboarding, or via the dashboard.
I'm leaving Japan mid-year — what do I do?
Pick the "Departing" residency during onboarding. The bundle will include the tax-representative dismissal form (09) and the cover letter will cover pre-departure timing and the 住民税 loose end.
Does this handle 消費税 (consumption tax) for sole proprietors?
Not in v1.0. If your two-year-prior revenue exceeded ¥10 million you are a compulsory 消費税 filer — consult a 税理士 for that. We plan a module for sole-prop qualified-invoice (インボイス制度) filers.
How much does it cost?
Free during v1.0 beta. We will give at least 30 days' notice before introducing any fee.
Which languages do you support?
The UI ships in English, 日本語, 简体中文 and 繁體中文 — switch via the picker in the page header or the first step of onboarding. Korean is in progress. The PDFs attached to your filing bundle are the official Japanese NTA forms (PDFs are always in Japanese); the cover letter is English.
Question not answered here?
Send a quick note — anonymous submissions are fine. We use this to grow the FAQ.