Taxes · 住民税 · jūminzei
Resident tax in Japan (住民税)
A local tax that everyone living in Japan with an income pays, foreigners included. It goes to your prefecture and your city or ward. The catch: it is calculated on last year’s income, so there is usually none in your first year — and the first bill arrives in your second. Who pays, how much, when, and how not to miss a payment.
Checked against the Ministry of Internal Affairs and city office websites on October 7, 2026 · Income tax · Family and dependents
In short
Resident tax in five lines
What the tax is made of
“Resident tax” is the common name for two local taxes: the prefectural tax (都道府県民税) and the city or ward tax (市町村民税; in Tokyo’s wards 特別区民税). You pay them together, as one amount on one notice.
| Part | Amount (Tokyo, 23 wards) |
|---|---|
| Income-based part (所得割) | 10% of taxable income: 6% to the ward, 4% to Tokyo |
| Per-capita part (均等割) | ¥5,000 a year: ¥3,000 to the ward, ¥1,000 to Tokyo, ¥1,000 forest environment tax (森林環境税, since 2024) |
Other prefectures use almost the same rates, but the per-capita part can differ. In Yokohama, for example, it is ¥6,200 a year, and the income-based part is 8% to the city and 2.025% to Kanagawa (FY2026, including Kanagawa’s water-source tax).
Who pays, and to whom
You pay if you had a registered address in Japan on January 1. You pay to the city or ward where you were registered on that day, even if you have moved since. If you leave Japan after January 1, you still owe the tax for the whole year (see below).
How much you pay: an example
The 10% is taken from taxable income, not from your whole salary
A simplified example for a single employee in Tokyo earning ¥3,000,000 a year:
| Step | Amount |
|---|---|
| Annual salary | ¥3,000,000 |
| − Deduction for employment income (給与所得控除) | ¥980,000 |
| − Social insurance premiums (about 15%) | ¥450,000 |
| − Basic deduction (基礎控除) | ¥430,000 |
| = Taxable income | ¥1,140,000 |
| × 10%, minus the adjustment deduction of ¥2,500 | ¥111,500 |
| + Per-capita part | ¥5,000 |
| Total for the year | about ¥116,500 (≈ ¥9,700 a month) |
Your exact amount is on the notice from your city office. People with dependents, large medical bills or other deductions pay less. To see the monthly effect on your pay, use the take-home pay calculator — it adds resident tax from the second year.
Why the basic deduction is ¥430,000 here. The 2025–2026 reform raised the basic deduction for income tax, but not for resident tax: it stays at ¥430,000. So you may pay no income tax and still pay resident tax. The adjustment deduction (調整控除) for a single person is ¥2,500.
When you don’t pay
Each city sets its own limits
For Tokyo’s 23 wards:
| Tax year | On income of | A single person with salary income only pays nothing up to |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 (notice in June 2026) | 2025 | ¥1,100,000 |
| 2027 (notice in June 2027) | 2026 | ¥1,190,000 by calculation, because the minimum deduction for employment income rises to ¥740,000 from the 2027 tax (announced by the Tokyo Bureau of Taxation and by Nagoya) |
Even with no income, file an income declaration with your city office (住民税申告) between mid-February and March 15 (the next working day if that is a holiday). You will owe no tax, but without it the city cannot lower your health insurance premium and may not issue the income certificate (課税・非課税証明書) you need for a visa extension.
How you pay
Deducted from your salary, or paid with payment slips
Deadlines, and what happens if you miss them
| What | When | If you miss it |
|---|---|---|
| First installment (payment slips) | by June 30 | late-payment charges (延滞金) from the first day |
| Second, third, fourth installment | by August 31, October 31, January 31 | late-payment charges; collection if unpaid for long |
| Income declaration to the city office (if you file no tax return) | mid-February to March 15 | the city does not know your income: no lower health insurance premium, possibly no certificate for your visa |
| Leaving a job between January 1 and April 30 | from your last salary (or severance pay) | your employer must deduct the rest of the year in one sum |
When you change jobs
Your new employer can continue the deduction. If you leave a job between January 1 and April 30, the rest of the year is deducted from your last salary in one sum, by law. If you leave between June and December, the rest is deducted at once if you agree, or the city sends you payment slips. What else to do when you leave a job: quitting a job in Japan.
Your first year in Japan
Why there is less in your pocket in the second year
Say you arrive in April 2026:
- April 2026 — you arriveYou pay no resident tax for 2026: on January 1, 2026 you did not live in Japan.
- April – December 2026Your income for these months goes into the 2027 tax.
- January 1, 2027The city where you are registered on this day will charge you.
- June 2027 — the first noticeThe tax is deducted from your salary or payment slips arrive — until May 2028.
That is why the second-year budget often turns out smaller than expected: the tax is added to your usual costs. Plan for it early — the take-home pay calculator shows both years side by side.
If you have a family
Spouse, children, parents: what changes
A dependent for tax and a dependent for health insurance are two different things with different income limits. All the rules for families: Family and dependents.
If you leave Japan
You still owe this year’s tax
If you had income last year and lived in Japan on January 1, you owe this year’s tax even if you are leaving for good. If you leave after January 1 of next year, you also owe next year’s.
No notice, or you can’t pay
Don’t wait: debts affect your visa
If no notice has arrived by the end of June and you had income last year, contact the tax section of your city office: the letter may have been lost or sent to an old address.
Linked to your visa.
- Unpaid tax affects your visa. When you extend a work visa, sponsor your family and above all when you apply for permanent residency, immigration asks for resident tax certificates (課税証明書 and 納税証明書).
- For permanent residency you usually need certificates for the last 5 years (3 years for spouses of Japanese nationals or permanent residents) and proof that you paid on time. A late payment counts against you even if the debt is paid by the day you apply.
- The certificates are issued by the city where you were registered on January 1 of that year.
Extending your period of stay · Permanent residency · Taxes and your visa
What next
Your next step
FAQ
Resident tax questions
Can’t find your question? Write to us — a real person replies.
Study → Find a job → Work → Taxes → PR or leave
From student to working in Japan — and where you are on the way
Sources
Where this information comes from
Rates, limits and deadlines on this page were checked against the official websites of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, the Tokyo Bureau of Taxation and city offices on October 7, 2026. Amounts are in Japanese yen. When a rule changes we update the page and the date above.
- Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications — individual inhabitant tax (個人住民税)
- Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications — overview of the individual resident tax (個人住民税の概要)
- Tokyo Metropolitan Government Bureau of Taxation — individual resident tax (個人住民税)
- Minato City — how the tax is calculated, adjustment deduction (調整控除)
- Ota City — calculation and non-taxable limits
- Arakawa City — payment deadlines (普通徴収)
- Arakawa City — deduction from salary and leaving a job (特別徴収)
- Chuo City — income declaration to the city office (住民税の申告)
- Ota City — why to file a declaration even with no income
- Koto City — resident tax changes from FY2026
- Nagoya City — changes from FY2027 (employment income deduction ¥740,000)
- Chuo City — resident tax when you move abroad
This page is general information, not tax advice. Your city office and the tax office decide your actual tax. For a complex case — income from abroad, a business, leaving Japan — talk to a licensed tax accountant (税理士, zeirishi).
