residents tax - do i need to pay?

[reidy8]

Hey,
I've been in Japan for about 10 months - My contract is for 1 year but my company has told me I can head home now and will be paid the remainder of my contract into my Japaese bank account at the end of each month. Income tax has been deducted from my pay every month but as I've been here less than a year, will i need to pay the residents tax before i go??

[ballbags]

There are numerous posts on this very issue. The only answer is NO. You don't have to pay any city or prefectural tax if you have been here for 12months or less. It is based on your previous year's salary, therefore if you weren't here the year before, there is nothing to calculate it by.

If I were you however, I wouldn't trust the company to keep paying your salary after you've left the country. Even if it is only for two months. Get it in writing. Preferably in Japanese with translation.

I also believe that any salary that is paid after you leave the country will likely be taxed at 20%. You should check with the tax office, and also put in for a tax refund. This would also get paid into a Japanese bank account, which your trustworthy friend will have to send to you.

Good luck

[reidy8]

Cheers Ballbags,
At my exit interview the company mentioned that i would have to pay it but have said nothing since - hopefully they won't deduct it from my final payments.
also you mentioned a tax refund. i know about the pension refund but can i claim some tax back as well??

[kurogane]

See my astoundingly insightful and detailed description about how to get your tax money back by searching back through the Tax section. I think it was a couple of months back, maybe more.
Good Luck

[kurogane]

Reproduced, for your pecuniary pleasure:

Go to your local ward office and ask for the tax department. They will give you a horrendous amount of paperwork to fill out, and occasionally grumble that Japanese would never do such a miserly thing. Try to restrain yourself from commenting: "That is because you are a nation of Brain Dead F'wits". (not that they are, simply that if one of their public officials is going to raise the ugly blade of Chauvinist Nationalism it is tempting to remind them that we won the war). Don't mention the war.

The officials will help you climb this mountain of paperwork, and occasionally grumble that Japanese would never do such a miserly thing. Ignore them. It is your money. All WH treaty signatories have mutual tax agreements, and the Japanese kids take full advantage of them while in Canada (and well they should, it is their money, after all).

They will then give you a receipt for the refund, and you can go drink it away. YEA. Tax refund funded beer is the most delicious of all.
Ganbare

__________________
Kurogane

[reidy8]

hmmmmmmm thanks K - intersting. i'm outta here early next week though - is there enough time to get the refund lodged and the money back? And what sort of sum are we talking about - if i earned say, 10 000 000 yen, what could i expect to get back??

[kurogane]

Refund filed? Maybe. It only took me about two hours. The money itself back, no, I would think not. They would likely deposit it into your Japanese bank account, at any rate.
The amount of refund depends on how long you have been here, your visa type, and how well you fill out the application, though generally, the officials will help you get every dime you are due.

I was on a Working Holiday Visa, and although I made quite a bit of cash (being a wedding fashion show kimono model used to pay rather well), my tax rate was zero (your tax bracket is defined according to your previous year's income; since I hadn't been here the year before, I was technically living in poverty, and so enjoyed a zero tax rate).

Anyhoo, ask those happy happy but ultimatley helpful officials at your local ward office.