I’m a programmer, I found a Japanese artist online and we made a team to develop a game together. (I live in Japan too but I’ve never met him in real life, just online relation, we communicate via Discord, I don’t even know his real name)
After some time now we’re getting close to the goal point, and I see high indication that we are going to make some money here. It’s strange that I’ve never thought about this but I have no idea how should we handle this money in case of a 1:1 revenue split?
Should I open a bank account specifically for this? How do I do the tax thingy as it was always handled by my company I’ve been working in?
Also the company I’m working don’t allow us to work part-time (while paying us dirt cheap). Will I get in trouble if they found out after I declare my tax?
I’m pretty naive and inexperienced in this regard, what is the norm here?
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If you are handling all the money, having it in its own account will make your life much easier, and probably help ensure a good relationship with your partner.
You will have to file your own tax return listing the profits (money in minus expenses).
Your company will not need to be informed, and you can request to pay the additional resident tax seperately.
Of course, if they find out, they may well be angry. What they do — depends on how shitty a company it is.
Also, hopefully the scope of your work falls under your current SOR, otherwise it may be wise to get permission from immigration (though certain artistic projects don’t necessarily have to, I don’t believe that exception would apply here).
Whatever you end up going with, I’d get something formalized on paper ASAP. You don’t want potential lawsuits coming down the pipeline when someone gets disgruntled down the line and starts disputing things and demanding a greater share of revenue.
I am also curious about this. I’ve heard that it’s better to set up an LLC when you publish your game as a safety net (not Japan specific). Has anyone done this here?
A lawyer
Maybe ask the folks at r/JapanFinance
fwiw the company i work for also had a no part-time policy, but “creative work” like yt content creation, writing a novel etc. were allowed. if your work has a similar policy it might be ok?
You need to get a contract in place, and you should probably involve a lawyer. Lawyers in Japan are relatively cheap, this won’t cost you a huge amount.
Generally for finance-related questions, /r/JapanFinance will be a better place to ask.
What type of game? Like a dating sim on a website? Or a steam game?
Sharing money hmmm maybe can blockchain the payments?
Are you a foreigner? Opening a company here in Japan is a lengthy process.
It may be easier to open a company in your local country quickly while you wait for the Japanese company. (I.e. takes months for a company here & then months for a business bank account. Whereas you can open a company & bank account same day in the US)
You absolutely need to do the above. You need an LLC to protect you. They cost about 350$ to file online in the US. I think 150,000 here in Japan.
Second. Talk to the other guy, see what kinda split he wants. A 1:1 may not be fair. If you’re asking here and have done more work, you may want to ask for 40/60 or more. Put it on paper. Get him to sign (docusign)
Third. Your company receives payments. Your company pays you a salary. You pay for business expenses via your company bank account and nothing else. Keep all receipts that affect the business.
Also, hope the game does well, but do not expect it to.
Btw DM me I like games & am a developer of all sorts
1. Find an accountant; they’ll know a lawyer who can help where needed.
2. Get permission from Immigration to be a director of a company in addition to your existing visa.
3. Open a GK owned 50/50 with your partner as the representative director (you’d have to either have PR or be on a Business Manager visa to do this yourself).
4. Put the IP assets (your work and your partner’s work) in the GK valued at 50% each.
5. Open a bank account for the GK.
6. Run all game-related money through the GK.
7. Pay tax on GK profits.
I’m in mostly the same situation, although I have yet to finish it but I ask for information at counselors from my city.
Yeah, it can be an issue if your work doesn’t agree, especially because you’ll have to fill taxes for this. You’ll have to report with the blue tax income tax return : 青色申告.
When your company will ask for the end year thing for tax, you’ll have to send them document to tell them you have other incomes, so it can be an issue at that point.
Alternative would be creating your own company with your artist friend (easier if he is Japanese) or if you want to do it yourself you’ll need to invest a bunch before or hire at least 2 Japanese people iirc.
My company does games too, but since the game is a different genre entirely, they allowed me to do it anyway. It seems to be safer to talk about it to them, but in any case, try to find counselling on your city hall websites about second job and self job 副業 個人事業