HolderTax / Japan
Jurisdiction · Schedule H–JP · tax year 2026
Japan
Comprehensive taxation up to 55.945% still fully alive — while a 20.315% flat regime is already enacted law. Japan is the rare country running two tax systems at once: which one applies to you is decided by an effective date, and by the route your sale takes.
Filing window16 February – 15 March 2027 (for 2026)
Current position
The schedule.
Status marks: — settled in practice, ! watch (moving or commonly misapplied), ? unresolved. All lines are a working draft pending licensed review.
Schedule H · Part IClassification, rates, taxable events, methods, reform and deadlines
FORM H–JP / 2026
STATUS: WORKING REVIEW| Line | Position | Current treatment | What it means | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Classification | Miscellaneous income · comprehensive | Aggregated with salary into progressive rates. A different world from equities' flat tax — for now. | — |
| 02 | Rate | Up to 55.945% | 45% income tax + 10% inhabitant tax + 0.945% reconstruction surtax. The larger the gain, the closer to world-leading weight. | ! |
| 03 | Swaps & spending | Taxable events | BTC to ETH, or paying with crypto — gains crystallise without yen ever moving. | — |
| 04 | Staking etc. | Taxed at market value on receipt | Staking rewards, lending interest, airdrops enter as income on the day received; later moves are separate gains. | — |
| 05 | The ¥200,000 rule | Employee no-filing band · income tax only | Misc income under ¥200,000 skips the income-tax return — but inhabitant-tax duties remain, and any return filed for other reasons must include it. | ! |
| 06 | Losses | No cross-offset · no carryforward | Offset only inside miscellaneous income; nothing against salary or equities, and nothing across New Year — under current law. | ! |
| 07 | Cost method | Total average (moving average by election) | Without a filed notification, total average applies. A chosen method locks for three years in principle. | — |
| 08 | Move to 20.315% | Enacted · applies from 2028 at the earliest | The amended Income Tax Act passed on 31 March 2026. It applies from 1 January of the year after the amended FIEA takes effect. | ! |
| 09 | The route decides | Domestic exchange = flat · foreign/DEX = progressive | The new regime covers only specified cryptoassets sold through registered domestic dealers. The same coin splits between 20% and 55% by where you sell it. | ! |
| 10 | DeFi · NFTs | Case by case · circulars pending | Liquidity provision, NFTs — and whether niche tokens qualify as "specified" under the new regime — await cabinet orders and NTA guidance. | ? |
| 11 | Collection | Seizure rules · from 1 April 2027 | Cryptoassets become clearly seizable property, in step with their reclassification as financial instruments. | — |
| 12 | Data · inquiries | Payment records · dealer inquiries · global exchange | Domestic exchanges file payment records; tax offices hold inquiry powers over dealers; cross-border automatic exchange keeps widening. | ! |
| 13 | Filing | 16 February – 15 March | Reported as miscellaneous income on the annual return; the cost-method notification shares the same deadline. | — |
| 14 | Records | Per transaction · yen values · all exchanges | Timestamps, quantities, yen conversions, fees. The NTA's calculation sheets are built around the total-average method. | — |
Working draft · all 14 lines pending licensed review · sign-off dates will appear per lineStart with lines 02 and 06 →
Otazune inquiryA written inquiry about your transactionsAdministrative guidance, not an audit — meaning the voluntary-correction door is still open. Check every year before answering.Window still open
Audit pre-noticeA tax audit is announcedPenalty treatment transforms across this line. From here, every filing is built with a professional.The watershed
Tax auditAn examination is underwayEverything submitted and said goes on the record. Representation first, answers second.In progress
No letter yetThe zero-penalty routeAmend voluntarily before the pre-notice and the underreporting surcharge is waived. Time is literally the price.Voluntary
Published pages · Japan
Read in the order trouble arrives.
Rule
Miscellaneous income and 55.945%
How the progression stacks, the ¥200,000 half-exemption, and losses that die on 31 December.
→ AnalysisThe move to 20.315%
An enacted law, a 2028 clock — and a design where the selling route picks your rate.
→ LetterOtazune and the pre-notice
Administrative guidance versus audit — and which line, once crossed, makes surcharges jump.
→ DecisionThe voluntary amended return
Before the pre-notice: zero surcharge. Japan's correction system is not mercy — it is timing.
→