Question regarding the logistics of making residence tax payments on the previous fiscal year, after having left the country.
I'll start off by saying, I am trying to pay my taxes owed, if possible, haha. I'm currently on my third and final year in Japan. Previously, I've received a regular tax bill in the mail, with the options of a lump sum payment or the 4 installments due over the next year. Unfortunately, I don't make a ton of money and these payments are no fun, but it is what it is. I opt for the installments.
I received this year's bills again in June. However, I'm planning to leave Japan in August. Will I have to pay off the rest of these bills in full when I leave, or is it possible to use online/credit card payments to finish paying off the installments as they're due from overseas? How interconnected are immigration and tax payments?
It seems like this is/might be possible for this year's residence taxes, which I'll get next June, but I can't find a solid answer about last year's taxes that I currently owe.
Honestly, this wasn't great financial planning on my part, but the costs of trying to move and ship belongings overseas are higher than expected and if it's possible to delay some of these tax payments until I've already moved, it would be a significant help.
Anyone have experience with making tax payments after moving like this?
by rikarikachan
4 comments
You need to pay the rest when you move out. Though you can do that online. They might not be super strict if you are a bit late.
I’m going through the thing right now too. I’ll have to put the first installment on my credit card since yea moving is expensive. I’ll probably use my last paycheck to pay for the 2nd installment and then hopefully have a new job to pay for the rest. https://www.payment.eltax.lta.go.jp/pbuser there’s a website I found. I haven’t used it yet and it is in Japanese but if you use chrome on your phone you can translate it. All you need is the QR code or a number on your payment slips. There is a fee to use the credit card but it’s not too bad like ¥200 or something. I don’t think it’s a good idea to pay late because I read that residence tax will charge interest and it could be more expensive. You could also ask what your options could be when you go to city hall or wherever to do the move out process. They’ll tell you what all you owe and how to pay.
I had this exact issue – left in May and tax not calculated until June. This is what I did:
– went to the ward office, asked if I could pay in advance (not possible)
– asked if I could set up a standing order for my Japanese bank account to automatically debit it. With some gentle encouragement and calling over some managers etc they set it up
– I roughly calculated the remaining tax and left bank account open with money in it
– set up mailmate to get any bills emailed to me (not needed but really handy)
– money was debited with no problems around August or September
>Will I have to pay off the rest of these bills in full when I leave, or is it possible to use online/credit card payments to finish paying off the installments as they’re due from overseas?
It depends on your municipality. The only way to find out for certain which payment methods they accept is to ask them.
>How interconnected are immigration and tax payments?
Not connected.
>It seems like this is/might be possible for this year’s residence taxes, which I’ll get next June
If you leave Japan in August 2024 you won’t owe any residence tax on the income you earned during 2024. Unless you are a resident on January 1, you don’t owe residence tax on the previous year’s income. So by leaving Japan before the end of the year, you avoid residence tax on your 2024 income.