City Office & Procedures

Taxes, Pension, and Opening a Bank Account

Taxes and pension contributions start as soon as you live and earn in Japan. For most employees, much of it is handled through the workplace. This guide explains what happens automatically, when you need to act yourself, and what to do before you leave Japan.

Income tax

If you are an employee, income tax (shotokuzei, 所得税) is taken from your salary each month. At the end of the year, your employer settles the exact amount with your last salary of the year. This is called the year-end adjustment (nenmatsu chōsei, 年末調整).

You need to file a final tax return (kakutei shinkoku, 確定申告) yourself in cases such as these:

You have one employer, and your income other than salary is over ¥200,000.
You have income from a business or from stocks on which tax is due.

Returns and payments for each year are made between February 16 and March 15 of the following year.

Resident tax

Resident tax (jūminzei, 住民税) goes to your prefecture and city. It is based on your income from the previous year, and you pay it to the city where you lived on January 1. If you leave Japan after January 1, you still owe that year's resident tax.

Pension

Regardless of nationality, everyone aged 20 to 59 with an address in Japan is covered by the national pension (kokumin nenkin, 国民年金). Company employees usually join employees' pension (kōsei nenkin, 厚生年金) through their workplace instead.

Before you leave Japan

Lump-sum withdrawal payment

You may claim a lump-sum withdrawal payment (dattai ichijikin, 脱退一時金) of your pension contributions if all of these apply:

You are not a Japanese national.
You paid contributions for at least six months.
You no longer have an address in Japan.
You apply within two years after you no longer have an address in Japan.

Taxes

If tax procedures remain after you leave, you need to appoint a tax agent (nōzei kanrinin, 納税管理人) to handle them for you.

Opening a bank account

Banks usually ask for these items:

An ID document, such as your residence card
A personal seal (hanko, はんこ). Some banks accept a signature instead.
Your employee ID card or student ID card

Requirements differ from bank to bank, so check with the bank before you go.

Japanese words you'll see

Japanese	Reading	Meaning
所得税	shotokuzei	Income tax.
住民税	jūminzei	Resident tax.
年末調整	nenmatsu chōsei	Year-end tax adjustment by your employer.
確定申告	kakutei shinkoku	Final tax return.
源泉徴収票	gensen chōshūhyō	Withholding slip showing your salary and tax.
国民年金	kokumin nenkin	National pension.
口座	kōza	Bank account.
印鑑・はんこ	inkan / hanko	Personal seal.

Questions families ask

Do I need to file a tax return?

Most employees with one employer do not, because tax is settled through the year-end adjustment. You need to file if, for example, your income other than your salary is over ¥200,000. Returns are filed between February 16 and March 15.

Do foreign residents have to join the pension system?

Yes. Regardless of nationality, everyone aged 20 to 59 with an address in Japan is covered by the national pension. Employees usually join employees' pension through work.

Can I get my pension contributions back when I leave Japan?

You may claim a lump-sum withdrawal payment if you are not a Japanese national, paid contributions for at least six months, and apply within two years after you no longer have an address in Japan.

What do I need to open a bank account?

Usually an ID such as your residence card, a personal seal (some banks accept a signature), and an employee ID or student ID.

Sources

This guide is based on information published by Japan's Immigration Services Agency, National Tax Agency, Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, and Japan Pension Service. Your own case may differ, so check with your employer, tax office, or pension office.

Practice the Japanese you need at the bank in Japanese Talk: Bank & ATM.