The Electronic Books Preservation Act (e-Bookkeeping Act) is a law that sets the rules for storing national-tax-related documents such as books and invoices as electronic data. In particular, "electronic transaction data storage" has been mandatory since January 2024, and all sole proprietors and corporations are covered. That said, for small businesses what you have to do is simple. This article organizes "what you actually need to do" in an easy-to-understand way, with National Tax Agency sources.
① The e-Bookkeeping Act has three systems. "Electronic books storage" and "scanner storage" are optional, and only "electronic transaction data storage" is mandatory (since January 2024)[National Tax Agency].
② What is mandatory is the "electronic data" for invoices, receipts, purchase orders, and the like that you received or sent by email or online. You must store it as data (printing it out on paper and only storing that is not allowed).
③ What you need is (A) tamper prevention and (B) a searchable state.
④ If your sales in the base period are ¥50 million or less, the search requirement is not needed. There is also a grace measure for cases where there is a "reasonable ground"[National Tax Agency].
⑤ From January 2027 (Reiwa 9), electronic transaction data sent, received and stored with a system that meets certain requirements is excluded from the 10% uplift to the heavy additional tax, and the blue return special deduction for sole proprietors rises to ¥750,000 (both require a notification form filed in advance)[NTA pamphlet, June 2026].
The three categories: mandatory or optional
| Category | Target | How the NTA words it |
|---|---|---|
| ① Electronic books storage | Storing books and financial statements created with accounting software, etc. as data | Only for those who want it (optional) |
| ② Scanner storage | Scanning and storing receipts and invoices received on paper | Only for those who want it (optional) |
| ③ Electronic transaction data storage | Invoices, receipts, purchase orders, etc. exchanged as data | Corporations and sole proprietors must comply (since January 2024) |
The NTA pamphlet uses the same split: ① and ② are "only for those who want it," and only ③ is "corporations and sole proprietors must comply"[NTA pamphlet, June 2026]. So receipts you received on paper can still be stored as paper as before (scanning is optional). Only ③ has been made mandatory[NTA overview].
The legal basis for ③ is Article 7 of the Electronic Books Preservation Act. A person with a storage obligation for income tax (excluding withholding income tax) or corporation tax must, when carrying out an electronic transaction, store the electronic record of that transaction information under certain requirements[NTA overview].
What is a mandatory "electronic transaction"?
An "electronic transaction" is one where invoices, receipts, purchase orders, contracts, and the like are exchanged as electronic data. The NTA defines it as a transaction in which the transaction information normally recorded on a purchase order, contract, delivery note, receipt, quotation and the like is exchanged by electromagnetic means. It covers business-to-business data interchange, transactions over the internet, exchanges by email (including attached files), and exchanges through a website[NTA overview]. For example, the following.
- Invoices and receipts delivered as PDFs by email
- Purchase histories and receipts from online shopping such as Amazon and Rakuten (the ones you download)
- Usage statements for credit cards and transit IC cards (Web), and invoices from various cloud services
These must be stored as data since January 2024. Until the end of 2023, "printing on paper and storing that" was also allowed, but that transitional measure (the leniency measure) has ended[National Tax Agency].
The two requirements needed for storage
(A) Tamper prevention (authenticity)
Satisfying any one of the following is fine[National Tax Agency].
- Attach a time stamp
- Store the data in a system that keeps a history of corrections and deletions (or that does not allow correction or deletion)
- Establish and operate an "administrative processing regulation" (the National Tax Agency publishes a Word template. This is the easiest method and can be handled at zero cost)
(B) A searchable state (visibility)
In principle, you make it searchable by ① transaction date, amount, and counterparty; ② range specification of date or amount; and ③ combinations of two or more items[National Tax Agency]. You can also handle this by standardizing file names like "20260610_50,000yen_XX Trading" and creating an index in spreadsheet software.
| Requirement | How to satisfy it |
|---|---|
| Authenticity (any one) | Receive data that already carries a time stamp / attach a time stamp promptly after receipt / exchange and store the data in a system that keeps a correction-and-deletion history (or that does not allow correction or deletion) / establish, operate and keep on hand an administrative processing regulation for tamper prevention |
| Visibility | Keep a display, printer and the like on hand, and make the data searchable by "date, amount, counterparty" (range specification and combined search are also required, but both are unnecessary if you can respond to a request to download the data) |
A business whose sales in the base period (two years or periods prior) are ¥50 million or less does not have to satisfy the search requirement at all, as long as it can respond to a request to download the data[NTA pamphlet, June 2026].
Easing the burden for small businesses (special provisions / grace)
- Exemption from the search requirement: A business whose sales in the base period (two years or periods prior) are ¥50 million or less does not have to satisfy the search requirement if it can respond to a tax official's request to download the data[NTA pamphlet, June 2026].
- Grace measure (permanent): If the head of the competent tax office accepts that there was a "reasonable ground" for being unable to follow the storage requirements, and during a tax audit you can respond to both ① a request to download the data and ② a request to present or submit a printed-out document, then simply keeping the data is enough — the tamper-prevention and search requirements do not have to be met[NTA pamphlet, Nov 2024]. No advance notification is needed, and "a shortage of staff," "a shortage of funds for building a system" and "not being able to build a system in time" are also accepted as reasonable grounds[NTA pamphlet, Nov 2024].
For many sole proprietors and small corporations, in practice it is enough to just "store the data in folders under a fixed rule and keep an administrative processing regulation on hand."
How long must books and documents be kept?
The retention period differs between corporations and individuals, and between blue and white returns. The periods below apply even when you store everything as data under the Electronic Books Preservation Act.
| Category | Retention period |
|---|---|
| Corporations | Books, and the documents prepared or received in connection with the transactions of that fiscal year, must be kept for 7 years from the day after the filing deadline for the final return. For a fiscal year in which a blue-return loss carried forward arose, or a fiscal year without a blue return in which a disaster loss arose, it is 10 years[NTA No.5930] |
| Individuals — white return | Statutory books 7 years / voluntary books 5 years / settlement documents such as inventory lists 5 years / documents such as invoices, delivery notes, waybills and receipts 5 years[NTA No.2080] |
| Individuals — blue return | Books and documents are kept for 7 years in principle. However, the NTA states that "depending on the document, 5 years is enough," and invoices, quotations, delivery notes and waybills fall in that 5-year group[NTA No.2070] |
Separately from the periods above, the duty to store electronic transaction data as data applies regardless of whether you are a corporation or an individual, blue or white return, and regardless of size. Keeping only a printout for the retention period does not satisfy the requirements[NTA overview].
What happens if you don't comply?
If you do not properly store electronic transaction data, you may become subject to revocation of your blue-return approval, and there are risks such as a 10% additional heavy surtax where there was disguise or concealment. The NTA explains the uplift by noting that, compared with storing paper documents, electronic transaction data is "easy to copy and tamper with, and leaves little trace"[NTA pamphlet, June 2026]. Still, because the grace measure described above exists when there is a "reasonable ground" for being unable to satisfy the storage requirements, the first step is to keep the data without deleting it and organize it under a set rule[National Tax Agency].
From January 2027: exclusion from the 10% heavy-tax uplift and a ¥750,000 blue return deduction (digital seamless storage)
The Reiwa 7 (2025) tax reform added a new system to the Electronic Books Preservation Act for arrangements that store invoice data automatically and feed it straight into the books. It is called "digital seamless storage." If you send, receive and store electronic transaction data in a way that meets certain requirements, concealment or disguise connected with that data is excluded from the 10% uplift to the heavy additional tax[NTA pamphlet, April 2025].
The exclusion from the 10% heavy-tax uplift applies to national taxes whose statutory filing deadline falls on or after January 1, 2027 (Reiwa 9), and the higher blue return deduction applies to income tax for 2027 (Reiwa 9) onward[NTA pamphlet, April 2025].
The three requirements
| Requirement | Content (as the NTA words it) |
|---|---|
| ① Securing tamper prevention | Send, receive and store the data in a system that keeps a correction-and-deletion history, or a system in which correction and deletion are impossible |
| ② Securing the accuracy of bookkeeping | It must not be possible to record an amount in the electronic books after correcting or deleting the amount in the electronic transaction data (or the fact of the correction or deletion must be verifiable) |
| ③ Securing mutual linkage with the electronic books | The link between the electronic transaction data and the electronic books must be mutually verifiable |
The NTA states that "digital seamless storage presupposes that the requirements for electronic transaction data storage are met"[NTA pamphlet, June 2026]. Complying with today's duty is the starting point.
Only two kinds of data qualify
You must use "a system conforming to the standards set by the Commissioner of the National Tax Agency." Those standards were set in NTA Public Notice No. 2 (March 31, 2025) and apply from January 1, 2027[NTA Public Notice No.2]. Two kinds of electronic transaction data qualify.
- Digital invoices sent and received under the specification managed by the Digital Agency (the specification is "Invoice JP PINT" or "JP Self-Billing" — invoice data carried over the Peppol network)[NTA pamphlet, June 2026]
- Settlement data on deposit or savings accounts (the transaction information of an exchange transaction moving funds in that account, carried out by a financial institution at the depositor's request)[NTA Public Notice No.2]
File the notification form in advance
To receive the treatment, a notification form must be filed in advance[NTA pamphlet, April 2025]. Its full title is "Notification of application of the special provision excluding the heavy-additional-tax uplift for electronic records of electronic transaction information, and of the ¥750,000 blue return special deduction (sole proprietors)"[NTA notification form].
The deadline is the statutory filing deadline for the year (or fiscal year) you want the treatment for. A sole proprietor who wants digital seamless storage to apply from the 2026 (Reiwa 8) tax year must file the notification by March 15, 2027[NTA pamphlet, June 2026]. If you already receive the ¥650,000 blue return deduction through qualified electronic books, you can get the ¥750,000 deduction without filing the notification again[NTA pamphlet, June 2026].
The blue return special deduction becomes ¥750,000 from 2027
The Reiwa 8 (2026) tax reform raised the cap on the blue return special deduction from ¥650,000 to ¥750,000, applying to income tax for 2027 (Reiwa 9) onward[NTA pamphlet, June 2026]. To get ¥750,000 you must meet the requirements for the ¥650,000 deduction plus either ① storage of qualified electronic books or ② digital seamless storage[NTA blue return deduction].
| Category | Through the 2026 tax year | 2027 tax year onward |
|---|---|---|
| ¥650,000 requirements plus qualified electronic books or digital seamless storage | ¥650,000 | ¥750,000 |
| Cap when you file on paper | ¥550,000 | ¥100,000 |
The drop in the paper-filing cap is easy to miss. The NTA states it plainly: "through the final return for 2026 a ¥550,000 blue return special deduction was available even on a paper return, but from the 2027 tax year the cap for a paper return is ¥100,000"[NTA blue return deduction]. Note also that if you use the special provision for computing income on a cash basis, the ¥650,000 and ¥750,000 deductions are not available (¥100,000 still is)[NTA blue return deduction].
FAQ
Do I also need to scan receipts I received on paper?
No. Documents you received on paper can be stored as paper as before (scanner storage is optional). What has been made mandatory is only the storage of "electronic transactions exchanged as data."
Is it not OK to print out and store a PDF invoice from an email?
Since January 2024, electronic transaction data must be stored "as data." Storing only printed paper is in principle not allowed (though there is a grace measure when there is a reasonable ground).
Are sole proprietors also covered?
Yes. Regardless of corporation or sole proprietor, all businesses that conduct electronic transactions are covered. However, there are burden-easing measures for small businesses, such as no search requirement if base-period sales are ¥50 million or less.
Can I comply without spending money?
Yes. Tamper prevention can be handled by keeping the "administrative processing regulation" whose template the National Tax Agency publishes, and storage can be done by setting a file-naming rule and managing folders, so the requirements can be met even with free methods.
What changes from January 2027?
For national taxes whose statutory filing deadline falls on or after January 1, 2027 (Reiwa 9), electronic transaction data sent, received and stored under the "digital seamless storage" requirements is excluded from the 10% uplift to the heavy additional tax even where there was concealment or disguise. In addition, the blue return special deduction for sole proprietors rises from ¥650,000 to ¥750,000 for the 2027 tax year onward. Both require a notification form filed in advance, and only two kinds of data qualify: digital invoices under the Digital Agency specification, and settlement data on deposit or savings accounts.
Data sources
- The three categories, the mandating of electronic transactions, storage requirements, search requirement, special provisions: National Tax Agency — Special site on the electronic books storage system (in Japanese)
- Wording of the three categories, storage requirements, search-requirement exemption for sales of ¥50 million or less, the three digital-seamless-storage requirements, notification deadline, ¥750,000 deduction: NTA pamphlet "Why not go further with digitalization using the electronic books storage system?" (June 2026, in Japanese)
- Content of the Reiwa 7 reform and when it starts: NTA pamphlet on the newly created system for feeding invoice data into the books (April 2025, in Japanese)
- Qualifying data (digital invoices, deposit-account settlement data): NTA Public Notice No. 2 (March 31, 2025, in Japanese)
- The notification form and procedure: NTA — notification for the heavy-tax uplift exclusion and the ¥750,000 blue return deduction (in Japanese)
- Definition of an electronic transaction and the basis of the storage duty (Article 7): NTA — Overview of the electronic books storage system (in Japanese)
- Grace measure (reasonable ground): NTA "On how to store electronic transaction data" (November 2024, in Japanese)
- Requirements for the ¥750,000 deduction and the ¥100,000 paper-filing cap: NTA — guide to the blue return special deduction (in Japanese)
- Retention periods: NTA No.5930 (corporations) / No.2080 (white return) / No.2070 (blue return)
* This article is general information, not tax advice. Because the application of requirements and individual judgments differ by circumstance, please confirm with the National Tax Agency's special site, a tax office, or a tax accountant before acting.
