This is a translation of the Japanese original. The Japanese version is authoritative; figures follow Japanese tax law.
"My side income is 200,000 yen or less, so I do not have to file an income tax return." "I had no income last year, so I have nothing to file." That may be true for income tax, but the residence tax filing is a separate matter. The 200,000 yen rule for income tax does not exist for residence tax, and the years when your income is zero are often exactly the years a filing is needed. If you skip it, it catches up with you later: you cannot obtain a tax exemption certificate, you lose the 70% / 50% / 20% reduction of your National Health Insurance premiums, and you fall outside the scope of benefit payments. Here is who needs to file and who does not, by when and where to file, and what happens if you do not, based on guidance from the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications and from municipalities.
Conclusion: in any year you do not file an income tax return, check whether a residence tax filing is required
Residence tax is calculated by the municipality where you lived on January 1 of that year, based on your income for the previous year[MIC]. There are three routes by which a municipality learns your income, and anyone who fits none of them has to file on their own.
- People who filed an income tax return — the data is passed from the tax office to the municipality, so no residence tax filing is needed.
- People whose employer submits a salary payment report — if you only have salary that went through year-end adjustment, no filing is needed.
- People whose pension payer submits a public pension payment report — if you have pension income only and are not adding deductions that are missing from the withholding slip, no filing is needed.
Turn that around, and the people who must file are those with income that was not filed on an income tax return and is not captured by an employer or by the pension service, and those who had no income at all.
Who has to file a residence tax return, and who does not
Kita Ward, Tokyo states that "people who file an income tax return with the tax office," "people whose employer submits a salary payment report and who have no other income," and "people with public pension income only and no change to the deductions shown on the withholding slip" do not need to file, and treats everyone else who had income in the previous year, as well as people who had no income during the previous year, as required to file[Kita Ward]. Nakano Ward likewise asks "people who had no income in the previous year" and "people who had only tax-exempt income such as survivors' pension, disability pension or employment insurance" to file[Nakano Ward].
| Your situation | Income tax return | Residence tax filing |
|---|---|---|
| Only salary that went through year-end adjustment | Not required | Not required (the salary payment report is enough) |
| Salary plus side income of 200,000 yen or less (no income tax return) | Not required | Required |
| Salary plus side income over 200,000 yen | Required | Not required (the income tax return covers it) |
| Pension of 4 million yen or less plus other income of 200,000 yen or less | Not required | Required if you add deductions missing from the withholding slip. Required if you have other income |
| Left a job mid-year and received no year-end adjustment | Not required, but many people file for a refund | Required if you do not file an income tax return |
| Had no income (unemployed, not a dependent, student, and so on) | Not required | Required (some municipalities exempt dependents) |
| Only survivors' pension, disability pension or unemployment benefits | Not required | Required (a filing of "zero income" even for tax-exempt income) |
| Part-time work where the employer does not submit a salary payment report | Depends on the amount | Required |
How dependents are treated differs between municipalities. Nakano Ward says "people who are dependents of a ward resident" and "people under 20 with no income (other than the head of household)" do not need to file, while Kita Ward's guidance has no such category. If in doubt, check the guidance of the municipality where you live. Either way, filing a residence tax return never hurts you.
The "200,000 yen or less from a side job" rule is about income tax only
A salaried worker whose income other than salary is 200,000 yen or less for the year does not have to file an income tax return. The National Tax Agency (NTA) sets out this rule, but a note on the same page says "even when an income tax return is not required, a separate residence tax filing may be required"[NTA No.1900]. The Local Tax Act has no provision that exempts income of 200,000 yen or less, so even one yen of side income is subject to residence tax.
An employee earns 150,000 yen of side income (miscellaneous income) and does not file an income tax return
Income tax: no filing needed (200,000 yen or less)
Residence tax: declare 150,000 yen × 10% = 15,000 yen on the residence tax filing, added to the next year's residence tax
The residence tax filing form has a box where you choose whether the residence tax on your side income is withheld from your salary or paid by yourself, and if you choose "pay by myself," the amount withheld from your salary does not change. The more you want to keep a side job from your employer, the safer it is to file and choose the payment method rather than not to file at all. The 200,000 yen rule as a whole is covered in tax returns for side jobs.
You can file an income tax return even for 200,000 yen or less. Income tax will then apply to the side income as well, but no residence tax filing is needed, and medical expense deductions and furusato nozei deductions are all handled at once. It is a choice between "the trouble of a separate residence tax filing" and "paying a little income tax."
Why the years with zero income are exactly the years to file
It feels odd to file when you had no income, but from the municipality's point of view "income is zero" and "income is unknown" are different things. With no filing, you are treated as having unknown income, which brings the following disadvantages.
- No taxation or tax exemption certificate is issued — Kita Ward states outright that it "cannot issue a taxation or tax exemption certificate"[Kita Ward]. It is a document required for calculating nursery fees and for public housing, scholarships and various benefit applications.
- The reduction of National Health Insurance premiums does not apply — households whose previous-year income is below the threshold get a 70%, 50% or 20% reduction of the per-capita portion, but Nakano Ward says "if you have not filed, the reduction does not apply," and the premium notice states "income information unknown"[Nakano Ward]. If even one member of the household has not filed, the whole household loses the reduction.
- Long-term care premiums and high-cost medical expense brackets are set higher — for people whose income is unknown, most municipalities apply the bracket for higher income earners to premiums and out-of-pocket limits.
- You are excluded from benefits aimed at tax-exempt households — many cost-of-living benefit payments and fee reductions require a "residence-tax-exempt household," and that judgment starts from your filing. For a list, see benefits and reductions for tax-exempt households.
National Health Insurance premiums for a single person who left their job and was unemployed for a year (zero income in the previous year)
With a filing: a 70% reduction of the per-capita portion. In the 23 wards of Tokyo, an annual per-capita portion of about 60,000 yen becomes about 18,000 yen
Without a filing: no reduction. The full per-capita portion, with "income information unknown"
The difference is roughly 40,000 yen. That is what a five-minute filing decides. For how NHI premiums work, see how National Health Insurance premiums are calculated.
Survivors' pension, disability pension and unemployment benefits are exempt from both income tax and residence tax, but precisely because they are exempt, no information about the amounts reaches the municipality. Only when you file to say "I had tax-exempt income only" are you treated as having zero income.
When people with pension income only should file
If your public pension income is 4 million yen or less and your income other than pension is 200,000 yen or less, no income tax return is required. The NTA nevertheless states that "even when income other than public pensions is 200,000 yen or less and no income tax return is required, a residence tax filing may be necessary"[NTA No.1600]. There are two specific cases.
- You have small income besides your pension — a private annuity, part-time earnings, lecture fees and the like. Even 200,000 yen or less is subject to residence tax.
- You want to add deductions that are not on the withholding slip — additional National Health Insurance or long-term care premiums the pension service does not know about, life insurance premium deductions, medical expense deductions, a change in the spousal deduction and so on. Adding deductions on the residence tax filing lowers the next year's residence tax and the premium brackets tied to it.
People with pension income only and no deductions to add do not need to file, because the public pension payment report reaches the municipality. For the whole picture of taxes on pensions, see taxes on pensions and the income tax return.
By when, where and what to file
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| Deadline | March 15 (the next business day if it falls on a weekend). Income for 2026 must be filed by Monday, March 15, 2027 |
| Where to file | The tax division of the municipality where you lived on January 1 of that year. This does not change even after you move |
| How to file | At the counter or by mail; a growing number of municipalities also accept electronic filing. Download the form from the municipality's website |
| What to bring | Proof of income (withholding slip, payment record, account books), deduction certificates (insurance premiums, medical expenses, donations), something showing your My Number, and personal identification |
| Cost and penalties | Filing itself is free. Missing the deadline does not mean your filing will no longer be accepted, but certificates and reduction decisions are delayed |
The residence tax filing form is simpler than an income tax return; you mostly copy over your income and deductions. In most municipalities, a zero-income filing only requires ticking "no income" and signing.
What to do today
- Decide which row of the table above you fell into last year. In a year when you do not file an income tax return, you must file if you had side income, small part-time earnings, zero income, or tax-exempt income only.
- Open the "residence tax filing" page of the municipality where you live and check how dependents are treated. If it says no filing is needed, you can skip it.
- Think about whether you will need a tax exemption certificate this year. If you need one for nursery fees, a scholarship or a benefit application, file early rather than waiting for the deadline.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a penalty for not filing a residence tax return?
For ordinary small amounts of income, there is normally no penalty such as an additional charge for the failure to file itself. However, your income is treated as unknown, which brings disadvantages: no tax exemption certificate is issued, the reduction of National Health Insurance premiums is lost, and you fall outside the scope of benefits. If side income goes undeclared and is discovered later, residence tax can be levied retroactively, with delinquency charges.
If I file an income tax return, do I not need to file a residence tax return?
Correct. Income tax return data is sent from the tax office to the municipality, so no residence tax filing is needed. Even if your side income is 200,000 yen or less, filing an income tax return for something like a medical expense deduction also takes care of the residence tax procedure.
I am a student and a dependent of my parents, with a little part-time income. Do I need to file a residence tax return?
If your employer submits a salary payment report to the municipality, no filing is needed. If your salary is small and no report is submitted, or if you have income other than salary, a filing is required in principle. Some municipalities exempt dependents, so check the guidance of the municipality where you live.
I have missed March 15. Can I no longer file?
Municipalities accept filings after the deadline. If you file when you need a tax exemption certificate, it will be issued, and the reduction of National Health Insurance premiums is generally reassessed after the filing. File as soon as you notice.
References (sources)
This article is based on the following materials. The range of people required to file differs between municipalities, so always check the guidance of the municipality where you live.
Note: this article provides general information and is not tax advice. Whether a filing is required and how reductions are assessed depend on each municipality's practice. For individual cases, consult your municipality's tax division, the tax office or a certified tax accountant.
