I tried searching for this as much as I could online and reddit but can’t seem to find info on this. My partner (Japanese) also couldn’t find proper answers in Japanese. I am aware that it’s required for fixed residency, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it isn’t required for temporary.
I’m going to be leaving Japan but prior to doing so I will move out of my long term apartment in Tachikawa. Then I will stay with my partner’s family in Shinagawa for 4 days before leaving Japan.
My question is, do I need to register in Shinagawa even tho I’m literally leaving in a few days? If so, does that mean I will be charged residence tax?
If there is solid information of this, please let me know! Thanks in advance!
1 comment
“Do I need to pay resident tax”
You’re already liable for the whole resident tax bill for 2022 (billed from June 2023) because you’re a resident as of January 1st 2023.
So if you’re leaving before June 2023 you will need to speak with you’re billing municipality (where you were residing January 1st 2023 I.e Tachikawa) about how they will bill you. Some Municipalities will post the bill overseas, others won’t. If they don’t then you’re likely going to need to appoint a resident tax representative to pay the bill for you.
You also need to pay what remains of your 2021 resident tax bill (billed June 2022 to May 2023). So depending on how you pay the the bill (“special collection” via employer or via postal bills yourself) you may still owe some resident tax for 2021 too.
Regarding your address, when you file the tenshutsu todoke (moving out form) you will state you’re leaving Japan, as opposed to moving to a new address in Japan. You will also need to put your intended departure from Japan date and will then likely need to provide proof of your flight out of Japan too.
So let’s say hypothetically your date you plan to leave Japan is February 28th 2023, but you file to move out of Tachikawa February 24th 2023, it’s unlikely they will let you file the moving out for that date without a new address in Japan lined up. I.e you’d likely have to put your moving out date the same as the date you intent to leave Japan as February 28th 2023, even if you’ve actually physically moved out the address February 24th 2023.
Basically speak to your municipality office what to do there.
But either way that shouldn’t really be a problem because you have 14 days to register a new address. And you’re leaving after 4 days.