Tax Checklist Before Moving from Japan to the U.S.: Resident Tax, Year-End Adjustment, Final Return, and Tax Agent (2026)

When your company sends you from Japan to the United States, most of the planning goes into visas, housing, and schools. You also need to close out your Japanese taxes before you leave. This checklist is for employees and their families moving to the U.S. for a year or longer, in the order you will meet each step.

Three questions cause the most confusion: whether the year-end adjustment (nenmatsu chosei) is enough or you must file a Japanese return, how long you keep paying resident tax (juminzei), and what happens to furusato nozei and estimated tax in the year you leave. We also list the records to collect before departure, because your first U.S. return will ask about income and accounts in Japan.

Key points

• If you move for a planned stay of one year or more, you generally become a nonresident of Japan from the day after you leave. If salary is your only income, your employer settles your Japanese income tax through a year-end adjustment on your last paycheck.
• If you need to file (for example, you will rent out your home, want the medical expense or furusato nozei deduction, or earn over 20 million yen), either appoint a tax agent (nozei kanrinin) and file between February 16 and March 15 of the next year, or file a final return before you leave.
• Resident tax is assessed by the municipality where you lived on January 1, based on the prior year’s income. If you have no address in Japan on the next January 1, the following year’s resident tax is not assessed.
• Furusato nozei donations made in the year you leave may lose most of their benefit, and estimated tax can still apply that year.
• Collect your withholding slip, pay records for any Japanese pay received after you move, and Japanese account statements before you go.

Your timeline checklist

When	What to do	Notes
When the move is confirmed	Take stock of income and assets in Japan	Rent, stock sales, side income; total securities (exit tax test); NISA and iDeCo
1 to 2 months before	Decide whether you must file; choose a tax agent	File the agent notification by your departure date
Last paycheck	Year-end adjustment	Only insurance premiums paid up to departure count
Last paycheck	Settle remaining resident tax	Lump-sum payroll deduction or pay by bill
Day before departure	NISA notice to your brokerage	Continuation notice or departure notice
By departure	Final return (if needed)	Only if you must file and have no agent
July and November	Estimated tax (if notified)	Prior-year estimated tax base of 150,000 yen or more
Feb 16 to Mar 15 next year	Return through your agent (if needed)	Departure-year income plus Japanese rent
The spring after arrival	U.S. return and FBAR	Often a dual-status year

The year-end adjustment on your last paycheck

According to Japan’s National Tax Agency (NTA), an employee transferred abroad for a planned period of one year or more generally becomes a nonresident; under one year, the employee generally stays a resident. A nonresident’s pay for work done abroad is, in principle, not taxed in Japan. So your employer runs the year-end adjustment when it pays your last salary as a resident, if you filed the dependent deduction form and your pay for the year is 20 million yen or less.

• Insurance premium deductions cover only premiums paid up to the day you leave.
• Spouse and dependent deductions are judged as of departure, using an estimate of the family member’s income for the full year.
• The medical expense deduction requires a tax return. Furusato nozei is also claimed on a return unless you use the one-stop exception.
• A bonus paid in Japan after you leave is subject to 20.42% withholding on the part that relates to work performed in Japan.

That bonus matters in the U.S. too. The IRS says that during the part of the year you are a U.S. resident, foreign-source income you receive is taxable. Keep the pay slip and withholding record; Japanese income tax may qualify for the foreign tax credit on Form 1116.

If you must file in Japan: tax agent or final return

Situation	With a tax agent	Without a tax agent
Pay over 20 million yen, or certain other income	File through the agent between Feb 16 and Mar 15 of the next year	File a final return and pay by the time you leave
You keep renting out property in Japan	Report resident-period income plus later rent next spring, then file every year	File before leaving, but the later rent still needs an agent
You want a medical expense or furusato nozei refund	Claim it next spring through the agent	Claim it on the final return

To appoint an agent, file the tax agent notification for income tax and consumption tax with the tax office for your place of tax payment, by your departure date, through e-Tax or on paper. The agent may be an individual or a company in Japan. Since January 2022, if you need to file but have not appointed an agent, the tax office may ask you in writing to appoint one and can designate certain related parties in Japan as a “specified tax agent.”

Estimated tax (yotei nozei) requires people whose estimated tax base (generally last year’s tax due on the return) is 150,000 yen or more to prepay part of this year’s tax in July and November. Guidance from the Tokyo Regional Taxation Bureau says this applies in the year you move abroad whether or not you have income that year. You can apply for a reduction if your expected tax drops.

Resident tax and the January 1 rule

Resident tax is assessed by the municipality where you had your address on January 1, based on the prior year’s income (Local Tax Act Articles 313 and 318). An address generally means registration in the basic resident register.

Fiscal year	Based on	If you leave in October 2026
FY2026	2025 income	Assessed; you must pay even after leaving
FY2027	2026 income	Not assessed if you have no resident registration in Japan on January 1, 2027

Employees normally have resident tax withheld from June through the next May. When your pay stops between June 1 and December 31, the rest can be taken in one lump sum from your final pay if you ask and the pay covers it; otherwise you pay by bill. Between January 1 and April 30, the balance is taken in a lump sum when the final pay covers it (Local Tax Act Article 321-5). A resident-tax agent is reported to the municipality separately from the income tax agent (Article 300).

Example: Your FY2026 resident tax is 360,000 yen (30,000 yen a month) and your Japanese pay stops after October 2026. Seven months remain: 30,000 x 7 = 210,000 yen. If your October pay exceeds that, you can ask for a lump-sum deduction; otherwise your agent pays the bills. With no registration on January 1, 2027, no FY2027 tax is assessed on your January to October 2026 salary.

Furusato nozei in the year you leave

According to Japan’s Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, when you claim furusato nozei on a return, the income tax portion reduces that year’s income tax and the resident tax portion reduces the next fiscal year’s resident tax. Under the one-stop exception (for people who do not file a return and donate to five or fewer municipalities), the whole amount reduces next year’s resident tax. If no resident tax is assessed next year, that portion has nothing to reduce. If you file a final return or a return through your agent, include the donations on it; the income tax portion still works.

Example (simplified): a 50,000 yen donation at a 10.21% income tax rate (including the reconstruction surtax). Income tax portion: 48,000 x 10.21% = about 4,900 yen. Resident tax portions: 48,000 x 10% = 4,800 yen, plus 48,000 x (100% – 10% – 10.21%) = about 38,300 yen. Normally your cost is 2,000 yen; without next year’s resident tax, about 43,100 yen is lost and your real cost is about 45,100 yen.

If you have investments: exit tax, NISA, and iDeCo

Exit tax. If you leave holding securities and similar assets worth 100 million yen or more, and you generally lived in Japan for more than five of the last ten years, Japan taxes the unrealized gain as if you sold at departure. With a tax agent and collateral, you can defer the tax for five years (up to ten), and it can be cancelled if you return in time. See Navigating Japan’s Exit Tax and US Dual-Status Filing.

NISA. If you leave temporarily because of an employer transfer order or similar reason, file a continuation notice with your brokerage by the day before departure to keep existing holdings tax-free in Japan. No new purchases are allowed while abroad. The return notice is due by December 31 of the year that includes the date five years after the continuation notice. Otherwise, the account is treated as closed when you leave.

iDeCo. Since May 2022, people living abroad can participate if they voluntarily enroll in the National Pension. For the U.S. treatment of NISA and iDeCo, including PFIC rules, see Japanese NISA and iDeCo are Taxable in the US.

Records to gather for your first U.S. return

The IRS says you are dual-status when you are both a U.S. resident and a nonresident in the same year, most often in the years of arrival and departure. For the resident part, you are taxed on income from all sources; foreign-source income received while a nonresident that is not connected with a U.S. business is not taxable. You cannot use the standard deduction on a dual-status return.

Record	U.S. use
Departure-year withholding slip	Splitting income between resident and nonresident periods
Pay slips for Japanese pay or bonuses received after you move	Reporting that income and the foreign tax credit (Form 1116)
Japanese bank and brokerage statements, including NISA	FBAR (over $10,000 total at any time) and Form 8938 (unmarried, living in the U.S.: over $50,000 at year-end or $75,000 at any time)
Purchase dates and cost of stocks and funds	Gain or loss on sale; PFIC calculations
Property records, lease, and Japanese returns	Reporting rent and claiming credit for Japanese tax

For the arrival-year return, see Navigating Dual-Status Tax Filing for US Arrival and Departure Years.

FAQ

If my employer does the year-end adjustment, do I still file in Japan?

Generally not, if salary is your only income. You do need to file if you earn over 20 million yen, rent out property in Japan, or want the medical expense or furusato nozei deduction.

Can a family member be my tax agent?

Yes. Any individual or company with an address or residence in Japan who can handle the matters may serve. File the notification by your departure date.

What if my assignment is under a year?

You generally remain a Japanese resident, and the year-end adjustment happens in December as usual. U.S. residency follows separate rules, such as days of presence.

A resident tax bill arrived after I left. Must I pay?

Yes, if you had an address in Japan on January 1 of that year. Pay it through your agent if it was not settled by payroll.

At CLT NY INC., an IRS Enrolled Agent handles arrival-year dual-status returns and the U.S. reporting of Japanese income and accounts, in English or Japanese. Contact us.

Related articles

• Expat’s Essential Guide: Navigating Dual-Status Tax Filing for US Arrival & Departure Years
• When is Residence Tax Paid? Understanding the Timing Differences Between US State Tax and Japanese Local Tax
• Navigating Japan’s Exit Tax and US Dual-Status Filing: Complexities and the Standard Deduction Trap for Mid-Year Returns
• Are NISA and iDeCo Taxable in the U.S.? The Crucial Differences in Tax-Advantaged Investment Accounts Between Japan and the U.S.
• Form 8938 vs. FBAR (FinCEN Form 114): Thresholds, Covered Assets, Deadlines and Penalties Compared [2026]
• 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

Sources: NTA No.2517; NTA No.1920; NTA No.1926; NTA procedure A1-7 (tax agent); NTA No.2040 (estimated tax); Tokyo Regional Taxation Bureau departure flow; NTA No.1120; NTA No.1478 (exit tax); Local Tax Act; Special Taxation Measures Act Art. 37-14; Act on General Rules for National Taxes Art. 117; MIC: furusato nozei deductions; MIC: one-stop exception; FSA NISA FAQ; MHLW: iDeCo reform; IRS: Taxation of dual-status individuals; IRS: FBAR; IRS: Do I need to file Form 8938?; IRS: Foreign Tax Credit. Information as of October 2026. This article provides general information and is not individual tax advice.