This is a translation of the Japanese original. The Japanese version is authoritative; figures follow Japanese tax law.
It is easy to assume that moving house is done once you file the move-out and move-in notifications, but for taxes and insurance the date you moved decides where everything goes. Your income tax return goes to the tax office for the address where you live when you file; residence tax is charged for a full year by the municipality where you lived on January 1; the Furusato Nozei one-stop exception requires a change form by January 10; national health insurance must be switched within 14 days; and a job transfer can suspend the mortgage deduction. Here are the five procedures that always come up in the year you move, organized by the dates that draw the line.
Summary: five procedures and the dates that draw the line
| Procedure | Where it goes / what happens | The date that matters |
|---|---|---|
| Income tax return | To the tax office for the address where you live when you file. No separate notification is needed; just write the new address on the return | The day you file the return |
| Residence tax | The municipality where you lived on January 1 levies the whole fiscal year. Moving does not change who bills you | January 1 |
| Furusato Nozei one-stop exception | If your address changed by January 1 of the year after you donated, file a change form by January 10 with each recipient municipality | January 1 and January 10 |
| National health insurance | Complete the paperwork within 14 days of moving out and moving in. Premiums switch on a monthly basis | The date you move in |
| Mortgage deduction (job transfer) | If the whole family moves out, the deduction stops from that year. File the notification in advance and it can be reapplied when you return | The day you stop living there |
If you are an employee, reporting your new address to your employer takes care of residence tax and the year-end adjustment paperwork automatically, but for Furusato Nozei, national health insurance and the mortgage deduction, nobody will fix it unless you act yourself.
1. Tax return: to the tax office for the address where you live when you file. The notification is no longer required
An income tax return goes to the tax office with jurisdiction over your address (your place for tax payment) at the time you file. In the past, moving meant you had to submit a "notification of change of place for tax payment," but from January 1, 2023 (Reiwa 5) that notification is no longer required, and filing a return that shows your address after the move completes the procedure[NTA A1-6].
The return has two address fields: "current address" and "address as of January 1." The January 1 address is what determines which municipality levies your residence tax, so the point is to correctly leave your old address there. Even if you have not transferred your residence record, the place where you actually live is your place for tax payment.
If you enter your new address in the online return preparation corner, the tax office with jurisdiction is determined automatically. Even if the address on your withholding slip is still the old one, the address you write on the return is the one as of the filing date. Sole proprietors who use direct debit for tax payment must resubmit the direct debit request to the new tax office when jurisdiction changes (ticking the "request to continue direct debit" box on the return also works)[NTA G-2-1].
2. Residence tax: the municipality you lived in on January 1 keeps billing you for a full year
Individual residence tax is levied on "a person who has an address in the municipality as of January 1 of that year"[MIC]. Even if you move partway through the fiscal year, you keep paying that year's residence tax to the municipality of your old address, and billing from the new municipality starts with the following fiscal year. You are never charged twice, and the amount is never split by month.
Two kinds of confusion come up in practice. The first is your employer being slow to update your address, so the payroll report goes to your old municipality. Next year's residence tax then arrives from the old municipality and has to be transferred to the new one afterwards. If you move during the year, tell your employer before the year-end adjustment. The second is ordinary-collection payment slips being mailed to your old address after a job change or leaving work. Even with a mail forwarding request in place, it is safer to notify the municipality of your change of address. For how residence tax works, see how residence tax works and how it is calculated.
3. Furusato Nozei one-stop exception: file the "change form" by January 10
Under the one-stop exception, the municipality you donated to sends the deduction information to the municipality of your address as of January 1 of the following year. If you move after donating, the destination changes, so anyone whose address changed by January 1 of the year after the donation must file a "notification of change to the special filing application" with each recipient municipality by January 10. If you move on or after January 2, no change form is needed.
| When you moved | What to do |
|---|---|
| Already moved before donating | Just apply with the new address. No change form |
| After donating, up to January 1 of the next year | File a change form with each recipient municipality by January 10 |
| On or after January 2 of the next year | No change form (already processed with the January 1 address) |
| Forgot the change form or missed the deadline | The one-stop exception becomes void, so claim the donation deduction on a tax return (including the donations you did file forms for) |
Five recipient municipalities mean five change forms. If you plan to move at year-end and have many recipients, skipping one-stop from the start and putting everything on a tax return involves fewer steps. For the basics of one-stop, see the complete guide to Furusato Nozei.
4. National health insurance: switch within 14 days. Premiums are split by month
National health insurance is run by each municipality, so moving to a different municipality requires two procedures: loss of coverage at the old address and enrollment at the new one. Both are due within 14 days of the move, and doing it together with the move-out notification is the safest approach.
- Premiums are calculated by month, and you pay the new municipality from the month you moved in. The old municipality covers up to the month before you moved out. There is no daily proration.
- If you forget the loss-of-coverage procedure, premiums from the old address may keep being billed.
- Premium levels differ widely between municipalities. The same income can produce a gap of tens of thousands to over a hundred thousand yen a year, so you can check the rates where you are moving in the national health insurance premium ranking.
If you are covered by an employer health insurance plan, updating your address with your employer is all you need. Category 1 insured persons under the National Pension change their pension address at the same time as the move-in notification.
5. When a job transfer stops the mortgage deduction, and how it is reapplied on your return
The mortgage deduction (housing loan tax credit) assumes "the home you live in." If a job transfer moves the whole family out and nobody lives there, you cannot claim the deduction from the year you stopped living there. However, if the reason is unavoidable, such as a transfer order, and you file a "notification that you will cease to reside due to a transfer order or similar" with the tax office before you stop living there, the deduction can be reapplied for the remaining period from the year you move back in[NTA No.1234].
The deduction continues or comes back
- With a solo transfer where a spouse or children keep living there, you are treated as living there and the deduction continues
- Even if the whole family moves, with the notification filed in advance it is reapplied from the year you move back in
The deduction stops and does not come back
- The whole family moves out, from the year nobody lives there (you cannot claim it for that year onward)
- You move without filing the notification in advance and later return: no reapplication
In the year of reapplication you attach the calculation statement to a tax return, not the year-end adjustment. Because the notification must be filed "before you stop living there," go to the tax office ahead of the move as soon as the transfer order comes. For the basics of the deduction, see the guide to the mortgage deduction.
Other things that change when you move
- Notifications for sole proprietors—the notification of change of place for tax payment for income tax and consumption tax is no longer required, but jurisdiction changes for enterprise tax (prefecture) and depreciable asset tax (municipality). For the address on your business opening notification, writing the new address on your next return is enough.
- My Number card—the address printed on the card is rewritten when you file the move-in notification. Without the rewrite, the electronic certificate stops working, which interferes with e-Tax and Mynaportal linkage.
- Moving costs for employees—if you pay your own moving costs for a job transfer, they can count as "relocation expenses" under the deduction for specified expenses of employment income, but only the portion above half the employment income deduction can be deducted, so very few people can actually use it. Moving costs paid by the company are tax-free.
- Child allowance, nursery fees and municipal benefits—like residence tax, these are judged on the previous year's income, but applications go to the new municipality. Some of them have to be applied for again after you move in.
What to do today
- Check whether your moving date crosses January 1. At year-end it changes who bills your residence tax and whether a one-stop change form is needed.
- If you made Furusato Nozei donations this year, list the recipient municipalities. If you move by January 1 of next year, you need that many change forms.
- If a job transfer takes you out of a home you own, file the notification with the tax office before you move. It cannot be reapplied afterwards.
Frequently asked questions
I have not transferred my residence record. Where do I file my tax return?
At the tax office for the place where you actually live. In principle the place for income tax payment is your address (the base of your daily life), not the location of your residence record. Write your current address and your January 1 address on the return; it is not a problem if they differ from the address on your withholding slip.
I moved in December. Which municipality do I pay this year's residence tax to, the old one or the new one?
This fiscal year's residence tax is paid to the old municipality where you lived on January 1 of this year, through the end of the fiscal year. Next fiscal year's residence tax is billed by the new municipality where you live on January 1 of next year. There is no double payment and no monthly split.
I forgot to file the one-stop change form. Are my donations wasted?
They are not wasted. The one-stop application becomes void, but you get the same deduction by claiming the donation deduction on a tax return. In that case, put all of that year's donations on the return, including the ones you did file change forms for.
A job transfer is moving my whole family. What happens to the mortgage deduction?
You cannot claim the deduction for that home from the year you stop living there. However, if you file a "notification that you will cease to reside due to a transfer order or similar" with the tax office before you move, it is reapplied for the remaining period from the year you move back in and start living there again. With a solo transfer where the family keeps living there, the deduction does not stop.
References (sources)
This article is based on the materials below. National health insurance procedures are explained differently by each municipality, so check the guidance of the municipality you are moving to.
* This article provides general information and is not tax advice. For individual decisions, consult the tax office, your municipality or a certified tax accountant.
