Final-Year Tax Filing and the Nozei Kanrinin
Final tax return Japan leaving rules decide whether you file before you board or through a representative after you are gone.1 The choice affects your departure-year income tax, the residence-tax bill that arrives the following spring, and any pension lump-sum withholding you hope to recover.
Procedures, fees, and requirements can change. Confirm current details at the National Tax Agency site. This article is general information, not legal, tax, or immigration advice; for your specific case, consult a licensed zeirishi.
Overview
Leaving Japan permanently does not close your Japan tax file at the airport. Departure-year national income tax, residence tax billed the year after departure, and pension lump-sum withholding each have a post-departure tail that needs a recipient in Japan.12
That recipient is the 納税管理人 (nozei kanrinin, "tax agent"): a Japan-resident individual or corporation who receives your tax notices and handles filings and payments after you leave.1 National income-tax procedures run through your district tax office, while residence-tax procedures run through your municipal tax office, so most departing residents complete two separate appointments.12
This article describes the system only. It does not tell you which filing position fits your facts; a licensed 税理士 (zeirishi, "licensed tax accountant") does that for individual cases.3
Final-year income tax: two filing paths
Your departure-year return covers Japan-source part-year income from January 1 to your departure date under the resident or non-resident aggregate-taxation category that fits your status.14 Missing the applicable due date can trigger additional tax and delinquency tax on top of the base liability.4
The flow below shows the two compliant paths. Pick one before departure day, since the choice sets every later deadline.
File through the kanrinin in February to March the year after
File the Notification of Tax Agent for income tax and consumption tax with the district tax-office director before departure, then leave. Your agent files the departure-year return and pays through the standard filing window between February 16 and March 15 of the following year (as of 2026-01; confirm current figures with the National Tax Agency).1
The filing office follows your place for tax payment, not your agent's address.1 With the notice filed on time, statutory due dates do not shift and account-transfer payment can continue through the agent.5
| Item | Amount | As of | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| NTA return filing fee | No filing fee | n/a | Tax due follows the return1 |
| Departure-year filing window via agent | Feb 16 to Mar 15 following year | 2026-0115 | Through the appointed agent |
The table above carries the currency signal for this section. The February to March window itself is the dated figure here (as of 2026-01).15
File before departure without a kanrinin
Leave without appointing an agent and you must file a quasi-final 確定申告 (kakutei shinkoku, "final income-tax return") covering January 1 to your departure date, and pay, before you depart.14 The return for this path is sometimes labeled a 準確定申告 (jun-kakutei shinkoku, "quasi-final return") in NTA guidance.45
A resident employee with one fully withheld salary source at or under 20,000,000 JPY before departure may complete income-tax handling through year-end adjustment with no separate return. This exception covers common employee cases only, so confirm your pattern with the tax office or a zeirishi before relying on it.5
One timing trap sits outside the return itself. Estimated-tax installments whose due dates fall after departure accelerate to departure when no agent is appointed, so taxpayers whose prior-year base reached 150,000 JPY should confirm estimated-tax status before leaving (as of 2026-01).5
Early-year departures and the prior-year return
Depart between January 1 and March 15 without having filed the preceding year's regular return and you must file and pay that prior-year return before departure, on top of the departure-year handling.5 The regular window for a calendar year's income is February 16 to March 15 of the next year (as of 2026-01), so an early departure collapses that window to before you leave.5
In practice this means a February departure can require two returns in the same pre-departure week: last year's regular return plus this year's quasi-final return. Build both into the final-month schedule rather than discovering the second at the tax-office counter.
Appointing the nozei kanrinin
Appoint before departure day. The national notice goes to the district tax-office director with jurisdiction over your place for tax payment, and the municipal notice goes to your city or ward tax office.12
National versus municipal filings are separate
The NTA notification covers income-tax and consumption-tax procedures handled through the agent.1 Residence-tax notices and payments run through the municipality under a separate appointment form whose exact title varies by city.2
Filing only one side leaves the other side's notices with no recipient. Complete both where both exposures exist, since the offices do not forward to each other.2
| Filing | Where to submit | Covers |
|---|---|---|
| Notification of Tax Agent for income tax / consumption tax | District tax office for your place for tax payment1 | National income and consumption tax |
| Municipal tax-representative appointment | Municipal (city or ward) tax office before departure2 | Residence tax and other local-tax notices |
Ward and city offices vary in form names, counter names, and whether they accept postal or online submission. Confirm with your local municipal tax office rather than assuming one city's form works everywhere.2
Who can serve as kanrinin
Any Japan-resident individual or Japanese corporation can serve, including a willing friend, a family member, a former employer, or a licensed zeirishi firm.12 The representative receives notices and pays from funds you provide, such as a Japan account left funded for the purpose, and does not assume your tax debt personally.2
A friend or family contact suits notice-receipt and payment-only cases. A 税理士 (zeirishi, "licensed tax accountant") is the regulated default for technical filings and representation before the tax office, including departure returns and pension-reclaim filings.3
Residence tax after departure
住民税 (juminzei, "residence tax") is the prefectural plus municipal inhabitant tax assessed on whoever held a Japan address on January 1, on the preceding calendar year's income, and billed in arrears.2 Collection normally runs June to May: monthly special collection from salary for employees, or ordinary-collection slips in typically four installments for everyone else.2
Your January 1 address municipality collects the full year's residence tax even when you leave days later. Confirm the balance and the collection method with that office before departure rather than with the ward you moved to mid-year.2
Why the bill arrives in May to June the following year
Assessment looks backward, so departure-year income is billed the following May to June, after you have already left, whenever the departure came early enough that the bill did not yet exist.2 Departing employees commonly have the outstanding special-collection balance deducted in a lump sum from final salary or retirement pay, with the municipality otherwise switching the remainder to ordinary collection.2
Leaving the balance unsettled does not cancel it. Practitioner guidance notes unpaid residence or income tax stays on record and can complicate future visa or re-entry applications, so keep proof of payment or of the representative appointment with your departure documents.2
How the kanrinin pays from the Japan side
Post-departure slips and notices go to the appointed municipal representative, who pays on your behalf from arranged funds.2 Where the bill is already issued and quantified, you can instead settle the full balance in a lump sum at the municipal tax office before departure.2
Prepayment cannot cover a bill not yet assessed. That is why early-year departures still need a representative even after paying everything currently due.2
Pension lump-sum tax reclaim through the kanrinin
Non-Japanese nationals enrolled in public pension for 6 months or longer can claim the 脱退一時金 (dattai ichijikin, "lump-sum withdrawal payment") from the Japan Pension Service after leaving Japan.6 Employees' pension lump sums carry income tax at 20.42 percent including the Special Income Tax for Reconstruction, withheld at source (as of 2026-01; confirm current figures with the National Tax Agency).6
You can reclaim the withheld amount by electing the Article 171 resident-style retirement-income calculation and filing through your Japan tax agent with the original Notice of Lump-sum Withdrawal Payment (Entitlement) attached.67 The filing goes to the district director with jurisdiction over your place for tax payment, through the agent, and follows refund-claim timing rather than the February to March season.67
The pension claim itself goes to the Japan Pension Service within 2 years of losing insured status, with the tax-reclaim filing following after payment and receipt of the entitlement notice (as of 2026-01).6 Keep the original entitlement notice and send it to your agent by trackable mail; the office asks for the original, not a copy.6
Good to know
Professional zeirishi representation costs 30K to 100K JPY for the appointment period
A willing friend or colleague acting as contact costs nothing beyond goodwill, while practitioner departure checklists quote a paid representative service at 30,000 to 100,000 JPY for the appointment period plus reclaim and filings handling (as of 2026-05-19).8 A separate bilingual-zeirishi pricing guide quotes tax-representative base fees at 44,000 to 100,000 JPY (as of 2026-07-30), consistent with the upper half of that band.3
Treat any single figure as a quote starting point. Confirm in writing whether the quote covers appointment only or appointment plus the departure return plus the pension reclaim before you depart.83
Leaving without any filing or appointment risks surcharge and later visa friction
NTA guidance states that failure to file or pay by the due date can draw additional tax and delinquency tax.4 Relocation-practitioner guidance adds that the unpaid balance stays on record and can complicate future visa or re-entry applications.2
The fix is procedural, not adversarial: file one of the two income-tax paths and appoint the municipal contact before departure, then keep both receipts. That paper trail is what a future application review can verify.12
File the kanrinin notices before departure day
The NTA notification must be submitted before departure to use the following-year filing path.1 After departure without an agent, the only compliant income-tax path was the before-departure quasi-final return, which is no longer available once you have left.14
Municipal offices give the same before-departure instruction for the residence-tax appointment. Late appointment from abroad is slower, and the bill may already be in collection by the time the notice is processed.2
This article is general information, not tax advice
Filing positions vary by income pattern, withholding position, treaty position, and municipality practice. Single-source salary cases, multi-source cases, and business or rental cases follow different return positions, and treaty benefits differ by country.42
Do not use this article to pick your filing position. Take your pay slips, withholding slips, and pension records to a licensed zeirishi for a reading of your specific facts.3
See also
- The Residence-Tax Year-Two Surprise
- Repatriating Pension and Investment Balances at Departure
- Hiring a Cross-Border Tax Advisor
- Departure Checklist: The 90-Day Run-Up
- Filing the Tenshutsu (Move-Out Notification)
- Residence-Card Surrender at the Airport