Asia · East Asia
Japan
A superb place to live and an actively hostile place to hold wealth: J-Skip can give a senior executive permanent residency in a single year, and Japanese inheritance tax can then take 55% of a global estate that has nothing to do with Japan.
Tax position
- Income tax (top)
- 45% national income tax plus 10% local inhabitant tax and a 2.1% surtax on the national tax — an effective top marginal rate of roughly 55%
- Capital gains
- 20.315% on listed securities and most financial assets (15% national + 0.315% reconstruction surtax + 5% local); 39.63% on short-held real property, 20.315% on long-held
- Wealth tax
- none
- Inheritance tax
- Up to 55% — and the exposure reaches worldwide assets far more readily than most families expect. See the dedicated inheritance tax entry; this is the single most important fact on this page for a UHNW family.
- Special regime
- Non-permanent residents (non-Japanese nationals resident 5 years or less in the preceding 10) are taxed on Japan-source income plus foreign-source income remitted to Japan — a genuine remittance basis, but it expires and it does NOT protect against inheritance tax.
- Territorial
- No — worldwide income taxed
- CFC rules
- Yes
- Exit tax
- Yes — leaving has a cost
- CRS
- Participating
5 routes into Japan
Is Japan actually right for your family?
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