Income Tax Act

• A resident (居住者) — someone domiciled in Japan, or living here continuously for a year or more — owes income tax on all their income, wherever it arises, unless they are a non-permanent resident (非永住者) — a resident without Japanese nationality who has been domiciled or living in Japan for five years or less in total over the past ten — who is taxed on all income except foreign-source income, and on foreign-source income only where it is paid in Japan or sent here from abroad. A nonresident (非居住者) owes tax only on the domestic source income (国内源泉所得) the Act lists, and, as the trustee of a trust taxed as a corporation (法人課税信託), on certain income paid to that trust; from pay for work done in Japan that is paid in Japan — which includes pay made abroad by a payer with a domicile, residence or office in Japan — the payer withholds this Act's 20%, and with it two separate taxes worked out on that tax: a special income tax for reconstruction (復興特別所得税) of 1.1% of it, which Article 28 of the Act on Special Measures for Securing the Financial Resources Necessary to Implement Measures for Reconstruction following the Great East Japan Earthquake (東日本大震災からの復興のための施策を実施するために必要な財源の確保に関する特別措置法) requires on withholding due up to 31 December 2047 for income arising from 1 January 2027 — on income that arose before then, Article 88(2) of the Supplementary Provisions of Act No. 12 of 2026 keeps the earlier rule: 2.1% of the tax, on withholding due up to 31 December 2037 — and a special income tax for defence (防衛特別所得税) of 1% of it, which Article 5-26 of the Act on Special Measures Concerning the Securing of Financial Resources Necessary for the Fundamental Reinforcement of Japan's Defense Capabilities, etc. (我が国の防衛力の抜本的な強化等のために必要な財源の確保に関する特別措置法), a separate Act outside this collection, requires on withholding due from 1 January 2027. A nonresident whose pay is not withheld must file a return and pay the 20% themselves by 15 March of the next year, or by the day they stop living in Japan if that is earlier.This is the rule from 1 January 2027.(Art. 2(1)(iii), Art. 2(1)(iv), Art. 2(1)(v), Art. 5(1), Art. 5(2), Art. 5(2)(ii), Art. 7(1)(i), Art. 7(1)(ii), Art. 7(1)(iii), Art. 161(1)(xii), Art. 212(1), Art. 212(2), Art. 213(1)(i), Art. 170(1), Art. 172(1), Art. 172(3), Act on Special Measures for Securing the Financial Resources Necessary to Implement Measures for Reconstruction following the Great East Japan Earthquake Art. 28(1) from 1 January 2027, Act on Special Measures for Securing the Financial Resources Necessary to Implement Measures for Reconstruction following the Great East Japan Earthquake Art. 28(2) from 1 January 2027, Act on Special Measures for Securing the Financial Resources Necessary to Implement Measures for Reconstruction following the Great East Japan Earthquake Suppl. Prov. Art. 88(2) from 1 January 2027, Act on Special Measures for Securing the Financial Resources Necessary to Implement Measures for Reconstruction following the Great East Japan Earthquake Art. 28(1) from 1 December 2026, Act on Special Measures for Securing the Financial Resources Necessary to Implement Measures for Reconstruction following the Great East Japan Earthquake Art. 28(2) from 1 December 2026, Act on Special Measures Concerning the Securing of Financial Resources Necessary for the Fundamental Reinforcement of Japan's Defense Capabilities, etc. Art. 5-26) (the provisions it rests on)
• Income is sorted into ten classes — interest, dividends, real property, business, salary, retirement, timber, capital gains, occasional and miscellaneous — each worked out its own way, and salary income is pay less an employment income deduction (給与所得控除) set by bands of pay — at least 650,000 yen, and capped at 1,950,000 yen once pay exceeds 8,500,000 yen. Retirement income is severance pay less a deduction of 400,000 yen for each year of service up to 20 years and 700,000 yen for each year after (at least 800,000 yen), with 1,000,000 yen added for someone who retires as a direct result of becoming disabled, and reduced, in cases a Cabinet Order (政令) sets, for someone paid retirement allowances in an earlier year. Half of what remains is taxed — but in full for company officers, legislators and public servants with five years or less in that role, and in full above the first 3,000,000 yen for others with five years or less of service.This is the rule until 30 November 2026.(Art. 2(1)(xxi), Art. 21(1)(i), Art. 28(2), Art. 28(3), Art. 30(2), Art. 30(3), Art. 30(4), Art. 30(5), Art. 30(6)) (the provisions it rests on)
• Income is sorted into ten classes — interest, dividends, real property, business, salary, retirement, timber, capital gains, occasional and miscellaneous — each worked out its own way; for the tax for 2026 and later years, salary income is pay less an employment income deduction (給与所得控除) set by bands of pay — at least 690,000 yen, and capped at 1,950,000 yen once pay exceeds 8,500,000 yen, and someone whose 2026 tax was fixed by a final return (確定申告書) or a determination (決定) before 1 December 2026 may, within five years of that day, make a request for reassessment (更正の請求) under Article 23(1) of the Act on General Rules for National Taxes (国税通則法), a separate Act, to get the new amount. Retirement income is severance pay less a deduction of 400,000 yen for each year of service up to 20 years and 700,000 yen for each year after (at least 800,000 yen), with 1,000,000 yen added for someone who retires as a direct result of becoming disabled, and reduced, in cases a Cabinet Order (政令) sets, for someone paid retirement allowances in an earlier year. Half of what remains is taxed — but in full for company officers, legislators and public servants with five years or less in that role, and in full above the first 3,000,000 yen for others with five years or less of service.This is the rule from 1 December 2026.(Art. 2(1)(xxi), Art. 21(1)(i), Art. 28(2), Art. 28(3), Art. 30(2), Art. 30(3), Art. 30(4), Art. 30(5), Art. 30(6), Suppl. Prov. Art. 3(1), Suppl. Prov. Art. 3(2)) (the provisions it rests on)
• From income are subtracted the deductions the Act lists, among them social insurance premiums paid for oneself or for family members who share one's household, medical expenses for them not made good by insurance or damages, above 100,000 yen (or 5% of income, if lower) and up to 2,000,000 yen, allowances for a spouse and for dependents within income limits, and a basic deduction (基礎控除) of 580,000 yen for someone whose total income is 23,500,000 yen or less, which shrinks in steps above that and ends above 25,000,000 yen; Article 41-16-2 of the Act on Special Measures Concerning Taxation (租税特別措置法) adds an amount of its own to this deduction, for the years that Act names, for residents whose total income is within limits it sets. This Act's rate table is then applied band by band, separately to taxable ordinary income and to taxable retirement income (timber income is banded at a fifth and the result multiplied by five): 5% up to 1,950,000 yen, 10% up to 3,300,000 yen, 20% up to 6,950,000 yen, 23% up to 9,000,000 yen, 33% up to 18,000,000 yen, 40% up to 40,000,000 yen, and 45% on the rest. Separate Acts also change the result, among them these: Article 13 of the Act on Special Measures for Securing the Financial Resources Necessary to Implement Measures for Reconstruction following the Great East Japan Earthquake (東日本大震災からの復興のための施策を実施するために必要な財源の確保に関する特別措置法) charges a separate special income tax for reconstruction (復興特別所得税), worked out on this tax, for the years that Act covers; and the Act on Special Measures Concerning Taxation taxes most interest received in Japan (Article 3), gains from selling land and buildings held longer than the holding period that Act sets (Article 31) and gains from selling unlisted shares (Article 37-10) apart from other income, at rates of its own instead of this table.This is the rule until 30 November 2026.(Art. 21(1)(iii), Art. 73(1), Art. 74(1), Art. 83(1), Art. 84(1), Art. 86(1), Act on Special Measures Concerning Taxation Art. 41-16-2(1), Art. 89(1), Art. 89(2), Act on Special Measures for Securing the Financial Resources Necessary to Implement Measures for Reconstruction following the Great East Japan Earthquake Art. 13(1), Act on Special Measures Concerning Taxation Art. 3(1), Act on Special Measures Concerning Taxation Art. 31(1), Act on Special Measures Concerning Taxation Art. 37-10(1)) (the provisions it rests on)
• From income are subtracted the deductions the Act lists, among them social insurance premiums paid for oneself or for family members who share one's household, medical expenses for them not made good by insurance or damages, above 100,000 yen (or 5% of income, if lower) and up to 2,000,000 yen, allowances for a spouse and for dependents within income limits, and a basic deduction (基礎控除) — for the tax for 2026 and later years — of 620,000 yen for someone whose total income is 23,500,000 yen or less, which shrinks in steps above that and ends above 25,000,000 yen; Article 41-16-2 of the Act on Special Measures Concerning Taxation (租税特別措置法) adds an amount of its own to this deduction, for the years that Act names, for residents whose total income is within limits it sets, and someone who, before 1 December 2026, filed a final return (確定申告書) for 2026 for a person who died during the year or on leaving Japan during the year (Articles 125 and 127), or who received a determination (決定) for 2026 before that day, may, within five years of that day, make a request for reassessment (更正の請求) under Article 23(1) of the Act on General Rules for National Taxes (国税通則法), a separate Act, to get the new amount. This Act's rate table is then applied band by band, separately to taxable ordinary income and to taxable retirement income (timber income is banded at a fifth and the result multiplied by five): 5% up to 1,950,000 yen, 10% up to 3,300,000 yen, 20% up to 6,950,000 yen, 23% up to 9,000,000 yen, 33% up to 18,000,000 yen, 40% up to 40,000,000 yen, and 45% on the rest. Separate Acts also change the result, among them these: Article 13 of the Act on Special Measures for Securing the Financial Resources Necessary to Implement Measures for Reconstruction following the Great East Japan Earthquake (東日本大震災からの復興のための施策を実施するために必要な財源の確保に関する特別措置法) charges a separate special income tax for reconstruction (復興特別所得税), worked out on this tax, for the years that Act covers; and the Act on Special Measures Concerning Taxation taxes most interest received in Japan (Article 3), gains from selling land and buildings held longer than the holding period that Act sets (Article 31) and gains from selling unlisted shares (Article 37-10) apart from other income, at rates of its own instead of this table.This is the rule from 1 December 2026.(Art. 21(1)(iii), Art. 73(1), Art. 74(1), Art. 83(1), Art. 84(1), Art. 86(1), Act on Special Measures Concerning Taxation Art. 41-16-2(1), Art. 89(1), Art. 89(2), Act on Special Measures for Securing the Financial Resources Necessary to Implement Measures for Reconstruction following the Great East Japan Earthquake Art. 13(1), Act on Special Measures Concerning Taxation Art. 3(1), Act on Special Measures Concerning Taxation Art. 31(1), Act on Special Measures Concerning Taxation Art. 37-10(1), Suppl. Prov. Art. 9(1), Suppl. Prov. Art. 9(2), Art. 125(1), Art. 127(1)) (the provisions it rests on)
• A resident whose income, after deductions, gives rise to tax beyond the dividend credit must file a final return (確定申告) with the district tax office director (税務署長) between 16 February and 15 March of the following year, and pay by then the tax not already withheld or prepaid — unless the tax withheld or prepaid, or the foreign tax credit, is more than can be set against the tax, in which case they may file to have the difference refunded, and someone filing a loss return files that instead. Paying at least half by 15 March and filing a notice lets the rest wait until 31 May, with interest tax (利子税) that this Act sets at 7.3% a year — though Article 93 of the Act on Special Measures Concerning Taxation (租税特別措置法) replaces that rate with the special base rate for interest tax (利子税特例基準割合) in any year that rate is lower. A resident whose tax prepayment calculation base (予定納税基準額) — the previous year's tax on income other than capital gains, occasional, miscellaneous and temporary income, less the tax withheld on it — is 150,000 yen or more must prepay a third of it in July and a third in November, on amounts the director notifies; a special agricultural income earner (特別農業所得者) prepays half in November instead.(Art. 120(1), Art. 123(1), Art. 128(1), Art. 131(1), Art. 131(2), Art. 131(3), Art. 122(1), Art. 138(1), Art. 104(1), Art. 106(1), Art. 107(1), Act on Special Measures Concerning Taxation Art. 93(1)) (the provisions it rests on)
• Anyone who pays salary in Japan to a resident — other than someone who pays it only to two or fewer domestic workers (家事使用人) — must withhold income tax from each payment using the Act's tables and pay it to the national government by the 10th of the following month, or, with the tax office's approval where the payroll office regularly pays fewer than ten people, twice a year; Article 28 of the Act on Special Measures for Securing the Financial Resources Necessary to Implement Measures for Reconstruction following the Great East Japan Earthquake (東日本大震災からの復興のための施策を実施するために必要な財源の確保に関する特別措置法) requires the payer to withhold a special income tax for reconstruction (復興特別所得税) of 2.1% of that tax with it, on withholding due up to 31 December 2037, and pay both by the same deadline. Each employee is to file a return for deduction for dependents (給与所得者の扶養控除等申告書) through their main employer before the first payment of each year — pay from an employer without it is withheld at the separate, higher column (乙欄) of the tables, except day-by-day pay of a kind a Cabinet Order sets, which has a column of its own (丙欄) — and for an employee who filed it and whose pay for the year is 20,000,000 yen or less, that employer settles the year's tax in a year-end adjustment (年末調整) at the last payment of the year, unless the employee is expected to file the form with another employer by 31 December. The employer must make a withholding receipt (源泉徴収票) in two copies by 31 January of the next year, or within a month of the employee's leaving, filing one with the tax office and giving the other to the employee, unless the director has approved otherwise.This is the rule until 31 December 2026.(Art. 183(1), Art. 184(1), Art. 216(1), Art. 185(1), Art. 185(1)(ii), Art. 186(1), Appended Table 2, Appended Table 3, Appended Table 4, Art. 194(1), Art. 190(1), Art. 226(1), Art. 185(1)(iii), Act on Special Measures for Securing the Financial Resources Necessary to Implement Measures for Reconstruction following the Great East Japan Earthquake Art. 28(1), Act on Special Measures for Securing the Financial Resources Necessary to Implement Measures for Reconstruction following the Great East Japan Earthquake Art. 28(2)) (the provisions it rests on)
• Anyone who pays salary in Japan to a resident — other than someone who pays it only to two or fewer domestic workers (家事使用人) — must withhold income tax from each payment using the Act's tables and pay it to the national government by the 10th of the following month, or, with the tax office's approval where the payroll office regularly pays fewer than ten people, twice a year; Article 28 of the Act on Special Measures for Securing the Financial Resources Necessary to Implement Measures for Reconstruction following the Great East Japan Earthquake (東日本大震災からの復興のための施策を実施するために必要な財源の確保に関する特別措置法) requires the payer to withhold with it a special income tax for reconstruction (復興特別所得税) of 1.1% of that tax on withholding due up to 31 December 2047 for income arising from 1 January 2027 — on income that arose before then, Article 88(2) of the Supplementary Provisions of Act No. 12 of 2026 keeps the earlier rule: 2.1% of the tax, on withholding due up to 31 December 2037 — and Article 5-26 of the Act on Special Measures Concerning the Securing of Financial Resources Necessary for the Fundamental Reinforcement of Japan's Defense Capabilities, etc. (我が国の防衛力の抜本的な強化等のために必要な財源の確保に関する特別措置法), a separate Act outside this collection, requires it to withhold a special income tax for defence (防衛特別所得税) of 1% of that tax as well, on withholding due from 1 January 2027, all paid by the same deadline. Each employee is to file a return for deduction for dependents (給与所得者の扶養控除等申告書) through their main employer before the first payment of each year — pay from an employer without it is withheld at the separate, higher column (乙欄) of the tables, except day-by-day pay of a kind a Cabinet Order sets, which has a column of its own (丙欄) — and for an employee who filed it and whose pay for the year is 20,000,000 yen or less, that employer settles the year's tax — the two special taxes included, under Article 5-28(1) of the latter Act — in a year-end adjustment (年末調整) at the last payment of the year, unless the employee is expected to file the form with another employer by 31 December. The employer must make a withholding receipt (源泉徴収票) in two copies by 31 January of the next year, or within a month of the employee's leaving, filing one with the tax office and giving the other to the employee, unless the director has approved otherwise.This is the rule from 1 January 2027.(Art. 183(1), Art. 184(1), Art. 216(1), Art. 185(1), Art. 185(1)(ii), Art. 186(1), Appended Table 2, Appended Table 3, Appended Table 4, Art. 194(1), Art. 190(1), Art. 226(1), Art. 185(1)(iii), Act on Special Measures for Securing the Financial Resources Necessary to Implement Measures for Reconstruction following the Great East Japan Earthquake Art. 28(1) from 1 January 2027, Act on Special Measures for Securing the Financial Resources Necessary to Implement Measures for Reconstruction following the Great East Japan Earthquake Art. 28(2) from 1 January 2027, Act on Special Measures for Securing the Financial Resources Necessary to Implement Measures for Reconstruction following the Great East Japan Earthquake Suppl. Prov. Art. 88(2) from 1 January 2027, Act on Special Measures for Securing the Financial Resources Necessary to Implement Measures for Reconstruction following the Great East Japan Earthquake Art. 28(1) from 1 December 2026, Act on Special Measures for Securing the Financial Resources Necessary to Implement Measures for Reconstruction following the Great East Japan Earthquake Art. 28(2) from 1 December 2026, Act on Special Measures Concerning the Securing of Financial Resources Necessary for the Fundamental Reinforcement of Japan's Defense Capabilities, etc. Art. 5-26, Act on Special Measures Concerning the Securing of Financial Resources Necessary for the Fundamental Reinforcement of Japan's Defense Capabilities, etc. Art. 5-28(1)) (the provisions it rests on)
• A resident who leaves Japan without notifying the director of a tax agent (納税管理人) under Article 117(2) of the Act on General Rules for National Taxes must file any return they owe — for the year so far if they leave partway through it, or for the previous year if they leave between 1 January and its filing deadline — and pay the tax, before they leave. Any resident who leaves Japan, whether or not they notify a tax agent, holding securities and similar investments worth 100,000,000 yen or more in total is taxed as though they had sold them on leaving, unless they had been domiciled or living in Japan for five years or less in total over the ten years before, counted as a Cabinet Order (政令) sets out. If they notify a tax agent and give security, that tax can be deferred until four months after the fifth year (the tenth, on request) or after an earlier return to Japan, with interest tax (利子税) that this Act sets at 7.3% a year — though Article 93 of the Act on Special Measures Concerning Taxation (租税特別措置法) replaces that rate with the special base rate for interest tax (利子税特例基準割合) in any year that rate is lower.(Art. 2(1)(xlii), Act on General Rules for National Taxes Art. 117(2), Art. 126(1), Art. 127(1), Art. 130(1), Art. 60-2(1), Art. 60-2(5), Art. 137-2(1), Art. 137-2(2), Art. 137-2(12), Act on Special Measures Concerning Taxation Art. 93(1)) (the provisions it rests on)

• 1 October 2026

  The text on this site

  Science Council of Japan Act

  日本学術会議法

  Act No. 70 of 2025The text after this amendment, on e-Gov

• 1 October 2026

  Act Partially Amending the Income Tax Act, etc.

  所得税法等の一部を改正する法律

  Act No. 13 of 2025The text after this amendment, on e-Gov

• 12 August 2026

  Act Partially Amending the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act and the Payment Services Act

  金融商品取引法及び資金決済に関する法律の一部を改正する法律

  Act No. 64 of 2026The text after this amendment, on e-Gov

  Read the law as it stood until 30 September 2026

• 1 April 2026

  Act Partially Amending the Income Tax Act, etc.

  所得税法等の一部を改正する法律

  Act No. 12 of 2026The text after this amendment, on e-Gov

• 1 April 2026

  Act Partially Amending the Income Tax Act, etc.

  所得税法等の一部を改正する法律

  Act No. 13 of 2025The text after this amendment, on e-Gov

• 1 April 2026

  Act Partially Amending the Income Tax Act, etc.

  所得税法等の一部を改正する法律

  Act No. 8 of 2024The text after this amendment, on e-Gov

• 1 January 2026

  Act Partially Amending the Income Tax Act, etc.

  所得税法等の一部を改正する法律

  Act No. 13 of 2025The text after this amendment, on e-Gov

• 1 January 2026

  Act Partially Amending the Income Tax Act, etc.

  所得税法等の一部を改正する法律

  Act No. 3 of 2023The text after this amendment, on e-Gov

• 18 December 2025

  Act Partially Amending the Income Tax Act, etc.

  所得税法等の一部を改正する法律

  Act No. 13 of 2025The text after this amendment, on e-Gov

• 1 December 2025

  Act Partially Amending the Income Tax Act, etc.

  所得税法等の一部を改正する法律

  Act No. 13 of 2025The text after this amendment, on e-Gov

All 73 amendments already in force

• Some income is free of income tax (所得税を課さない), among it travel allowances for work trips or transfers that are ordinarily needed, commuting allowances up to the amount a Cabinet Order (政令) sets, scholarships and other grants for education (other than those paid as pay) and support paid between people legally bound to support each other, certain insurance payouts for injury or for sudden damage to property, proceeds from selling the household goods a Cabinet Order names, and the Nobel Prize. Property received by inheritance, bequest or gift from an individual is also free of income tax; the Inheritance Tax Act (相続税法), a separate Act outside this collection, governs how it is taxed.(Art. 9(1), Art. 9(1)(iv), Art. 9(1)(v), Art. 9(1)(xv), Art. 9(1)(xvii), Art. 9(1)(xviii), Art. 9(1)(ix), Art. 9(1)(xiii)) (the provisions it rests on)
• An employee paid 20,000,000 yen or less in the year by a single employer, whose tax on that pay was all withheld or settled in the year-end adjustment, need not file a return if their other income (not counting retirement income) is 200,000 yen or less — unless, for example, they are paid for letting property to their employer's business, or another case a Cabinet Order names applies. Employees with two employers, and pensioners whose public pensions total 4,000,000 yen or less with the tax withheld, are excused on conditions of their own.(Art. 121(1), Art. 121(1)(i), Art. 121(1)(ii), Art. 121(3)) (the provisions it rests on)
• Someone who pays salary only to two or fewer domestic workers (家事使用人) need not withhold tax from that salary or from their retirement allowances.(Art. 184(1), Art. 200(1)) (the provisions it rests on)
• In working out a nonresident's tax on income they file for, the deductions for medical expenses, social insurance premiums, small business mutual aid and insurance premiums, and for disability, widowhood, single parenthood, working students, a spouse, dependents and specified relatives (特定親族特別控除) do not apply, nor do the three credits for foreign tax that the Act gives residents in Articles 93, 95 and 95-2, among them the foreign tax credit (外国税額控除), though a nonresident with a permanent establishment (恒久的施設) in Japan has a foreign tax credit of its own for foreign tax on income attributable to it (Article 165-6). A retirement allowance paid to a nonresident for work done while they were a resident of Japan (or for work as an officer of a Japanese company while a nonresident, and other work a Cabinet Order sets) is otherwise taxed at a flat 20% of the whole amount, but the nonresident may choose to be taxed instead as if they had received that year's allowances for the retirement as a resident, under the Act's rules for retirement income (Article 30) and its ordinary tax rates (Article 89). If the allowance is subject to withholding (源泉徴収), they get back the tax withheld, or due to be withheld, beyond that amount by filing a return with the district tax office director (税務署長) on or after 1 January of the next year (or the day that year's total is fixed, if earlier), though any part of the tax due to be withheld that has not yet been paid to the State is not refunded until it is paid (Article 173); if it is not subject to withholding, they make the choice in the return they must file, and pay, by 15 March of the next year, or by the day they stop having a place of abode in Japan if that is earlier (Article 172).(Art. 165(1), Art. 161(1)(xii)(c), Art. 171(1), Art. 173(1), Art. 173(2), Art. 173(3), Art. 164(2), Art. 169(1), Art. 170(1), Art. 172(1), Art. 172(2), Art. 172(3), Art. 165-6(1)) (the provisions it rests on)
• Where a tax treaty Japan has concluded — which is outside this collection — defines domestic source income or a permanent establishment (恒久的施設) differently from this Act, the treaty's definition applies to the people it covers.(Art. 162(1), Art. 2(1)(viii-4)) (the provisions it rests on)
• Interest and similar income on deposits and certain securities up to 3,000,000 yen of principal is not taxed for a person domiciled in Japan who holds a physical disability certificate, can receive a survivors' basic pension or widow's pension as a wife, or falls in a similar group a Cabinet Order names, if they file the required forms through the bank or other institution.(Art. 10(1), Art. 10(3), Art. 10(7)(i)) (the provisions it rests on)
• The public corporations and similar bodies (公共法人等) listed in Appended Table 1 pay no income tax on the interest, dividends and similar payments they receive (for distributions from a loan trust, only the part for the time they held it). For interest, distributions and dividends of surplus (剰余金の配当) on bonds and on the trust beneficial interests a Cabinet Order names, this holds only if the body has them recorded in a book-entry transfer account register (振替口座簿) or managed by another method a Cabinet Order sets, and files a declaration with the director of the tax office through the payer (or gives its contents to the payer electronically).(Art. 11(1), Art. 11(3), Art. 11(4), Appended Table 1) (the provisions it rests on)
• An employer whose payroll office regularly pays fewer than ten people may, with the district tax office director's approval, pay the tax withheld from salary and retirement allowances twice a year instead of monthly: by 10 July for January to June, and by 20 January for July to December.(Art. 216(1)) (the provisions it rests on)

• Escaping income tax, or obtaining a refund by carrying back a net loss, through deception or other wrongful acts is punishable by imprisonment (拘禁刑) of up to ten years or a fine of up to 10,000,000 yen, or both, and the fine can be raised to the amount of tax escaped where that is higher. Escaping tax by not filing a required return by its deadline is punishable by up to five years or a fine of up to 5,000,000 yen (or up to the tax escaped, if more), or both. Failing without good reason to file a required return on time is itself punishable by up to one year or a fine of up to 500,000 yen, though the penalty may be waived in light of the circumstances.(Art. 238(1), Art. 238(2), Art. 238(3), Art. 238(4), Art. 241(1)) (the provisions it rests on)
• Anyone who does not pay over tax they were bound to withhold and pay — whether or not they actually withheld it — is punishable by imprisonment of up to ten years or a fine of up to 2,000,000 yen (or up to the unpaid tax, if more), or both. Failing to withhold is punishable by up to one year or a fine of up to 500,000 yen, or under the ten-year offence where the tax also goes unpaid. Anyone who by deception escapes tax that should have been withheld is punishable by up to ten years or a fine of up to 1,000,000 yen (or up to the tax escaped, if more), or both.(Art. 240(1), Art. 240(2), Art. 242(1), Art. 242(1)(iii), Art. 239(1), Art. 239(2)) (the provisions it rests on)
• Not filing payment reports or withholding receipts with the tax office on time, not giving an employee their withholding receipt or pay statement, or putting false entries in them, is punishable by imprisonment of up to one year or a fine of up to 500,000 yen. Where an employee or representative commits any of the Act's offences in the course of a business, the business owner, company or other body is fined as well as the person who acted.(Art. 242(1)(v), Art. 242(1)(vi), Art. 242(1)(vii), Art. 243(1)) (the provisions it rests on)
• Where a payer does not pay over tax it should have withheld, the district tax office director collects it from the payer, and for salary, retirement allowances, the fees the Act lists and matching payments to nonresidents may estimate the payment dates and amounts — from the payer's pay rules and the work done, or, where that is hard, by taking the end of each month or of a period a Cabinet Order sets as the payment date and the payer's average payment per recipient over that period as the amount — except for payments by blue-return filers relating to their business, property-letting or timber income and by blue-return companies — though a blue-return company in a group tax sharing (通算法人) can still have its payments for the business years concerned estimated. The payer may then deduct what it did not withhold from later payments to the person it paid, or claim it from them, as it may also where it paid the tax late without having withheld it.(Art. 221(1), Art. 221(2), Art. 221(3), Art. 222(1)) (the provisions it rests on)
• The district tax office director reassesses (更正) a return whose figures are wrong, and determines (決定) the tax of someone who should have filed and did not, under Articles 24 and 25 of the Act on General Rules for National Taxes; for income tax the director may estimate a person's income from their assets and debts, income and spending, or the scale of their business. The business, property-letting and timber income on a blue return (青色申告) cannot be estimated this way, and can be reassessed only after the director has examined the person's books and found an error — unless the error shows on the face of the return, or lies only in other kinds of income or in offsetting and carrying forward losses.(Act on General Rules for National Taxes Art. 24(1), Act on General Rules for National Taxes Art. 25(1), Art. 156(1), Art. 155(1)) (the provisions it rests on)
• A person with business, property-letting or timber income may file blue returns with the director's approval, and once approved must keep books to Ministry of Finance Order standards and follow the director's instructions on them. The director may withdraw the approval, back to the year concerned, where the books are not kept as required, the instructions are not followed, or transactions are hidden or disguised in the books or there is other good reason to doubt the truth of their entries as a whole.(Art. 143(1), Art. 148(1), Art. 148(2), Art. 150(1)) (the provisions it rests on)
• When investigating income tax, officials of the National Tax Agency, the regional taxation bureaus and tax offices may, where necessary, question taxpayers and those who pay them or are paid by them, inspect their books, and require documents to be shown or handed over, under Article 74-2 of the Act on General Rules for National Taxes. People who carry on property-letting, business or timber activities without approval to file blue returns must keep books, record their revenue and expenses in them by a simple method and keep the books and their records, and those whose miscellaneous business revenue two years before exceeded 3,000,000 yen must keep documents showing the current year's revenue and expenses; the officials are to examine these unless that is made difficult. Where a return claimed the medical expense deduction with a statement of expenses, the director of the tax office may, where needed, require the receipts to be shown or handed over for five years after the filing deadline (or, where a request for correction (更正の請求) is made in the last six months of that period, until six months after the request), and the person must do so.(Act on General Rules for National Taxes Art. 74-2(1), Art. 232(1), Art. 232(2), Art. 232(3), Art. 120(4), Art. 120(5)) (the provisions it rests on)
• Filing late, under-declaring or not filing brings the additional taxes (加算税) and delinquency tax (延滞税) of the Act on General Rules for National Taxes: an under-reporting penalty of 10% of the extra tax — none if the taxpayer corrects the return before being notified of an investigation, and 5% if the correction comes after that notice but before the investigation signals a reassessment — and a no-return penalty of 15%, cut to 5% for a late return filed before that notice and to 10% after it but before a determination is signalled, and not charged where there was good reason for not filing; more on larger amounts, and 35% or 40% where facts were hidden or disguised. Tax paid late bears delinquency tax of 7.3% a year until two months after the due date and 14.6% after that. Article 4 of that Act lets another Act on national taxes provide otherwise, so the rate actually charged may not be the one written there.(Act on General Rules for National Taxes Art. 65(1), Act on General Rules for National Taxes Art. 65(2), Act on General Rules for National Taxes Art. 65(6), Act on General Rules for National Taxes Art. 66(1), Act on General Rules for National Taxes Art. 66(2), Act on General Rules for National Taxes Art. 66(8), Act on General Rules for National Taxes Art. 68(1), Act on General Rules for National Taxes Art. 68(2), Act on General Rules for National Taxes Art. 60(1), Act on General Rules for National Taxes Art. 60(2), Act on General Rules for National Taxes Art. 4(1)) (the provisions it rests on)