Japanese inheritance tax for foreign nationals
Who pays, what property is taxed, and the 10-month deadline
Japanese inheritance tax is charged when the total value of what heirs inherit exceeds the basic exemption. For foreign nationals, whether only property in Japan or worldwide property is taxed depends on where the heirs and the deceased lived and on their status of residence.
Checked against National Tax Agency pages in October 2026
Key points
- Basic exemption: 30 million yen + 6 million yen × the number of statutory heirs
- The return and payment are due within 10 months from the day after you learned of the death
- Heirs without an address in Japan appoint a tax agent
This site is mainly in Japanese. English pages: When a family member dies in Japan ・ Heirs living outside Japan ・ Japanese inheritance tax for foreign nationals. Easy Japanese: やさしい日本語
What property is taxed
- Heirs living in Japan: property anywhere in the world is taxed. But a temporary resident who inherits from a foreign decedent or a non-resident decedent is taxed only on property in Japan
- Heirs living outside Japan: Japanese citizens who lived in Japan within the last 10 years are taxed on worldwide property. Others are taxed on worldwide property too, unless the deceased was a foreign decedent or a non-resident decedent, in which case only property in Japan is taxed
- Temporary resident: someone with a status of residence in Appended Table I of the Immigration Control Act (for example a work visa) who lived in Japan for 10 years or less in total during the last 15 years
- Foreign decedent: a deceased person who had a Table I status of residence and lived in Japan at the time of death
- Non-resident decedent: a deceased person who lived outside Japan at the time of death and either had not lived in Japan in the last 10 years, or had lived in Japan in that period only as a non-Japanese national
The details are on the National Tax Agency page on inheritance tax (English). People temporarily away from Japan, for example studying abroad, are treated as living in Japan.
Where property is located
Real estate is located where it lies, bank deposits at the branch that holds them, shares at the head office of the company, and insurance money at the head office of the insurer (National Tax Agency, in Japanese).
Filing and paying
- The return and payment are due within 10 months from the day after you learned of the death. File at the tax office for the deceased person's address, not your own
- If you do not live in Japan, appoint a tax agent and submit a notification of tax agent to the tax office (National Tax Agency, in Japanese)
- You can pay from abroad by credit card, by remittance in yen (contact the Tokyo Regional Taxation Bureau first), or through your tax agent (National Tax Agency, in Japanese)
- Who inherits and their shares follow the law of the deceased person's nationality, but the total inheritance tax is calculated with the heirs and shares under the Japanese Civil Code
FAQ
I live abroad and inherited from a parent in Japan. Do I pay Japanese inheritance tax?
It depends on your nationality, where you and the deceased lived, and for how long. At least property located in Japan, such as land in Japan or deposits at a Japanese branch, is subject to Japanese inheritance tax if the total exceeds the basic exemption.
Who files the return if I do not live in Japan?
Appoint a tax agent (nozei kanrinin) in Japan and notify the tax office. The agent receives documents and can file and pay for you.
Is there a tax treaty?
Japan has an inheritance tax treaty with the United States. If you paid a similar tax abroad, a foreign tax credit may reduce the Japanese tax.
このページの更新日：