Japanese residence tax: why year two costs more than year one

People who move to Japan often find their take-home pay falls noticeably in their second year, with no change to their salary and no mistake by their employer. The cause is juminzei, residence tax, and the way it is assessed.

It runs a year behind

Residence tax is charged on the previous calendar year's income, and liability is determined by whether you were a registered resident on 1 January. Arrive in Japan during a year and you had no prior Japanese income, so nothing is due. From June of the following year it begins to be deducted, usually spread across twelve monthly instalments through to the next May.

At a salary of JPY 4,087,200, residence tax comes to about JPY 184,900 a year, or JPY 15,408 a month. That is the size of the step people experience, and it arrives all at once.

What it is made of

Two parts. The income based portion is roughly 10% of taxable income, split between a prefectural and a municipal share. On top sits a flat per capita levy of about JPY 5,000 a year, which everyone above the exemption threshold pays regardless of income.

It uses a different allowance from national tax

This catches out even people who have lived in Japan for years. The basic exemption for residence tax is JPY 430,000, and it did not move in the 2026 reform that lifted the national basic deduction to JPY 1,040,000. For 2026 the two taxes are therefore computed on bases that differ by JPY 610,000. Anyone who applies the new, larger national figure to residence tax as well will understate what they owe. The 2026 deduction reform guide covers that in detail.

Leaving Japan

Because liability is fixed on 1 January, leaving part way through a year does not cancel it. If you were a registered resident on that date you owe the full year's residence tax on the prior year's income. In practice that usually means settling the outstanding balance before departure, or appointing a tax agent to handle it after you go.

What this calculator shows

The Japan salary calculator reports the steady state figure, meaning what someone on that salary pays once established. Treat your first calendar year as that figure minus the residence tax line, and budget for it appearing in June of the year after.