This Act is to prescribe, with regard to inheritance tax and gift tax, the persons liable for tax, the scope of taxable property, the method of calculating the amount of tax, the procedures for filing returns, payment and refunds, and the matters necessary to ensure the proper performance of their tax payment obligations.

In this Act, the meanings of the terms set forth in the following items are as prescribed respectively in those items:

①A person set forth in any of the following items is under an obligation to pay inheritance tax pursuant to this Act:

②The application of the provisions of item (i), (b) or item (ii), (a)(2) or (b) of the preceding paragraph in the case where the provisions of Article 137-2 (Tax Payment Grace Period Where the Special Provisions on Capital Gains and Similar Income upon Departure from Japan Apply) or Article 137-3 (Tax Payment Grace Period Where the Special Provisions on Capital Gains and Similar Income Apply upon Transfer of Assets to a Nonresident by Gift, etc.) of the Income Tax Act (Act No. 33 of 1965) apply is as prescribed in the following:

③In paragraph (1), the meaning of a term as set forth in one of the following items is as prescribed in the item:

①A person set forth in any of the following items is under an obligation to pay gift tax pursuant to this Act:

②The application of the provisions of item (i), (b) or item (ii), (a)(2) or (b) of the preceding paragraph in the case where the provisions of Article 137-2 (Tax Payment Grace Period Where the Special Provisions on Capital Gains and Similar Income upon Departure from Japan Apply) or Article 137-3 (Tax Payment Grace Period Where the Special Provisions on Capital Gains and Similar Income Apply upon Transfer of Assets to a Nonresident by Gift, etc.) of the Income Tax Act apply is as prescribed in the following:

③In paragraph (1), the meaning of a term as set forth in one of the following items is as prescribed in the item:

①With regard to a person who falls under Article 1-3, paragraph (1), item (i) or (ii), inheritance tax is imposed on all of the property that the person has acquired by inheritance or bequest.

②With regard to a person who falls under Article 1-3, paragraph (1), item (iii) or (iv), inheritance tax is imposed on the property located in the area where this Act is enforced that the person has acquired by inheritance or bequest.

①With regard to a person who falls under Article 1-4, paragraph (1), item (i) or (ii), gift tax is imposed on all of the property that the person has acquired by gift.

②With regard to a person who falls under Article 1-4, paragraph (1), item (iii) or (iv), gift tax is imposed on the property located in the area where this Act is enforced that the person has acquired by gift.

①In the case where any of the following items applies, the person listed in the relevant item is deemed to have acquired the property listed in that item by inheritance or bequest; in this case, if that person is an heir (excluding a person who has renounced the inheritance and a person who has lost the right of inheritance; the same applies hereinafter, except in the cases of Articles 15, 16, 19-2, paragraph (1), 19-3, paragraph (1), 19-4, paragraph (1) and 63, and except where referred to as "the number of heirs prescribed in Article 15, paragraph (2)"), that property is deemed to have been acquired by inheritance, and if that person is a person other than an heir, that property is deemed to have been acquired by bequest.

②In the application of item (i) or items (iii) through (v) of the preceding paragraph, premiums or contributions borne by the decedent of the decedent are deemed to be premiums or contributions borne by the decedent; provided, however, that in the case where, pursuant to item (iii) or (iv) of that paragraph, the person listed in the relevant item is deemed to have acquired the property listed in that item by inheritance or bequest from the decedent of that decedent, this does not apply to the premiums or contributions borne by the decedent of that decedent.

③In the application of paragraph (1), item (iii) or (iv), premiums or contributions paid pursuant to the will of the decedent are deemed to be premiums or contributions borne by the decedent.

①In the case where all or part of the estate prescribed in Article 958-2, paragraph (1) (Distribution of the Estate to a Person with a Special Connection to the Decedent) of the Civil Code has been granted pursuant to the provisions of that paragraph, the person to whom it was granted is deemed to have acquired, by bequest from the decedent relating to that property, an amount equivalent to the market value of that property at the time it was granted (where there is a special provision in Chapter III on the valuation of that property, the value assessed pursuant to that provision).

②In the case where the amount of the special contribution payment that a special contributor is to be paid has been finalized, that special contributor is deemed to have acquired an amount equivalent to the amount of that special contribution payment by bequest from the decedent who received the special contribution made by that special contributor.

①In the case where an insured event under a life insurance contract (excluding an insured event arising from injury, sickness or the like that does not involve death) or an insured event under a non-life insurance contract (limited to an insured event arising from an accidental event that involves death) occurs, if all or part of the premiums for those contracts were borne by a person other than the insurance benefit recipient, then at the time those insured events occur, the insurance benefit recipient is deemed to have acquired, by gift from the person who bore those premiums, the portion of the insurance benefits that the recipient acquired (for the insurance benefits under that non-life insurance contract, limited to those specified by Cabinet Order) that corresponds to the ratio of the amount of the premiums borne by a person other than the insurance benefit recipient to the total amount of the premiums for those contracts that were paid by the time those insured events occurred.

②The provisions of the preceding paragraph apply mutatis mutandis to the case where a repayment or the like is acquired under a life insurance contract or a non-life insurance contract (limited to a non-life insurance contract, specified by Cabinet Order, that has injury as its insured event).

③In the application of the preceding two paragraphs, premiums borne by the decedent of the person who bore the premiums prescribed in paragraph (1) (including the case where it applies mutatis mutandis pursuant to the preceding paragraph) are deemed to be premiums borne by that person; provided, however, that in the case where, pursuant to Article 3, paragraph (1), item (iii), the insurance benefit recipient or the person who acquired the repayment or the like prescribed in the preceding two paragraphs is deemed to have acquired the property set out in that item from that decedent by inheritance or bequest, this does not apply to the premiums borne by that decedent.

④The provisions of paragraph (1) do not apply to the portion corresponding to the insurance benefits or payments, in the case where, pursuant to Article 3, paragraph (1), item (i) or (ii), the insurance benefit recipient prescribed in paragraph (1) is deemed to have acquired by inheritance or bequest the insurance benefits set out in item (i) of that paragraph or the payments set out in item (ii) of that paragraph.

①In the case where a periodic payment event occurs under a contract for periodic payments (excluding a life insurance contract; the same applies in the following paragraph), if all or part of the contributions or premiums for that contract were borne by a person other than the periodic payment recipient, then at the time that periodic payment event occurs, the periodic payment recipient is deemed to have acquired, by gift from the person who bore those contributions or premiums, the portion of the rights relating to the contract for periodic payments that the recipient acquired that corresponds to the ratio of the amount of the contributions or premiums borne by a person other than the periodic payment recipient to the total amount of the contributions or premiums for that contract that were paid by the time that periodic payment event occurred.

②The provisions of the preceding paragraph apply mutatis mutandis to the case where a repayment or the like is acquired under a contract for periodic payments.

③In the case where Article 3, paragraph (1), item (v) applies, if all or part of the contributions or premiums for the contract for periodic payments prescribed in that item were borne by a third party other than the periodic payment recipient or lump-sum recipient prescribed in that item and the decedent, then at the time of the commencement of the succession, that periodic payment recipient or lump-sum recipient is deemed to have acquired, by gift from that third party, the portion of the rights relating to the contract for periodic payments that the recipient acquired that corresponds to the ratio of the amount of the contributions or premiums borne by that third party to the total amount of the contributions or premiums for that contract that were paid by the time of that commencement of the succession.

④In the application of the preceding three paragraphs, contributions or premiums borne by the decedent of the person who bore the contributions or premiums prescribed in paragraph (1) (including the case where it applies mutatis mutandis pursuant to paragraph (2)) or in the preceding paragraph are deemed to be contributions or premiums borne by that person; provided, however, that in the case where, pursuant to Article 3, paragraph (1), item (iv), the periodic payment recipient or lump-sum recipient, or the person who acquired the repayment or the like, prescribed in the preceding three paragraphs is deemed to have acquired the property set out in that item from that decedent by inheritance or bequest, this does not apply to the contributions or premiums borne by that decedent.

In the case where a transfer of property is received for consideration at a significantly low price, at the time of that transfer of the property, the person who received the transfer of that property is deemed to have acquired, by gift (or, where that transfer of the property was made by will, by bequest) from the person who transferred that property, an amount equivalent to the difference between that consideration and the market value of that property at the time of that transfer (where there is a special provision in Chapter III on the valuation of that property, the value assessed pursuant to that provision); provided, however, that where that transfer of the property was made by a person under a duty of support of the person receiving the transfer for the purpose of applying it to the payment of a debt, in the case where that person has lost financial resources and has difficulty paying the debt, this does not apply to the portion of the amount deemed to have been acquired by that gift or bequest for which paying the debt is difficult.

In the case where a person receives a benefit from the exemption from, assumption of, or payment for the benefit of a third party of a debt, without paying consideration or for consideration at a significantly low price, at the time of that exemption, assumption or payment, the person who received the benefit from that exemption, assumption or payment is deemed to have acquired, by gift (or, where that exemption, assumption or payment was made by will, by bequest) from the person who made that exemption, assumption or payment, an amount equivalent to the amount of the debt relating to that exemption, assumption or payment (where consideration was paid, the amount after deducting its value); provided, however, that where that exemption, assumption or payment falls under any of the following items, this does not apply to the portion of the amount deemed to have been acquired by that gift or bequest for which paying the debt is difficult:

Except in the cases prescribed in Articles 5 through the preceding Article and in the following Section, in the case where a person receives a benefit without paying consideration or for consideration at a significantly low price, at the time the benefit is received, the person who received that benefit is deemed to have acquired, by gift (or, where that act was done by will, by bequest) from the person who caused that benefit to be received, an amount equivalent to the value of that benefit at the time it was received (where consideration was paid, the amount after deducting its value); provided, however, that where that act was done by a person under a duty of support of the person receiving the benefit for the purpose of applying it to the payment of a debt, in the case where that person has lost financial resources and has difficulty paying the debt, this does not apply to the portion of the amount deemed to have been acquired by that gift or bequest for which paying the debt is difficult.

①In the case where a trust (excluding a trust for the purpose of paying a retirement annuity and any other trust specified by Cabinet Order; the same applies hereinafter) takes effect, if there is a person who becomes a beneficiary, etc. of the trust (meaning a person who currently has the rights of a beneficiary and a specified settlor; the same applies hereinafter in this Section) without bearing an appropriate consideration, the person who becomes a beneficiary, etc. of the trust is deemed, at the time the trust takes effect, to have acquired the rights relating to the trust from the settlor of the trust by gift (by bequest, in the case where the trust takes effect by reason of the death of the settlor).

②With respect to a trust for which there is a beneficiary, etc., in the case where a new beneficiary, etc. of the trust comes to exist without bearing an appropriate consideration (excluding the case where the provisions of paragraph (4) apply), the person who becomes a beneficiary, etc. of the trust is deemed, at the time that beneficiary, etc. comes to exist, to have acquired the rights relating to the trust from the person who was a beneficiary, etc. of the trust by gift (by bequest, in the case where the beneficiary, etc. comes to exist by reason of the death of the person who was that beneficiary, etc.).

③With respect to a trust for which there is a beneficiary, etc., in the case where some of the beneficiaries, etc. of the trust cease to exist and a person who is already a beneficiary, etc. of the trust comes to newly receive a benefit in the rights relating to the trust without bearing an appropriate consideration, the person who receives that benefit is deemed, at the time some of the beneficiaries, etc. of the trust cease to exist, to have acquired that benefit from the persons who were some of the beneficiaries, etc. of the trust by gift (by bequest, in the case where the benefit is received by reason of the death of the person who was that beneficiary, etc.).

④In the case where a trust for which there is a beneficiary, etc. is terminated, if there is a person who becomes a person who is to receive delivery of, or to whom is to vest, the residual assets of the trust without bearing an appropriate consideration, the person who has become a person who is to receive delivery of, or to whom is to vest, the residual assets of the trust is deemed, at the time of becoming a person who is to receive delivery or to whom the assets are to vest, to have acquired the residual assets of the trust (excluding, in the case where that person was a beneficiary, etc. of the trust immediately before the termination of the trust, the portion equivalent to the rights relating to the trust that the person held as that beneficiary, etc.) from the beneficiary, etc. of the trust by gift (by bequest, in the case where the trust is terminated by reason of the death of that beneficiary, etc.).

⑤"Specified settlor" in paragraph (1) means a person who currently has the authority to change a trust (excluding authority specified by Cabinet Order as authority to make minor changes) and who is to receive delivery of the trust property of the trust (excluding a beneficiary).

⑥A person who has acquired the rights or benefits relating to a trust that are deemed, pursuant to the provisions of paragraphs (1) through (3), to have been acquired by gift or bequest is deemed to have acquired or succeeded to the assets and liabilities belonging to the trust property of the trust, and the provisions of this Act (excluding Article 41, paragraph (2)) apply accordingly; provided, however, that this does not apply to assets and liabilities belonging to the trust property of a collective investment trust prescribed in Article 2, item (xxix) (Definitions) of the Corporation Tax Act (Act No. 34 of 1965), a taxable-corporation trust prescribed in item (xxix)-2 of that Article, or a retirement annuity trust prescribed in Article 12, paragraph (4), item (i) (Vesting of Assets and Liabilities in Trust Property and Profit and Expenses to Be Attributed to Trust Property) of that Act.

①In the case where a beneficiary (in the case where there is no beneficiary, the specified settlor prescribed in paragraph (5) of the preceding Article) acquires, without bearing an appropriate consideration, rights relating to a successive beneficiary trust (meaning a trust prescribed in Article 91 (Special Provisions on a Trust with a Provision to the Effect that Another Person Newly Acquires Beneficial Interest upon the Death of a Beneficiary) of the Trust Act (Act No. 108 of 2006), a trust with a provision for a person who has the right to designate beneficiaries, etc. prescribed in Article 89, paragraph (1) (Right to Designate Beneficiaries, etc.) of that Act, and any other trust specified by Cabinet Order as similar to those trusts; the same applies hereinafter in this paragraph), with respect to the rights relating to the successive beneficiary trust (in the case where different beneficiaries each have rights pertaining to successive beneficiary trusts of different natures (limited to those in which any of those rights includes a right relating to profits), limited to those that include a right relating to profits) to which a restriction is attached as a factor affecting the value of the rights relating to the successive beneficiary trust, such as a limit on the period during which the benefits of the successive beneficiary trust are received, that restriction is deemed not to be attached; provided, however, that this does not apply where the person who holds the rights relating to the successive beneficiary trust is a juridical person (including an association or foundation without juridical personality for which a representative or administrator is designated; the same applies hereinafter through Article 64).

②"Beneficiary" in the preceding paragraph means a person who currently has the rights of a beneficiary.

①In the case where a trust for which there is no beneficiary, etc. takes effect, when the person who becomes a beneficiary, etc. of the trust is a person specified by Cabinet Order as a relative of the settlor of the trust (hereinafter referred to in this Article and the following Article as a "relative") (in the case where the person who becomes a beneficiary, etc. of the trust is not clear, when a relative of the settlor is to receive delivery of the residual assets of the trust upon the termination of the trust), the trustee of the trust is deemed, at the time the trust takes effect, to have acquired the rights relating to the trust from the settlor by gift (by bequest, in the case where the trust takes effect by reason of the death of the settlor).

②With respect to a trust for which there is a beneficiary, etc., in the case where there ceases to be a beneficiary, etc. of the trust (hereinafter in this paragraph referred to as the "case where there ceases to be a beneficiary, etc."), when the person who is to become the beneficiary, etc. next after that beneficiary, etc. is the settlor at the time the trust took effect or a relative of the beneficiary, etc. preceding that next beneficiary, etc. (in the case where the person who is to become the next beneficiary, etc. is not clear, when the settlor or a relative of the beneficiary, etc. preceding the person who is to become the next beneficiary, etc. is to receive delivery of the residual assets of the trust upon the termination of the trust), the trustee of the trust is deemed, at the time of coming to fall under the case where there ceases to be a beneficiary, etc., to have acquired the rights relating to the trust from the beneficiary, etc. preceding the person who is to become the next beneficiary, etc. by gift (by bequest, in the case where the beneficiary, etc. preceding the person who is to become the next beneficiary, etc. ceases to exist by reason of the death of that preceding beneficiary, etc.).

③In the case where the provisions of the preceding two paragraphs apply, if the trustee of those trusts is other than an individual, the trustee is deemed to be an individual, and the provisions of this Act and other laws and regulations concerning inheritance tax or gift tax apply accordingly.

④In the case where the provisions of the preceding three paragraphs apply, from the amount of gift tax or inheritance tax imposed on the trustee referred to in paragraph (1) or (2) pursuant to those provisions, an amount equivalent to the amount of corporation tax and other taxes to be imposed on that trustee is to be deducted, as provided by Cabinet Order.

With respect to a trust for which there is no beneficiary, etc., in the case where a person who does not exist at the time the contract of the trust was concluded or at any other time specified by Cabinet Order (hereinafter referred to in this Article as the "time of conclusion of the contract, etc.") becomes a beneficiary, etc. of the trust, when the person who becomes a beneficiary, etc. of the trust is a relative of the settlor at the time of conclusion of the contract, etc. of the trust, the person who becomes a beneficiary, etc. of the trust is deemed, at the time when the person who did not exist becomes a beneficiary, etc. of the trust, to have acquired the rights relating to the trust from an individual by gift.

The application of the provisions of Article 9-2, paragraph (1) in the case where the rights relating to a trust held by a beneficiary, etc. are not the whole of the rights relating to the trust, the determination of whether a person falls under a person who is to receive delivery of the trust property as prescribed in paragraph (5) of that Article, and any other matters necessary for the application of the provisions of this Section are specified by Cabinet Order.

①The location of the property listed in the following items is determined by the place prescribed in the respective items.

②Government bonds or local bonds are to be located in the area where this Act is enforced, and public bonds issued by a foreign country, a local government of a foreign country, or any other equivalent entity are to be located in that foreign country.

③The location of property other than the property listed in the items of paragraph (1) and the property prescribed in the preceding paragraph is determined by the location of the domicile of the decedent who was the holder of the right to that property, or of the person who made the gift.

④The determination of the location of property under the provisions of the preceding three paragraphs is made according to the situation at the time when that property was acquired by inheritance, bequest or gift.