Singapore vs Japan Taxes: ¥10M Salary Taxed ¥1.46M vs ¥270K

Bottom line: eight taxes and burdens side by side

*Singapore figures from the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS) and the Central Provident Fund (CPF); Japan figures from the National Tax Agency and Japan Health Insurance Association (kyokai kenpo) (as of October 2026). Sources for each item are given in the text and at the end.

For working people, the big differences are income tax and the taxes on assets (inheritance, shares, foreigners buying housing). Consumption tax is about the same as Japan's, and corporate tax is somewhat lower in Singapore.

Take-home pay by income: the gap is smaller than the tax gap

We calculated the burden for the same salary paid in yen. For Singapore there are two cases: "citizen/PR (with CPF)" and "Japanese expatriate (a foreigner, so no CPF)".

*Our own estimates. Converted at S$1 = ¥123 (European Central Bank reference rate; ¥123.53 on 16 October 2026). Single, under 40, no bonus, monthly salary = annual income ÷ 12. Japan: 2026 income tax (employment income deduction; basic deduction ¥1.04 million / ¥620,000 / ¥0) and 10% resident tax; kyokai kenpo Tokyo rates for FY2026 (health insurance 9.85%, child and child-rearing support levy 0.23% and employees' pension 18.3%, split equally between employer and employee; employment insurance 0.5% for the employee). Singapore: resident tax rates from Year of Assessment 2024, earned income relief S$1,000, CPF employee 20% (capped at S$8,000 a month). There is no personal income tax rebate in Singapore for Year of Assessment 2026.

Three points to read from this:

• Up to ¥10 million, the take-home gap is small. Singapore citizens and PRs pay less income tax but put 20% of their income into CPF. That is heavier than Japan's social insurance contributions (about 13-15% for the employee at ¥5-10 million), so take-home pay ends up close.
• At ¥30 million, the gap is wide. In Japan the income falls into the 40% income tax plus 10% resident tax band, and tax alone takes 35% of income. In Singapore it is in a band of around 19%, and CPF stops rising at S$8,000 a month, so take-home pay is about ¥6.7 million higher than in Japan.
• CPF is not money that disappears once paid. It builds up in an account in the member's own name and can be used for buying a home, medical costs and retirement. That is different in nature from Japan's pension contributions, which fund today's retirees (pay-as-you-go). We compare how CPF works in more detail in Singapore's CPF and Japan's iDeCo.

Note that even a Japanese expatriate becomes a non-resident if they stay in Singapore fewer than 183 days in a year, and their salary is taxed at 15% or the resident rates, whichever is higher[IRAS individual income tax rates]. The "foreigner" column in the table assumes a resident who lives there 183 days or more a year. Foreigners do not join CPF, so they cover medical costs with private or company insurance instead.

Why the state runs on low income tax: the revenue breakdown

In the Singapore Ministry of Finance's budget estimates for FY2026, revenue is S$163.2 billion. Personal income tax is S$21.8 billion, only 13% of the total[Singapore Ministry of Finance, Analysis of Revenue and Expenditure FY2026 (PDF)].

*Estimates from the Singapore Ministry of Finance's "Analysis of Revenue and Expenditure FY2026". Shares are our own calculation, dividing by total revenue (operating revenue S$134.75 billion + NIRC S$28.48 billion).

Two features stand out. First, returns from investing the national reserves (NIRC) are put into each year's budget; the Ministry of Finance says this equals 17.4% of revenue. Second, through vehicle quota premiums, stamp duty and property tax, the system collects heavily from people who own cars or property. It can be described as a design that taxes earning from work lightly and collects on the asset and consumption side.

Japan does the opposite: pensions and healthcare are funded by social insurance contributions (a burden on the working generation), and income tax and resident tax are also steeply progressive. That is why take-home pay grows more slowly as income rises. We look at international comparisons of the overall burden in the international comparison of the national burden ratio.

Consumption tax: a single 9% rate, food included

Singapore's consumption tax (GST) has been 9% since 1 January 2024. It started at 3% in 1994 and rose to 4% in 2003, 5% in 2004, 7% in 2007 and 8% in 2023[IRAS GST rates]. There is no reduced rate for food; instead of lowering the rate, low-income households get their burden back as cash (GST Vouchers).

Japan's rate is 10%, with food at 8%. A bill to cut the rate on food to 1% for two years from April 2027 is being debated in the Diet. How the payment after the cut is put together is laid out in the new benefit: ¥30,000 average and the ¥3.75 million line. Singapore, with one rate and cash payments back, and Japan, with different rates by item, pursue the same goal of easing the burden on low-income households with different tools.

Taxes on assets: no inheritance tax and no tax on shares

For people with assets, the difference is bigger than in income tax.

• Inheritance tax: Singapore does not levy inheritance tax (estate duty) on the estates of people who died on or after 15 February 2008[IRAS Estate Duty]. Japan's top rate is 55%; for 2024, 10.4% of people who died were taxed, and one in five in Tokyo. How widely Japan's tax reaches is calculated in Is it true that wealth is gone in three generations?
• Capital gains and dividends on shares: Singapore generally does not tax them. Japan taxes them at 20.315%, tax-free only within the NISA allowance.
• Holding property: Singapore's property tax is applied not to assessed value but to the estimated annual rent (annual value). Owner-occupied homes are taxed progressively at 0-32% and other property (rented out, holiday homes) at 12-36%, heavier for expensive properties.
• Foreigners buying housing: In Singapore, a foreigner who buys a home pays a 60% Additional Buyer's Stamp Duty on top of the normal stamp duty (from 27 April 2023). Citizens pay 20% on a second home, and PRs pay 5% from the first[IRAS Additional Buyer's Stamp Duty]. Japan has no surcharge for foreigners only.

Other countries have also abolished inheritance tax. The history of abolition and the issue of unfair valuations are covered in Austria's abolition of inheritance tax, and each country's rates in the world inheritance tax comparison.

Japanese taxes that remain when a Japanese national moves to Singapore

Living in Singapore does not necessarily mean Japanese taxes disappear. There are four things to check before moving.

*Exit tax per National Tax Agency No.1478[National Tax Agency No.1478, in Japanese]; categories of inheritance taxpayers per National Tax Agency No.4138[National Tax Agency No.4138, in Japanese] (laws as of 1 April 2026).

Inheritance tax in particular: even after moving to Singapore, if you keep Japanese nationality and an inheritance occurs before ten years have passed, Japanese inheritance tax applies. Judging only by the fact that Singapore has no inheritance tax means missing this. The relationship between wealthy people's migration and Japanese tax is also covered in wealthy foreigners moving to Japan and tax (an article on migration in the opposite direction) and Monaco's zero income tax.

For an employee assigned to Singapore, the issues are simpler. You do not join CPF and income tax is lower than in Japan, so it is enough to handle the procedures for becoming a non-resident of Japan (moving-out notification and year-end adjustment) and to know when resident tax resumes after returning.

Summary

• Income tax and resident tax on ¥10 million are about ¥1.46 million in Japan versus about ¥270,000 in Singapore. Singapore has no resident tax
• But citizens and PRs put 20% of their wages into CPF, so take-home pay on ¥10 million is ¥7.27 million in Japan and ¥7.73 million in Singapore, a small gap
• The gap is large at ¥30 million (about ¥6.7 million in take-home pay) and for foreign expatriates, who have no CPF
• Singapore has no tax on inheritance, capital gains or dividends on shares, and foreigners buying housing pay a 60% Additional Buyer's Stamp Duty
• Revenue: corporate tax 23%, returns on reserves 17%, consumption tax 14%, personal income tax 13%. Moving abroad while keeping Japanese nationality still leaves the ten-year inheritance tax rule and the exit tax

References (sources)