Job Discussion Forums

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I'm planning on leaving japan next year in May 2016. I'm aware that I need to pay my full year resident tax for my stay from Jan 1, 2014 -Dec 31,2015.

But how about my stay in Japan from Jan 1, 2016 to May 2016? do I still need to pay the full year amount for 2015 year, when I leave?

[mitsui]

You mean 2016?
Yes, you would have to pay.

You can go to the tax office starting in mid-February, I think.

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[mitsui]

No. You get the bills in the mail right?
My wife gets the bills in the mail since she works part-time.
Just pay for the last one you receive.

I probably will be in the same boat since I want to leave in the summer,
but then my wife will stay here for a while.

[dove]

I think you will have to pay for that amount of time even if it's not a full year. I didn't think I would have to pay when I left Japan, so I departed without visiting the city hall. Bills were forwarded to the contact address I left behind. I hate the feeling of owing money, so I came back to Japan to pay ( thank you mileage points). Interest accrued. I also had to pay something on my health insurance. But I scored good gaijin points at the city hall. They were pretty shocked that someone would come all the way back to pay.

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[dove]

No, I think you will be prorated for the months you will have worked. That's how it was for me. My insurance payments were handled the same way. But penalties accrued during the time I didn't pay.

I'm sorry that my original response was unclear.

[Lamarr]

My understanding of the system is that, if you're resident in Japan on January 1st, then you have to pay tax that year, based on the previous year's income, as stated on your income tax form which you hand in in March. The payslips for local "city tax" usually come in May or June.

If you leave Japan before either of those deadlines, you're supposed to go in and sort it out yourself. So if you left before income tax form season in March, you go to the income tax bureau (or whatever it's called) and fill in your income, expenses etc. for the previous calendar year. They then calculate your city tax from that and you pay that up before you leave.

If you hand in your income tax form in March but then leave before the city tax payslips arrive in May or June, you're required to go to your city office and sort out your city tax payment yourself.

AFAIK, you won't have to pay any tax on your income for calendar year 2016, as you'll have left Japan by January 1st 2017 (it's always paid in arrears, based on the previous year's income). I left in August, paid up my city taxes for the year 2014, and was told there won't be any more payments to make.

[G Cthulhu]