Do I have to file at home while living in Japan?
For most people the answer turns on whether the ties that made them resident have actually ended. For a US citizen or green-card holder it does not: the return is due in Japan exactly as it would be at home. Everything else on the file follows from which of those you are.
Is there a treaty between my country and Japan?
Possibly, and the version in force for your year is the one that matters — protocols and multilateral-instrument positions change what a treaty does without changing its name. We check it against the authority rather than a summary. Where no treaty applies, domestic relief takes over.
I own property in Japan. Where is the rent taxed?
Where the property is. That is close to universal, and it usually arrives as withholding on the gross rent rather than as a return on the profit — which is why the election onto a net basis, where Japan offers one, is normally the first thing to check. Your home country taxes the same rent and credits what was paid.
I work from Japan for a Canadian employer — who taxes my salary?
Employment income is generally taxed where the duties are performed, so sitting at a desk in Japan usually moves the source of the pay to Japan even though the employer, the contract and the payroll have not changed. The treaty in force for your year contains a short-stay exception, which turns on how long you are there, who really bears the cost of your employment and whether the employer has a taxable presence in Japan. Where the exception does not apply, Japan taxes the salary and your home country either releases it or gives credit, depending on whether your residence there ended.
Does my employer have to withhold Japanese tax on my pay?
Possibly, and it is the employer's problem as much as yours, which is why it is worth raising early rather than after the first year. Where the income becomes taxable in Japan, there is usually a collection mechanism, either through a payroll registration by the employer or through the employee filing and paying directly. Which of those applies depends on whether the employer has a presence in Japan. Meanwhile the home payroll often keeps deducting as though nothing has changed, so the same salary is being taxed twice in real time and only unwound at the end of the year.
Am I creating a taxable presence in Japan for my employer?
It is the right question to ask, and it is not answered by your job title. What matters is what you actually do from Japan: an employee performing support or development work is a different case from one who negotiates and habitually plays the principal role leading to the conclusion of contracts, which is the language the treaties use. A fixed place of business at your disposal for the employer's activity is the other route to the same conclusion. Get the facts described in writing while they are fresh, because this is usually reviewed years later from thin evidence.
I am freelancing from Japan for clients abroad — where do I pay?
As a self-employed person your profits generally follow you rather than your clients, so work carried out while you are living in Japan is ordinarily within the Japanese charge regardless of where the invoices are sent or which bank receives them. Your home country then taxes the same profits if your residence there continued, with credit for the Japanese tax, or does not if it ended. Keep the contracts, a record of where each engagement was performed and your invoices in one place; the location of the work, not the location of the client, is what you will be asked to evidence.
Do I keep paying home payroll deductions while living in Japan?
Income tax deductions and social contributions are separate questions and they often have different answers, so treat them separately. Income tax withholding should follow where the income is taxable, which may no longer be home. Social security is governed by whatever agreement exists between the two countries, which can allow contributions to continue in the home system for a posting of limited duration, with a certificate to prove it. Getting the certificate before you go is far simpler than establishing the position afterwards, and it also prevents duplicate contributions that are painful to recover.
My employer agreed to let me work from Japan — what do I file?
Start with the residence question, because everything else follows from it. If your ties at home end, you file a part-year return there for the departure year and then report in Japan. If they do not end, you keep filing at home on worldwide income and credit the Japanese tax. Then deal with the Japanese side, where the non-permanent and permanent resident distinction limits the foreign income within the charge for an initial period, so the length of the arrangement changes the taxable base. Settle both before the arrangement starts, not at the first filing deadline.
How do I claim the foreign tax credit?
You report the foreign income, the foreign tax paid on it and the category it falls into, then compute the limit — the credit cannot exceed your own country's tax on that same income. You need evidence the foreign tax was actually paid or accrued, not merely withheld on paper. The form differs by country: Form 1116 in the US, T2209 and T2036 in Canada, Form 67 in India, and the Indian form must be filed before the return. See Form 1116.
I work remotely from another country for a company back home — who taxes me?
Usually the country you are physically in, because employment income is generally sourced where the work is done, with your residence country taxing it as well if you are resident there and giving credit. Three things follow: your employer may acquire withholding and social security obligations where you sit, a treaty tie-breaker may be needed if both countries call you resident, and a short trip that becomes a long stay can cross a residence threshold nobody was watching. See remote workers and digital nomads.
