My spouse is 社員 employee, and I’m a contract employee / freelancer with 個人事業
We are wondering if it would be more advantageous (for financial / tax reasons) for her or I to declare our child as a dependent.
My spouse is head of household. I technically bring home more than her, but again, I’m not a full-time employee.
I can’t think of any pros/cons than I would get some sort of deduction for having a dependent, but I’m pretty sure she would, as well.
Anything else to consider?
Thank you.
5 comments
How old is your kid? They only count for a tax deduction when they become 16 or older.
Normally the head of household will declare them. We actually changed this from myself to my partner as she got additional benefits from her employer as head of household. Some family/living/housing allowance. Also, the children are then registered for Health insurance under that HOH employer’s insurance.
Welcome to Japan, where children are not dependents.
Except special circumstances like disability or jobless when they are adults, etc.
Children used to be dependents but that stopped ages ago. Go LDP!
As others mentioned there are no tax benefits for dependent children under 16. You get your monthly childcare allowance for them instead
However, as you’re a freelancer or whatever… are you enrolled in Shakai Hoken? If not then it’s a no brainer to have your wife register the child as her dependent because then your child will have health insurance from your wife’s employer. Where as if not then your child need to enroll in National Health Insurance
Which as the best social insurance should be the main deciding factor.
In our case, we actually had no choice. Our ward office said that the spouse with the higher income must declare the child as their dependant and receive the monthly allowance support from the city.