Does a tax agent in Japan need a qualification, and can a company act as one? — The notification you file by the day you leave

A tax agent in Japan (nozei kanrinin) needs no qualification. Anyone who has an address or a place of residence in Japan and is conveniently placed to handle the work may serve — an individual or a company (Act on General Rules for National Taxes, Article 117, paragraph 1). File by the day you leave. File it, and you have not made a "departure" under the tax law: your return is due on the ordinary deadline the following year.

This page is for people who are still in Japan and who need to notify a tax agent by the day they leave. If you want to compare the options for who to ask, or if you plan to let the property or keep it rather than sell, see What to do with your home in Japan while you live overseas for tax agents and withholding on rent. If you already live overseas and are considering a sale, see A guide to selling Japanese real estate for overseas owners. The sale process itself before departure is set out in our feature on selling property before leaving Japan.

Last updated: 1 September 2026

What does a tax agent in Japan actually do?

They are your point of contact in Japan for dealings with the Japanese tax office. Article 117, paragraph 1 of the Act on General Rules for National Taxes provides that where an individual taxpayer does not have — or will cease to have — an address and a place of residence in Japan, and it is necessary to file tax returns or otherwise handle matters concerning national taxes, that taxpayer must appoint a tax agent.

"Will cease to have" — in other words, the rule catches you while you are still in Japan. It is not something to be dealt with after you have gone.

The National Tax Agency's circular divides the work into four categories (Basic Circular on the Act on General Rules for National Taxes, Article 117, Item 2).

#	Scope of the work
(1)	Preparing and submitting returns, applications, claims, notifications and other documents under the national tax laws
(2)	Receiving documents issued to the taxpayer by the District Director of the tax office or others, and forwarding them to the taxpayer
(3)	Receiving documents that the taxpayer submits to the District Director of the tax office or others, and submitting them to that office
(4)	Paying national taxes and receiving refunds

The same circular carries a note: "a tax agent may not handle only some of the matters listed in (1) to (4) above" (except where a designated tax agent is involved). Anyone taking the role has to be set up to take on all four together. Taking on "just receiving the documents" is not an option. This note is what leads to the section below on why Yotsuba Real Estate does not take the role.

Note also that even once the notification has been filed, the final tax return itself is still submitted to the District Director of the tax office with jurisdiction over the place of tax payment of the non-resident (that is, a non-resident for Japanese tax purposes). What the notification changes is that documents sent out by the tax office go to the tax agent instead (National Tax Agency, Taxanswer No.1923).

Is a qualification required?

No. What the statute asks for is not a qualification but two things only (Act on General Rules for National Taxes, Article 117, paragraph 1).

Requirement	How the statute puts it
Being in Japan	a person who has an address or a place of residence in the area in which this Act is in force
Being in a position to handle the work	a person who is conveniently placed to handle the matter in question

You do not have to be a licensed tax accountant (zeirishi), an attorney, or a Real Estate Transaction Specialist (takken-shi). The National Tax Agency states plainly that "a tax agent may be either a corporation or an individual" (Taxanswer No.1923).

The circular does add, however, that the taxpayer should be required to appoint someone whose address is, so far as possible, within the area covered by the tax office having jurisdiction over the taxpayer's place of tax payment (same circular, Article 117, Item 3). For a property in Bunkyo-ku, the point is simply that the work runs more smoothly if the person is based in or near Bunkyo-ku.

Can a company act as one — and, if so, why does Yotsuba Real Estate not take the role?

It can. The National Tax Agency says so expressly: "either a corporation or an individual" (Taxanswer No.1923, based on the laws and regulations in force as at 1 April Reiwa 7 (2025)).

Asking a company removes the weak points of asking an individual.

Point	Asking an individual (a relative or friend)	Asking a company
Death of the appointee, or the start of guardianship	The tax agent's authority is extinguished (Civil Code, Articles 111 and 653; same circular, Article 117, Item 4)	Unaffected by any individual's life or death
Moving house, or loss of contact	Documents from the tax office stop arriving	They continue to arrive at the business address
Keeping track of deadlines	A burden on your family	Managed as part of the business

With that said, we should be plain about our own position. Yotsuba Real Estate Co., Ltd. does not accept appointment as a tax agent.

The reason lies in the scope of the work. As set out above, a tax agent's work includes (1) preparing and submitting tax documents, and the circular says that only part of the work cannot be handled. Preparing tax documents, meanwhile, is the work of a licensed tax accountant (Certified Public Tax Accountant Act, Article 2, paragraph 1, item 2 and Article 52).

Put those two together, and an arrangement in which this company — which is not a licensed tax accountant — takes on the role of tax agent leaves points we cannot fully resolve. We do not say "we will take this on" while those points remain unresolved. That is our position. For the tax agent role, we introduce you to a licensed tax accountant.

A practical note for readers. If you come across an offer that includes "we can act as your tax agent too", check separately whether it covers the preparation of tax documents. If it does, it is worth also asking how a licensed tax accountant is involved.

By when, and where, do you file?

Item	Details
Name of the form	Notification of appointment or dismissal of a tax agent for income tax and consumption tax
When to file	When you appoint a tax agent, or by the day you leave Japan
Where to file	The District Director of the tax office with jurisdiction over your place of tax payment
How to file	Prepared and transmitted with the e-Tax software. It may also be delivered or posted on paper
Attachments	If filed through e-Tax, no identity documents need be presented or attached. If filed on paper with your My Number entered on it, identity documents must be presented or a copy attached
Statutory basis	Act on General Rules for National Taxes, Article 117
Fee payable to the tax office	None

(National Tax Agency, "A1-7 Procedure for notification of the appointment or dismissal of a tax agent for income tax and consumption tax")

The order matters. Notification of the tax agent → moving-out notification to your municipal office → departure. If you file the moving-out notification first and your residence record is closed, confirming the place of tax payment for the form takes extra work. Once the completion date for the sale is fixed, work backwards so that the notification falls between the completion date and the date you leave.

What happens if you do not file?

Three things. They get heavier in turn.

1. That year's return has to be completed by the time you leave

The Income Tax Act defines "departure from Japan" as ceasing to have an address and a place of residence in Japan without having filed the notification under Article 117, paragraph 2 of the Act on General Rules for National Taxes (Income Tax Act, Article 2, paragraph 1, item 42). Read the other way round: if you file the notification, you have not made a "departure" for the purposes of the tax law.

That definition is what drives the following two provisions.

Provision	Content
Income Tax Act, Article 127, paragraph 1	Where a resident departs from Japan part-way through the year and is required to file a final tax return for income arising from 1 January of that year to the time of departure, the return must be filed by the time of that departure
Income Tax Act, Article 126, paragraph 1	Where a resident who must file a final tax return for the previous year departs from Japan between 1 January of the following year and the filing deadline, the return must be filed by the time of that departure

That applies squarely to anyone selling a property and leaving. If you have filed the notification, the final tax return for capital gains is due on the ordinary deadline, 16 February to 15 March of the following year. If you have not, both the return and the payment have to be completed by the time you leave. On a schedule where you fly out shortly after completion, that is simply not achievable.

2. The tax office asks you in writing to file

Where no notification has been filed, the Regional Commissioner or the District Director of the tax office with jurisdiction over your place of tax payment may specify the matters they consider a tax agent needs to handle (the "specified matters") and require you in writing to file the notification by a date they designate, no more than 60 days ahead (Act on General Rules for National Taxes, Article 117, paragraph 3).

3. The tax office can designate your relative or your business counterparty as your tax agent

This is the part that is not widely known. If no notification is filed by the designated date, the District Director of the tax office or others may ask in writing a person who has an address or place of residence in Japan and is conveniently placed to handle the specified matters — a domestic convenience party — to become the tax agent (same Article, paragraph 4). And even where that person does not agree, the following may be designated as a designated tax agent (same Article, paragraph 5).

Persons who may be designated where the taxpayer is an individual
A spouse or other relative sharing the same household who has reached the age of majority
A person in a close contractual relationship with regard to the facts underlying the calculation of the tax base or the tax amount
A business operator providing a venue for transactions carried on continuously or repeatedly, including transactions conducted using an electronic data processing system

This was added by the Reiwa 3 (2021) tax reform and applies from 1 January Reiwa 4 (2022).

So if you leave without filing, your tax contact point in Japan may end up landing on family members who remain here, or on people you have done business with. That is what filing a single form is worth.

What does it cost?

Here is the whole picture first. Because we do not take the tax agent role, none of the tax accountant's fees below become income for us. That is precisely why we set the going rates out openly.

Item	Who you pay	Guide price
Serving as tax agent	Licensed tax accountant	around JPY 50,000–60,000 a year (before tax). Some firms price it as a package with the final tax return, from JPY 165,000 (including tax)
Preparing the notification of appointment or dismissal of a tax agent	Licensed tax accountant	around JPY 10,000 (before tax). Some firms include it in the fee for serving
Final tax return for capital gains	Licensed tax accountant	Some firms use a guide of 0.7–1% of the sale proceeds; others charge a flat fee of around JPY 50,000 (before tax). It varies with the number of properties and with whether the JPY 30 million special deduction and the acquisition cost need to be examined
Registration of transfer of ownership	Judicial scrivener (shiho-shoshi)	Depends on the property and on the content of the registration
Brokerage on the sale	Yotsuba Real Estate Co., Ltd.	Within the statutory cap under the Real Estate Brokerage Act (sale price x 3% + JPY 60,000 + consumption tax)
Consultation, approaching buying companies, reporting the offers	Yotsuba Real Estate Co., Ltd.	Free
Introductions to a licensed tax accountant or a judicial scrivener	Yotsuba Real Estate Co., Ltd.	Free. We receive no referral fee

The guide prices for tax accountants' fees are drawn from the fee schedules published by individual firms as at August 2026. Actual amounts vary by firm and by case, so always obtain a quotation before you engage anyone. The final tax return for capital gains in particular varies widely between firms charging a flat fee and firms charging in proportion to the sale proceeds. Checking first spares you a surprise after completion.

What does Yotsuba Real Estate do in all this?

Here are the roles, kept separate.

Who	What
Yotsuba Real Estate Co., Ltd.	Brokerage on the sale. Scheduling worked backwards from your departure date. Coordinating the order of the completion date and the notification. Introductions to a licensed tax accountant and a judicial scrivener. Communication in Japanese, English and Chinese (traditional and simplified)
A licensed tax accountant, with whom you contract directly	Serving as tax agent. Preparing and filing the notification of appointment or dismissal. Calculating capital gains, filing the final tax return, paying the tax
A judicial scrivener, with whom you contract directly	Applying for the registration of transfer of ownership

Each is a separate business and a separate contract. We introduce you to licensed tax accountants, judicial scriveners and attorneys on the basis that you contract with them directly, and we receive no referral fee.

Set out in order of time, it looks like this.

Stage	Who	What happens
Enquiry to valuation	Yotsuba Real Estate	Working backwards from your departure date to fix the completion date and the filing date
Before completion	You and the licensed tax accountant	You engage the tax accountant. The notification of appointment is prepared and filed with the tax office by the day you leave
Completion day	Yotsuba Real Estate and the judicial scrivener	Receipt of funds is confirmed and the registration applied for the same day
Completion day	You and the licensed tax accountant	Decide where the money for the tax is to be held
After departure	Licensed tax accountant	Receives documents from the tax office and contacts you
16 February – 15 March the following year	Licensed tax accountant	Files the final tax return for capital gains and pays the tax. Anything withheld at source is settled here
When you return to Japan	You and the licensed tax accountant	File the notification of dismissal

Decide where the money for the tax will be held before you leave. If it turns into "please send the funds" after you have gone, an international transfer takes days and loses value on the exchange rate. Missing the payment deadline gives rise to delinquent tax. The safest course is to settle it with your tax accountant at completion.

What do you do when you come back to Japan?

When you return and become a resident again, you have to file notification of dismissal. You submit the same form used for the appointment — the notification of appointment or dismissal of a tax agent for income tax and consumption tax — to the District Director of the tax office with jurisdiction over your place of tax payment (National Tax Agency, Taxanswer No.1923).

If you change your tax agent, that takes two forms: one dismissing the tax agent already notified, and one appointing the new tax agent (same source). It is not a single form that overwrites the first.

In what cases can we not take the work on?

For pre-departure sales, there are five cases we do not take on. Pushing ahead in these tends to leave you worse off.

#	Case we cannot take on	Reason
1	You have already left Japan	Identity checks and documents have to cross borders, and things such as a signature certificate from a Japanese embassy or consulate become necessary
2	Less than two weeks before you leave	There is physically not enough time for the buyer's funding and the preparation of the registration
3	Property outside the Greater Tokyo area, or in an area where prices are unstable	We cannot get several buying companies to compete within a short period
4	Property with complicated rights (many co-owners, undetermined boundaries, inheritance not registered, and so on)	The tidying-up will not be finished by completion
5	Property with a home loan still outstanding	Redemption and the cancellation of the mortgage need the lender's own processing time (usually two weeks to a month)

If your case falls into one of these, we will look at the other routes with you — letting the property, selling after you have left, or keeping it — rather than forcing a sale at short notice.

What this article is based on

Point	Source
The duty to appoint a tax agent, and the requirements (a person with an address or place of residence in Japan who is conveniently placed to handle the work)	Act on General Rules for National Taxes (Act No. 66 of Showa 37 (1962)), Article 117, paragraph 1. Last amended 31 March Reiwa 4 (2022)
The duty to file, where to file (the District Director of the tax office with jurisdiction over the place of tax payment), and the same for dismissal	Same Act, Article 117, paragraph 2
The request to file where no notification has been made (in writing, by a date designated no more than 60 days ahead)	Same Act, Article 117, paragraph 3. Reiwa 3 (2021) tax reform; applies from 1 January Reiwa 4 (2022)
Asking a domestic convenience party to become the tax agent	Same Act, Article 117, paragraph 4. Applies from 1 January Reiwa 4 (2022)
Designation of a designated tax agent (a spouse or other adult relative / a person in a close contractual relationship / a business operator providing a venue for transactions)	Same Act, Article 117, paragraph 5. Applies from 1 January Reiwa 4 (2022)
The scope of a tax agent's work (four categories), the rule that only part of it cannot be handled, appointment from within the area of the place of tax payment, and extinction of authority	Basic Circular on the Act on General Rules for National Taxes (Collection Division), Article 117, Items 2, 3 and 4
That a tax agent may be a corporation or an individual; where the final tax return is filed; and that a change requires two forms, dismissal and appointment	National Tax Agency, Taxanswer No.1923, "Working overseas and the appointment or dismissal of a tax agent" (based on the laws and regulations in force as at 1 April Reiwa 7 (2025))
The name of the form, when to file (when the tax agent is appointed, or by the day of departure), how to file, where to file, and the statutory basis	National Tax Agency, "A1-7 Procedure for notification of the appointment or dismissal of a tax agent for income tax and consumption tax"
"Departure from Japan" under the Income Tax Act = ceasing to have an address and a place of residence in Japan without filing notification of a tax agent	Income Tax Act (Act No. 33 of Showa 40 (1965)), Article 2, paragraph 1, item 42
The final tax return where a person departs part-way through the year (by the time of departure)	Income Tax Act, Article 127, paragraph 1. Last amended 31 March Reiwa 4 (2022)
The final tax return where a person required to file departs from Japan (by the time of departure)	Income Tax Act, Article 126, paragraph 1
The work of a licensed tax accountant (items (i) to (iii)), and the prohibition on that work being carried on by persons who are not licensed tax accountants or tax accountant corporations	Certified Public Tax Accountant Act (Act No. 237 of Showa 26 (1951)), Article 2, paragraph 1, items 1, 2 and 3, and Article 52
Grounds on which an agent's authority is extinguished	Civil Code, Articles 111 and 653
Withholding at source (10.21%) when buying property from a non-resident, and the exception to it	Income Tax Act, Article 161, paragraph 1, item 5 and Article 212, paragraph 1; Act on Special Measures for Securing Financial Resources for Reconstruction, Article 28; Order for Enforcement of the Income Tax Act, Article 281-3; National Tax Agency, Taxanswer No.2879
The cap on brokerage commission	Real Estate Brokerage Act, Articles 34-2 and 46, and the public notice on commission
Guide prices for tax accountants' fees	A survey of the fee schedules published by individual tax accountancy firms as at August 2026. This is not a recommendation of any particular firm

This page provides general information only. Individual tax judgements are made by a licensed tax accountant. The provisions that apply and the conclusions reached vary with individual circumstances.

Real estate brokerage is handled by Yotsuba Real Estate Co., Ltd. (Real Estate Brokerage Business Licence, Governor of Tokyo (1) No. 113304), and the preparation of documents for licence and permit applications by Yotsuba Administrative Scrivener Office (gyosei-shoshi), under a separate contract in each case. For the tax agent role and tax matters we introduce you to a licensed tax accountant, for registrations to a judicial scrivener, and for disputes to an attorney, and you contract with each of them directly. We receive no referral fee.

About the author Joji Uramatsu | Representative Director of Yotsuba Real Estate Co., Ltd. and its full-time Real Estate Transaction Specialist (takken-shi). Administrative scrivener. Former China Bureau Chief of the Mainichi Shimbun, with 34 years as a journalist; posted to China, Taiwan and Thailand in that role. Passed the Certified Social Insurance and Labour Consultant examination (practice scheduled to open September 2026).

Related links

• Feature: selling your property before you leave Japan
• What to do with your home in Japan while you live overseas (letting it, keeping it)
• A guide to selling Japanese real estate for overseas owners (for those already living abroad)
• Contact us