Moving to the U.S. does not always end your tax business in Japan. You may rent out your home, plan to sell property, or still owe a return for the year you left. In those cases Japan requires you to appoint a nozei kanrinin, a tax agent who handles your Japanese tax matters while you live abroad.
This article explains, based on National Tax Agency (NTA) guidance and the text of the Act on General Rules for National Taxes and the Local Tax Act, what a tax agent does, who needs one, where and when to file the notification, and what happens if you do not. Since January 2022, the tax office can also ask you to appoint an agent and, if you do not, designate one for you.
Key points
- A nozei kanrinin files returns, receives tax office mail, pays tax, and receives refunds for a person with no address or residence in Japan. The agent can be any individual or company with an address or residence in Japan.
- A nonresident who needs to handle Japanese tax matters must appoint one. File the “Notification of Appointment or Dismissal of a Tax Agent for Income Tax and Consumption Tax” with the tax office for your place of tax payment, when you appoint the agent or by your departure date, through e-Tax or on paper.
- If you do not, the tax office may ask you in writing to file within a period of up to 60 days, and may then designate an adult relative in the same household or certain other parties as a “specified tax agent” (in effect since January 2022).
- Your return goes to the tax office for your own place of tax payment, not the agent’s. If you rent out your home, that is generally the property’s location.
- Resident tax has its own agent, reported to the municipality (Local Tax Act Article 300).
What a tax agent does
Article 117 of the Act on General Rules for National Taxes says that when an individual has, or will have, no address or residence in Japan and needs to handle matters such as filing a return, the person must appoint an agent from among people with an address or residence in Japan. NTA guidance lists the agent’s duties (excluding appeals):
| Duty | Examples |
|---|---|
| Preparing and filing returns, applications, claims, and notifications | Filing the annual return and other notices |
| Receiving documents the tax office sends you and forwarding them | Estimated tax notices and other letters |
| Receiving documents you prepare and submitting them | Delivering forms you completed |
| Paying tax and receiving refunds | Paying the balance due, receiving a refund |
Under the guidance, an agent cannot take on only some of these duties. Once the notification is filed, tax office mail goes to the agent.
The agent does not have to be a tax professional. However, preparing tax documents or giving tax advice for others as a business is generally reserved for licensed zeirishi (tax accountants) and their firms under Article 52 of the Certified Public Tax Accountant Act. If you want a professional to prepare the return, you can engage a zeirishi who also serves as your agent.
Who needs a tax agent
The NTA says people transferred abroad for a planned year or more generally become nonresidents, and may need to file in Japan if they have Japanese-source income such as rent from Japanese property or gains on Japanese assets. Typical cases:
| Situation | Tax agent |
|---|---|
| Only foreign salary, and the year-end adjustment was done before leaving | Generally not needed if nothing remains to handle |
| You rent out a home or condo in Japan | Needed (annual returns) |
| You sold Japanese real estate or certain shares | Needed (return) |
| You want to file the departure-year return between February 16 and March 15 of the next year | Needed; otherwise file a final return before leaving |
| You want a refund, such as from the medical expense deduction | People filing refund returns count as taxpayers for this rule |
| You want to defer Japan’s exit tax | Needed by departure as a condition of the deferral |
| Inheritance or gift tax | A separate notification form applies |
How to file the notification
- Form: Notification of Appointment or Dismissal of a Tax Agent for Income Tax and Consumption Tax.
- Deadline: when you appoint the agent, or by your departure date.
- Where: the tax office for your place of tax payment, not the agent’s local office.
- How: through e-Tax software, or on paper in person or by mail. No ID copy is needed when filing through e-Tax.
- Choosing an agent: NTA guidance says the agent should, where possible, live within the district of your tax office.
Where a nonresident files
According to NTA Q&A, the place of tax payment for someone with no address or residence in Japan is determined in this order:
| Order | Situation | Place of tax payment |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | You have an office for a business in Japan | That office |
| 2 | Relatives still live at your former address | Your former address |
| 3 | You receive rent from Japanese property | The property (or the main property) |
| 4 | You no longer fit 1 to 3 | Your previous place of tax payment |
| 5 | Otherwise, when you file | A place you choose |
| 6 | None of the above | The Kojimachi Tax Office district in Tokyo |
To change agents, file a dismissal for the current agent and an appointment for the new one. When you move back and become a resident again, file a dismissal. If the agent dies, the authority ends, so appoint and report a new agent.
If you do not appoint one: requests and specified tax agents
If you must file and leave without an agent, you need to file a final return by the time you leave. In addition, under amendments to Article 117 in effect since January 2022:
- The tax office may ask you in writing to file the notification by a date it sets, within 60 days, stating the matters the agent must handle.
- It may also ask a suitable person in Japan to become your agent.
- If you still do not file, it may designate as a “specified tax agent” an adult spouse or other relative in the same household, a person with a close contractual relationship to the transactions behind your tax, or a business that provides the platform for your ongoing transactions.
A specified tax agent can handle only the matters named in the designation. Choosing and reporting your own agent avoids surprises for your family. If you are deferring Japan’s exit tax, failing to report a new agent within four months of dismissing one, or within six months of learning of the agent’s death, ends the deferral. See Navigating Japan’s Exit Tax and US Dual-Status Filing.
Resident tax uses a separate agent
Under Local Tax Act Article 300, a person who owes municipal resident tax but has no address or similar place in that municipality must report an agent living within an area set by local ordinance, or apply for approval of an agent living elsewhere. No agent is needed if the municipality certifies that collection will not be impaired. Ordinances may impose a non-criminal fine for failing to report without good reason. Resident tax for the year you leave can still be due after you go, so decide who will receive and pay the bills.
e-Tax and the My Number Card
- The agent notification itself can be filed through e-Tax.
- An NTA e-Tax FAQ says nonresidents can obtain a new e-Tax user ID, entering a place of tax payment in Japan, their overseas address, and the agent’s name and address.
- Since May 27, 2024, you can keep using your My Number Card after moving abroad if you complete the continued-use procedure at your municipality together with your move-out notice before leaving. Online use requires the card’s electronic certificates.
Decide before you leave who will submit what, and check the NTA’s current e-Tax guidance, which can change.
Example: renting your home in Japan to a company
Example: Your family moves to the U.S. for three years, and you rent your Tokyo home to a company as employee housing for 200,000 yen a month (2.4 million yen a year).
- Withholding: rent paid to a nonresident for Japanese property is generally subject to 20.42% withholding, so the company withholds 2,400,000 x 20.42% = 490,080 yen. An individual renting the home for their own or a relative’s residence does not withhold.
- Filing: with the whole family abroad, your place of tax payment is generally the property’s location. Your agent files each year between February 16 and March 15.
- Settling up: rental income is computed the same way as for residents. If expenses such as management fees, property tax, and depreciation total 1.4 million yen, rental income is 1 million yen. If the tax on the return is less than the 490,080 yen withheld, the difference is refunded to you through the agent; if more, the agent pays the balance.
While you are a U.S. resident, the same rent goes on your U.S. return. The IRS taxes residents on income from all sources, and Japanese income tax may qualify for the foreign tax credit on Form 1116. See How to Report Japanese Rental Income and Dividends on TurboTax.
FAQ
Can a family member be my agent?
Yes. Any individual or company with an address or residence in Japan that can handle the matters may serve.
Can my agent file at their local tax office?
No. Returns and payments go to the tax office for your place of tax payment, which for a rented home is generally the property’s location.
What do I do when I move back?
File a dismissal notification with the tax office, and check the municipality’s procedure for the resident-tax agent.
What if I left without appointing one?
If you needed to file, a final return was due by departure. If Japanese income continues, the tax office may ask you to appoint an agent or designate a specified tax agent.
At CLT NY INC., an IRS Enrolled Agent prepares U.S. returns that include Japanese rental income and the foreign tax credit for Japanese taxes, in English or Japanese. Japanese filings may require coordination with a Japanese tax accountant. Contact us.
Related articles
- How to Report Japanese Rental Income and Dividends on TurboTax: A Step-by-Step Guide to the Foreign Tax Credit
- Navigating Japan’s Exit Tax and US Dual-Status Filing: Complexities and the Standard Deduction Trap for Mid-Year Returns
- When is Residence Tax Paid? Understanding the Timing Differences Between US State Tax and Japanese Local Tax
- Expat’s Essential Guide: Navigating Dual-Status Tax Filing for US Arrival & Departure Years
- Tax Filing Deadlines and Extension Rules: A Comprehensive Comparison of US (April 15) and Japan (March 15), and Penalties for Late Filing
- U.S. Tax Return Documents Checklist for Japanese Expats and Permanent Residents
- Leaving Japan for a U.S. Assignment: The Japanese Tax Agent, Resident Tax Settlement, Move-Out Notice, and Other Pre-Departure Steps
- Tax Checklist Before Moving from Japan to the U.S.: Resident Tax, Year-End Adjustment, Final Return, and Tax Agent (2026)
Sources: NTA No.1923 (tax agents for overseas assignments); NTA procedure A1-7; NTA No.1926; NTA No.1920; NTA No.2029 Q&A (place of tax payment); NTA basic circular on Art. 117; NTA procedure B1-28 (inheritance and gift tax agent); NTA No.1478 (exit tax); NTA leaflet on specified tax agents; Act on General Rules for National Taxes Art. 117 (e-Gov); Local Tax Act Arts. 300 and 302 (e-Gov); NTA e-Tax FAQ (nonresident user IDs); My Number Card use abroad leaflet (posted by NTA); NTA My Number FAQ (Tax Accountant Act Art. 52); IRS: Taxation of dual-status individuals; IRS: Foreign Tax Credit. Information as of October 2026. This article provides general information and is not individual tax advice.
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