In order to apply for Permanent Residence status, extension of period of stay, etc., Japan requires you to submit a certificate of Taxation and a certificate of Tax payment (however, when it comes to application for extension of period of stay, certain people are not required to submit it). These tax documents are issued by a ward office where you have registered your residency. A certificate of Taxation shows your gross annual income for the previous year and the amount of municipal tax that has been imposed based on that previous year’s income. For example, once you file a tax of 2019 time period (1/1/2019-31/12/2019) a ward office will fix the amount of municipal tax which you are going to pay in 2020 and give you a notice around May or June. You can opt to devide the payment into four smaller payments due in June, August, October 2020 and January 2021. Or you may pay it all at once. A certificate of Tax Payment shows the paid amount and unpaid amount of municipal tax based on a certificate of Taxation. If you are a Full-time employee, your company may deduct municipal tax from your salary and pay it for you (special correction). One important note is these tax documents can be issued by a ward office where you have registered your residency as of 1st January.
One confusing issue with this process is Japan is still using an Era naming system to count years (based on how many years the current emperor has been in their position) and their fiscal year starts from 1st April an ends on 31st March. 2020 is 2nd year of Reiwa Era and most of public documents are using this Japanese Era naming convention. So if you are trying to obtain your Taxation and Tax Payment certificate for 2020, which shows the amount of municipal tax you are going to pay in 2020 based on income of previous year, those documents are called Certificate of fiscal 2nd year of REIWA era (令和2年度課税/納税証明書).
Example
– Certificate of fiscal 2nd year of REIWA/fiscal year 2020 (showing income of 2019) can be issued by a ward office where you have registered as of 1st Jan 2020
– Certificate of fiscal 1st year of REIWA or 31st year of HEISEI/fiscal year 2019 (showing income of 2018) can be issued by a ward office where you have registered as of 1st Jan 2019
– Certificate of fiscal 30th year of HEISEI/fiscal year 2018 (showing income of 2017) can be issued by a ward office where you have registered as of 1st Jan 2018
In order to apply for Permanent Residence status it is mandatory to submit Taxation certificate and Tax payment certificate for the past 5 years or 3 years (depends on your current status of residence). In the case where you change your registration during those 5 years or 3 years you may need to go to a ward Office where you have registered before, to obtain those tax documents. In the case where your multiple tax is not deducted from your salary and you are paying by yourself (ordinary collection), you need to submit documents to prove that you have been paying your municipal tax on time. (such as receipts, copy of your bank book). Any delay could be used as justification to deny your permanent resident application.
Japanese words you may need to know
A certificate of Taxation: 課税証明書
A certificate of Tax payment: 納税証明書
A ward office: 市役所・区役所
Special collection: 特別徴収
Ordinally collection: 普通徴収
