Municipal Residents Tax (市民税//Shimin-zei) and Prefectural Residents Tax (県民税//Kenmin-zei) for International Residents

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In principle, all international residents (a) who live in Hiroshima City on January 1 of the taxable year and (b) whose income in the previous year was over 450,000 yen (or over 1,000,000 yen for employment income earners) will be responsible for paying one year’s worth of municipal residents tax and prefectural residents tax.

Please be aware that even those who will leave Japan (for reasons such as returning to their home country) in the middle of the taxable year are still legally responsible for paying their municipal residents tax and prefectural residents tax.

Paperwork and Procedures for Leaving Japan in the Middle of the Taxable Year

Declaration of Tax Agent and Relevant Paperwork

Upon leaving Japan, international residents must appoint someone still living in Japan as their tax agent (納税管理人//nōzei kanri-nin).* If your tax agent is a Hiroshima City resident, you must submit the Declaration of Tax Agent for Personal Municipal Residents Tax and Prefectural Residents Tax (Japanese). If your tax agent resides outside of Hiroshima City, you must submit the Tax Agent for Personal Municpal Residents Tax and Prefectural Residents Tax Application Form (for New Tax Agent Appointments/Changes in Appointment) (Japanese) to the Municipal Tax Office/Tax Room of your local ward.

For those who are able to receive documents, such as tax notices, and make tax payments without a tax agent, please submit the Tax Agent for Personal Municipal Residents Tax and Prefectural Residents Tax Application Form (for Not Appointing a Tax Agent) (Japanese)in lieu of the paperwork listed above.

Please note you must notify the Tax Office/Tax Room of your local ward of any changes in the forms listed above by submitting the Notification of Changes Regarding Tax Agent for Personal Municipal Residents Tax and Prefectural Residents Taxform.

*Tax agents are those who act on behalf of the tax payer in their tax affairs (receiving tax notices, paying taxes, etc) for reasons such as leaving Japan. For this reason, tax notices and other tax documents will be addressed to the tax agent. If you do not declare a tax agent, we will be unable to send tax documents (tax notices, etc) and tax payers will be subject to service by publication** in accordance with the law. If, after service by publication, taxes remain unpaid by the deadline, the tax payer may also be subject to delinquent charges. For all of these reasons, it is in your best interest to submit the necessary paperwork before leaving Japan.

Paperwork regarding tax agents should be submitted to the Municipal Tax Office/Tax Room of your local ward. For more information, please contact your local Municipal Tax Office/Tax Room directly.

**Public posting of appropriate notice of initial legal action to a defendant who is intentionally absent, in hiding, or unknown.

Payment After Leaving Japan

International residents who will leave Japan (for reasons such as returning to their home country) in the middle of the taxable year are still legally responsible for paying their municipal residents tax and prefectural residents tax.

For those whose municipal residents tax and prefectural residents tax are taken from their monthly paycheck, it is possible to take the necessary lump-sum amount from your last paycheck or separation package (known as lump-sum collection). Those who would like to use this system must notify their place of employment. Please note that for those who will be leaving the country from January 1 to April 30, lump-sum collection is mandatory, thus you will not need to notify your place of employment.

For those who are not subject to lump-sum collection from their final paycheck or separation package, tax notices and other tax documents will be sent to their tax agent as stipulated in (1) above.

Notice to Those Employing International Residents Subject to Tax Collection Via Paycheck

We ask for your cooperation in explaining to your international resident employees who will be leaving Japan after leaving your employment that they must (a) declare a tax agent before leaving Japan and (b) they are legally responsible for paying their municipal residents tax and prefectural residents tax even if they leave Japan in the middle of the taxable year.

If your international resident employee will be leaving your employment anywhere between June 1 and December 31, taxes will be collected via lump-sum collection if and only if the international resident employee notifies their place of employment. If they are leaving Japan after leaving your employment, please be sure to explain the lump-sum collection system and help ensure that they pay all taxes owed before leaving Japan.

Tax Conventions

Regarding Tax Conventions

Tax conventions are treaties which stipulate the levy of taxes between Japan and other countries to avoid double taxation. International residents such as exchange students and professional trainees who meet the relevant criteria may be eligible for exemption from municipal residents tax and prefectural residents tax; however, exemption criteria and conditions (tax items, income, etc) vary depending on the country.

Exemption Requirements

Requirements for exemption from taxation via tax convention vary depending on the country. For more information, please contact the Special Collection Section of the Municipal Residents Tax Division in the Tax Department of the Finance Bureau, or Municipal Tax Office/Tax Room of your ward.

Paperwork and Procedures for Tax Exemption

Those who would like to receive exemption from municipal residents tax and prefectural residents tax via tax convention must submit a notification for tax exemption every year by the submission deadline (March 15). Information to be filled out on the notification and accompanying documents varies depending on the exemption requirements. Please contact the Special Collection Section of the Municipal Residents Tax Division in the Tax Department of the Finance Bureau, or Tax Office/Tax Room of your ward for details.

For business owners (those who pay salary): if you are submitting a notification on behalf of an employee who is eligible for tax exemption with their payroll report, please include a comment in the remarks column of the payroll report that indicates which treaty and which article they meet the requirements for (i.e. Japan-XX Tax Treaty, under Article XX).

Please be aware that you cannot file for municipal residents tax and prefectural residents tax exemption using notifications for income tax exemption (Application Form for Income Tax Convention) submitted to your tax office.