It's (not quite) tax time! Tips for Japan 🇯🇵 & Taiwan 🇹🇼

Hello from Taiwan 🇹🇼! There was a bit of delay in writing a new article as I was traveling back to the US for Thanksgiving in November. I’m now settling in, having rented an apartment for at least a year in Taipei with a few friends. I intend to write about the process of finding and renting an apartment in Taiwan in a future article! This time will mostly be tax tips 💸, somewhat relevant as the end of the year is coming up (though filing season won’t be for a few months).

Table of Contents

• Filing US (and foreign country taxes) as an Expat

  • Japan-Specific Tax Services 🇯🇵

  • Taiwan-Specific Tax Services 🇹🇼

  • General Expat Tax Services

• Filing an Amended or Late Japanese Tax Return

  • Filing an Amended Tax Return (修正申告)

  • Addendum on foreign addresses

Woodstock - invest in the US stock market from Japan

Living in Japan and want to invest in the US stock market with some added social twists? You can try Woodstock (disclaimer: referral link, also I’m friends with the founder). You can win up to 10,000 yen of free stock when you sign up! Use referral code brian when signing up (this is my co-founder friend’s code).

Unfortunately, you need a valid MyNumber card to sign up, which I don’t have as I moved out of Japan.

Filing US (and foreign country taxes) as an Expat

Navigating taxes while living abroad is no small task, especially when you need to file in multiple countries with different systems. US taxes are notoriously tedious and adding in the extra factor of living in another country makes things even more complicated. Finding a reliable accountant who understands both US and foreign tax laws can make the process much smoother. Here are services I recommend based on personal experience and recommendations from fellow expats:

Japan-Specific Tax Services 🇯🇵

FreedomTax handles both US and Japan tax filings with helpful and responsive support. They charge $299 USD per filing (either US or Japan) and offer comprehensive services for those needing filings on both sides. I found this to be one of the cheaper services while still providing quality support. I personally used their services for my US return this year, and they seamlessly incorporated information from my Japan tax return into my US return.

📧 Referral Offer: Contact me at [email protected] for a referral and get $50 off your filing fee.

Taiwan-Specific Tax Services 🇹🇼

For official help, the National Taxation Bureau (財政部) provides free professional taxation consultation sessions in English and Japanese. You can reach them at (02) 2311-3711 ext 1116. During tax season, there are dedicated English-language counters for tax filing at National Taxation Bureau offices in major cities.

For professional help, although I have not used their services personally, I’ve received recommendations for these firms from other expats:

• Del Sol CPA & Associates
  This firm offers accounting services tailored to expatriates, including U.S. and Taiwan tax filings, company setup, and financial planning services. They have an English and Chinese bilingual team.

• Peter Tseng CPA Firm
  This firm provides U.S filing services only. From the latest information they charge $750 USD for federal returns and $150 USD for state returns. This is somewhat pricier than other options, though they offer a free 30-minute consultation.

• USTAX Service
  Offers quick and reliable U.S. tax filing services, with English-speaking staff.

General Expat Tax Services

These firms don’t specialize in any specific country, but provide support for US expats living across the world.

• Greenback Tax Services
  Specializes in U.S. taxes and works with expats worldwide. They are experienced with expat-specific situations and come highly recommended, though they are slightly more expensive.

• Bright!Tax
  Focuses on U.S. expatriate tax preparation.

• Tax Samaritan
  Offers guidance on U.S. expat taxes, including overviews of local tax environments and assistance with compliance for U.S. filings.

• Taxes From Abroad

💡 Tips for Filing:
No matter which service you choose, remember that much of the preparation involves organizing your own documents. Additionally, it’s always a good idea to double-check their work to ensure everything aligns with your records.

Filing an Amended or Late Japanese Tax Return

Doing taxes is complicated all around the world, and Japan is no exception. You can read my previous tips on how to file your tax return. Although most people with only salary income don’t have to file an individual tax return in Japan, for those with other types of income or say, donated to Furusato Nozei (ふるさと納税) over the one-stop limit, they would still have to file an individual return. What should you do if you discover errors on your return? First, this is the official FAQ from the National Tax Agency (English PDF version).

In my case, I didn’t receive any normal salary income in 2023, only equity income from a liquidity event from my former employer. Thus I did not receive a 源泉徴収票 (gensen choshu hyo) for that income, and no pension or health insurance payments were withheld - instead I paid those myself. I realized half a year later that I had forgotten to report those social insurance payments and I was likely to be owed tax back.

Before the March 15 Deadline

If you catch the mistake before the March 15 deadline, simply use the normal e-Tax filing website to refile your return. Your previous submission will be discarded and only your latest filing will be considered.

After the March 15 Deadline with a previously filed return

If the filing deadline has passed and you’ve already submitted your return, do not use the normal filing tool to submit a new return. The tax office has already considered your final submission before the deadline as valid, and will send you a letter asking you to withdraw your newly submitted return.

Instead, you need to file an amended return (修正申告, shūsei shinkoku). This is very similar to filing a normal return, but in a slightly different system.

Filing after the March 15 Deadline

Even if you missed the filing deadline, you can still submit your tax return through the normal process, it will just be considered a late return. Keep in mind that late filing may result in penalties for underpayment, as detailed in this overview of delinquent taxes by the NTA.

Filing an Amended Tax Return (修正申告)

I will detail some of the critical steps for this process.

1. Visit the Official Tax Return Preparation Corner

2. Choose the Correct Link

   

   1. Under the 提出した申告書に誤りがあった場合 (If there is an error in the tax return you submitted) section:

      • To create a new amended return, click:

        新規に更正の請求書・修正申告書を作成する (shinki ni kōseinoseikyū-sho shūsei shinkoku-sho o sakusei suru), which means “create a new amended tax return.”

        • This will ask you to login, either using your MyNumber card, digital certificate, or ID and password.

      • To resume editing a previously saved draft amended return (.data file), click:

        更正の請求書・修正申告書の作成を再開する (kōseinoseikyū-sho shūsei shinkoku-sho no sakusei o saikai suru), which means “resume preparation of amended tax return.”

e-Tax may show you recommended OS versions and browsers (Safari on Mac), but I had no problem with Chrome. Unlike some parts of the e-Tax system, there’s no issue with having your computer’s system locale set to English.

On the above screen, you pick which type of return you are amending and what year. Regular income tax (所得税の更正の請求書・修正申告書, shotoku zei no kōseinoseikyū-sho shūsei shinkoku-sho) is the top selection.

On the next screen, you can load the ‘.data’ file from your previous tax filing - this is easiest. Otherwise you have to input all the data from your previous filing from scratch. The next screens look very similar to the normal tax filing process where you input data in various categories.

It will shows a screen with the before and after summary and what the changes in tax are.

On this screen you need to put in what return you are amending as well the reason for the amendment.

1. 確定申告 (Kakutei Shinkoku) refers to a final/regular tax return. Use this option if the claim relates to your original tax return, typically filed by the normal deadline (March 15 for individual income tax).

2. 修正申告 (Shūsei Shinkoku) refers to an amended tax return. Choose this if you previously filed a return and are now making corrections to that original submission.

If you are submitting a claim based on your original return and you haven’t filed any corrections or amendments before, select 確定申告. If your claim relates to a revised or amended return, then choose 修正申告.

If you’re uncertain about your filing history or which one applies, you can confirm your past filings with the tax office or through the e-Tax system.

If your amended tax return results in additional taxes owed, you may incur an under-reporting penalty. This penalty is calculated under the same rules as those for filing late or failing to file, as outlined here.

Addendum on foreign addresses

Say you are no longer living in Japan (I personally moved to Taiwan end of 2023). How do you input a foreign address into eTax?

Postal Code (郵便番号)

Since foreign addresses don't have Japanese postal codes, you can typically input 000-0000 as a placeholder or some systems might also allow leaving it blank.

Prefecture (都道府県):

Select 東京都 (Tokyo) or another placeholder prefecture if required. This is often a workaround for the system limitation.

City, Town, and Block (市区町村 and 町名・番地):

Input your foreign address in romaji (e.g., 123 Main Street, New York, USA) in this section.

Building Name and Room Number (建物名・号室):

Add further details about your address, such as the apartment or suite number, if applicable.

Japan tech opportunities 🇯🇵

Here are some interesting opportunities that I came across recently. If your organization would like to list your positions here, please reach out at [email protected]

Bloomberg is a global leader in financial software, data, and media.
Role: Reliability Engineer (Tokyo, Japan)
Details: Join a team of engineers driving reliability for real-time data systems ingesting 400B+ data points daily, and ensuring market data is distributed quickly, reliably, and at scale.
Apply here

Abbeal is a software consultancy company
Role: Junior to Senior Backend Engineers
Details: Work on a large-scale system architecture refresh project. Modernize backend systems to meet technical and business needs using frameworks like Spring Boot. Japanese/English bilingual skills are a plus but not required.
Contact: Reach out for more details

Amptalk is a startup focused on improving developer experience.
Role: Junior Platform Engineer ()
Details: Improve development workflows, CI/CD pipelines, and shared tools for the engineering team. Hybrid work setup, flextime, and visa support for overseas candidates. No Japanese required.
Apply here

PubteX is a startup innovating in data management and analytics.
Role: Data Engineer
Details: Join a startup-like team with reasonable deadlines, a supportive work environment, and good people. Requirements include solid programming skills and a background in data engineering. Competitive salary, WeWork office, high-end equipment, and an overall positive atmosphere. Japanese Fluency Required
Apply here

Conclusions

Tax season is coming up next year, it’s good to be prepared. Hopefully this information here was useful for your upcoming planning. You can always reach out at [email protected] for comments or questions! Remember, you can also support this publication by becoming a paid subscriber or a Patreon!