If Staying in Japan on a Digital Nomad Visa, What Happens to the Taxes to Pay in Japan?

”Not all those who wander are lost.” ― J.R.R. Tolkien

Hello, my name is Taisei Koshida, and I am a certified public accountant and tax accountant.

I aim to assist non-Japanese business owners who need help with reading or writing in Japanese. If you find the Japanese tax return system challenging, I can help you with your tax filings.

A digital nomad visa started on April 1, 2024. While the National Tax Agency in Japan has not released anything about it now, I will explain the taxes associated with staying on a digital nomad visa in Japan under ordinal Japanese tax laws. The qualifications for a digital nomad visa are not described here because I am not a specialist in visas.

The detailed information for getting a digital nomad visa is below, as declared by the Immigration Service Agency.

https://www.moj.go.jp/isa/applications/status/designatedactivities10_00001.html

1. If You Are an Employee of Abroad Companies

If your resident country and Japan contract a tax treaty of short-time stay exemption, you do not need to pay taxes to the Japanese Government if you meet the conditions below.

①　Working for abroad companies as an employee

②　The duration of staying in Japan is under six months

③　Aborad companies paying salary

According to the Immigration Service Agency’s site, the countries that have concluded this tax treaty with Japan are below.

Iceland, Ireland, United States of America, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, Israel, Italy, Indonesia, Uruguay, stonia, Australia, Austria, Netherlands, Qatar, Canada, Croatia, Singapore, Switzerland, Sweden, Spain, Slovakia, Slovenia, Serbia, Thailand, Czech Republic, Chile, Denmark, Germany, Turkey, New Zealand, Norway, Hungary, Finland, France, Brazil, Bulgaria, Brunei Darussalam, Brunei Darussalam, Poland, Portugal, Malaysia, Mexico, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, uxembourg, Korea, Hong Kong and Taiwan.

2. If You are a Sole Proprietor

The result depends on a tax treaty between your resident country and Japan.

3. If You are a Director of Companies

Regardless of the existence of the exemption for short-stay visitors of tax treaties, if you are a company director, the exception for short-term visitors is not applicable to you. To begin with, the qualification for a digital nomad visa seems to be applied only to employees and sole proprietors.

If you would like to know about its details, the following may be helpful.

Can Companies’s Directors Get a Digital Nomad Visa of Japan?

Feel free to ask us if you’d like to know about applying in detail to tax treaties. We will do research for 100 dollars.

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