SORABYCO | Life in Japan

One of the first things that caught me off guard after moving from Korea to Japan was my payslip. At the time, I had only been working in Japan for a short period, so I assumed most of the money deducted from my salary was simply income tax. Then I noticed a separate item for resident tax. My immediate reaction was: “Wait, there’s another tax?” The amount looked significant when it appeared alongside health insurance and pension contributions. I later realized that what confused me most was not necessarily how much I was paying, but why the deduction appeared and how it was calculated. What Is Resident Tax in Japan? Resident tax is a local tax paid to the prefecture and municipality where you live. It is separate from national income tax and is generally calculated using your income from the previous calendar year. In other words, income earned in one year affects the local tax charged in the following year. Income Earned Resident Tax Paid 2025 2026 2026 2027 The exact amount depends o...

When I first started reading about taxes in Japan, I was not planning to launch a serious side business. I simply wanted to know what would happen if my blog, YouTube channel, or affiliate links eventually earned money. During my research, however, I kept seeing the same warning: “Your company will find out through resident tax.” That made me wonder whether filing a tax return automatically reveals everything to an employer. After looking more closely at how Japanese resident tax works, I learned that the answer is not quite that simple. Does Your Employer Automatically Know About a Side Job? Having additional income does not automatically mean that your employer will know exactly what you are doing. The more important question is whether your company permits outside work. Some employers allow side businesses, while others require advance permission or restrict them under their employment rules. Before starting freelance work, blogging, online sales, or another paid activity, it is wor...