Hey everyone,

I could really use some advice here. I just received a letter from the city I used to live in, saying I need to pay resident tax for three months amounting to 40,000 yen. Here’s my situation:

While living there, my monthly income was 125,000 yen. On top of that, I received an additional 50,000 yen per month from a scholarship provided by 毎日新聞 to cover my fees.

I recently moved and started working full-time, so I don't have time to visit the city office to sort this out. Also, I don't have any Japanese friends to ask for help with this, and my Japanese is still a work in progress.

Does anyone know if my scholarship is considered taxable income? Do I really have to pay this resident tax, or maybe I can get a refund on this at the year's end?