We gather data objectively from the latest available sources and share what we find useful.
We hope it helps anyone looking for a home in Japan, or considering a business built around property.
You can buy without living in Japan or holding a Japanese bank account. Plan the transfer early, report the purchase within 20 days, and expect the tax you actually pay to be far lower than the headline rates suggest.
Moving the Money In
How the money travels
- Send the balance days ahead, not on the day. Any bank on the way may pause it.
- Give your bank a copy of the contract before you wire. It answers most questions.
- Add a margin for fees and for the exchange rate on the day it arrives.
Cross-border payments over JPY 30 million are subject to a report under the Foreign Exchange Act, usually submitted through the bank handling the transfer. Ask the bank what it needs.
Two Filings That Changed in 2026
Around your settlement day
- Since Apr 1, 2026New ruleThe purchase report is required whatever the purpose, including your own home
- Since Oct 5, 2026New ruleIndividual buyers state their nationality when ownership is registered
- Your settlement dayRegistrationThe judicial scrivener files it; bring the identity documents they ask for
- Within 20 daysReport to the Ministry of FinanceThrough the Bank of Japan. Your broker can file it for you, online
Neither changes what you may buy. Japan has no restriction by nationality or residence; both are about knowing who owns what.
Nationality is recorded as search information, not printed on the register, and Japanese buyers state it too. Leasehold rights acquired for your own home are still outside the report; a building on that land is not.
Tax While You Own It
One year in Tokyo’s 23 wards
- Property tax instalment (the bill arrives in June)
- Tax return, Feb 16 – Mar 15, if the property earns rent
Property tax: what 1.7% really means
About 0.35% of the price a year. The tax is charged on an official value well below the price, and the land under a home is taxed on one-sixth of it.
Illustration: a JPY 100 million condominium in central Tokyo with an official value of JPY 50 million (land 35, building 15), as in our buying-costs article. Tokyo’s 23 wards also halve the city planning tax on this land.
If you let it: 20.42% is held back, not owed
Worked example: costs of JPY 2.19M a year
The tax rate applies to the profit left after all costs and depreciation, not to the rent. On that profit it starts at 5% and rises as the profit grows. If the rent is your only income in Japan, it stays in the lowest bands, so the tax actually due is about 0–3% of the rent. The rest of the 20.42% comes back.
Rates on the taxed amount, not on the rent
this example
The taxed amount is the yearly profit after costs, depreciation and the basic deduction. Each rate applies only to the part inside its band, plus a 2.1% surtax on the tax. No local tax while you live abroad.
Percentages of a year’s rent. Assumes JPY 330,000 a month from a company (JPY 3.96M a year), no other income in Japan and 2026 rates. The 0–3% range covers yearly costs of about JPY 1.2–3.4M, including depreciation. A tenant renting it as their own home does not withhold. More on renting
The tax representative (nozei kanrinin) is notified to both the national tax office and the local tax office. Without it, notices and refunds have nowhere to go.
When You Sell
Example: a JPY 100 million sale by a non-resident
0%of the price in tax
2.3%of the price in tax
4.6%of the price in tax
- Tax you owe
- Refunded after the return, to an account in Japan (yours or your tax representative’s)
10.21% is held back, but in these examples the tax is 0–5% of the price. The rest is a deposit that comes back.
Illustration only: gain after purchase and selling costs and depreciation, held more than 5 years (15.315%). A very large gain can mean paying more than was withheld.
Keep your purchase contract and receipts until you sell. Without them, the cost is treated as 5% of the sale price and the tax rises sharply.
The gain is the price less the purchase cost, buying and selling costs, and depreciation on the building. If it was your own home before you moved abroad, a JPY 30 million deduction may still apply when it is sold by December 31 of the third year after you moved out. Your home country may also tax the gain; ask an adviser there before you sign. From 2027, part of the reconstruction surtax becomes a defence surtax, with the combined rate unchanged.
The Whole Journey
Buy
- ContractDeposit paid
- Days before settlementBalance sent
- SettlementRegistered, with nationality
- Within 20 daysReport to the Ministry of Finance
Own
- Soon afterTax representative notified
- Every Jan 1Owner liable for property tax
- Jun · Sep · Dec · FebProperty tax paid
- Feb 16 – Mar 15Tax return, if let
Sell
- Settlement10.21% held back by the buyer
- Next Feb 16 – Mar 15Tax return on the gain
- After the returnRefund to an account in Japan, or more to pay
We are a brokerage, not tax accountants, so we do not prepare returns. We are glad to walk you through the timing around your purchase and point you to the right professional. Email us.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need a Japanese bank account to buy property in Japan?
No. Most overseas buyers pay in cash, wired from a bank at home. The deposit can be held by a third-party escrow service or by the brokerage, and the balance goes to the seller's account on the settlement day. Send the balance well before that date, because banks may stop an international transfer to ask about its purpose; a copy of the sales contract answers most of those questions.
Do non-residents have to report a property purchase in Japan?
Yes. A non-resident who acquires Japanese real estate reports it to the Minister of Finance, through the Bank of Japan, within 20 days under the Foreign Exchange Act. For acquisitions on or after April 1, 2026 the report is required whatever the purpose, including a home for yourself or your family. A resident agent such as the broker can file it, online if preferred.
Do I have to state my nationality when registering property in Japan?
Yes, from October 5, 2026. Individuals registered as a new owner state their nationality when the transfer is filed, with supporting documents. It is recorded as search information rather than printed on the register, applies to Japanese buyers too, and the judicial scrivener handling the registration prepares it.
What taxes does an overseas owner pay every year on Japanese property?
Fixed asset tax, and in most cities a city planning tax, paid by whoever is the registered owner on January 1. In Tokyo's 23 wards the rates are 1.4% and 0.3% of the taxable value set by the local government, which for homes is reduced and well below the price. The bill arrives in June and is payable in four instalments. An owner living abroad notifies a tax representative in Japan to the national and local tax offices to receive notices and handle payments. If the property is let, a tax return is filed in Japan each year between February 16 and March 15.
How much tax is withheld when a non-resident sells property in Japan?
The buyer withholds 10.21% of the price and pays it to the tax office, unless the buyer is an individual purchasing a home for themselves or their family at JPY 100 million or less. The withholding is a prepayment: the tax on the gain is settled by a Japanese return the following spring, at 15.315% for property held more than five years on January 1 of the year of sale or 30.63% for five years or less, and the difference is refunded to an account in Japan (the seller's own or their tax representative's) or paid. Inhabitant tax is not charged if the seller has no address in Japan on January 1 of the following year.
How much tax does a non-resident actually pay on Japanese property?
Usually far less than the headline rates. In an illustration for a JPY 100 million Tokyo condominium, yearly property tax is about 0.35% of the price, not 1.7%. If it is let to a company at JPY 330,000 a month, 20.42% of the rent is withheld but the tax due after costs is usually about 0–3% of the rent for an owner with no other income in Japan, and the rest comes back after the return. The rate applies to the profit left after costs, depreciation and the basic deduction, not to the rent; it starts at 5% and rises with income, up to 45%. On a JPY 100 million sale, 10.21% is held back, while the tax on a gain of JPY 0, 15 million or 30 million is 0%, 2.3% or 4.6% of the price. Local inhabitant tax is not charged while you have no address in Japan.
Sources
General information only, not legal, tax or investment advice.