Japan Exit Tax (Kokugai Tenshutsuji Kazei): ¥100M Portfolio Rules

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Japan’s exit tax (Kokugai Tenshutsuji Kazei 国外転出時課税) treats certain residents who leave the country as if they had sold or settled their securities on the way out, and taxes the unrealized gain as income (Income Tax Act Art. 60-2).¹² It applies only when your covered assets total ¥100 million or more and you had a domicile or residence in Japan for more than 5 of the past 10 years, with periods under work and other Appended Table 1 visa statuses left out of the count for foreign residents.²³ This guide covers the tests, the two filing routes, deferral with collateral, and how the tax can be cancelled or reduced later.

Where this fits in your move: the master relocation framework and the guide on temporary absence versus emigration both include a short exit tax screening question, and this article is the full reference behind it. When you become a non-resident in general is covered in the guide on Japan tax residency rules.

Core Statutory Mechanism: Deemed Sale of Financial Assets Upon Departure

What “Departure” Means: Ceasing to Have a Domicile or Residence in Japan

A “departure” (Kokugai Tenshutsu 国外転出) means ceasing to have both a domicile (Jusho 住所) and a residence (Kyosho 居所) in Japan.¹² The test is your status for income tax purposes, which is explained in the guide on Japan tax residency rules.

Filing a moving-out notification at city hall is not the legal trigger. The Tenshutsu-todoke (転出届) updates your resident register (Juminhyo 住民票), but the statute looks only at domicile and residence.¹² The two usually coincide, but only your tax status decides the exit tax.

The Deemed Transfer at Fair Value and How the Gain Is Taxed

At the moment of departure, covered securities and Tokumei Kumiai interests are deemed transferred at their value, and open margin trades and derivative positions are deemed settled.² The gain (value minus acquisition cost), or the profit on deemed settlement, is added to your departure-year income as business, transfer or miscellaneous income depending on the asset.⁴

For shares, investment trusts and bonds, the rate is generally 15.315%: 15% income tax plus a reconstruction special income tax (Fukko Tokubetsu Shotokuzei 復興特別所得税) of 2.1% of that income tax (0.315 points), under the separate taxation regime (as of October 2026).⁵⁶ Tokumei Kumiai interests are not in the statutory list of shares and similar instruments, and derivatives outside the listed futures-type contracts may also fall under progressive comprehensive taxation.⁵ NTA states no rate per asset class on its exit tax pages, so holders of these assets should have a Zeirishi (税理士, certified tax accountant) confirm the treatment.¹

Resident tax (Juminzei 住民税) is not charged on the deemed gain. Local Tax Act Art. 32(2) (prefectural) and Art. 313(2) (municipal) state that the inhabitant tax income computation does not follow Income Tax Act Articles 60-2 to 60-4.⁷ Figures such as 20.315%, which add a 5% local tax, overstate the exit tax rate.

The rate split changes from 2027 income, but the total does not. The FY2026 tax reform, enacted on 31 March 2026, cuts the reconstruction surtax to 1.1% of base income tax (now running to 2047) and adds a defense special income tax (Boei Tokubetsu Shotokuzei 防衛特別所得税) of 1% for income arising on or after 1 January 2027, so the headline stays 15.315% (as of October 2026).⁸⁹¹⁰ Departures in 2026 use the 2.1% surtax, which is also the only rate Tax Answer 1478 currently shows.¹⁶

Assets at a loss still matter. Covered assets standing at an unrealized loss count toward the ¥100 million total, and listed shares deemed sold under the exit tax are eligible for the listed-share loss offset and 3-year carryforward rules.¹¹¹

The exit tax was created by the 2015 tax reform and applies to departures, gifts, inheritances and bequests on or after 1 July 2015.¹¹² The core provisions are Income Tax Act Art. 60-2 (departure), Art. 60-3 (gifts and inheritances to non-residents), Art. 137-2 and Art. 137-3 (deferral), and Art. 151-2, Art. 153-2, Art. 153-3 and Art. 153-6 (corrections after departure), supported by Enforcement Order Art. 170 and Art. 170-2.²³ Art. 60-4 is the mirror rule for people who arrive in Japan after paying a foreign exit tax.²

The Three Trigger Tests: Portfolio Threshold, Asset Classes, and Residency History

All three tests must be met. The statute writes the first and third as exclusions: no exit tax if covered assets total under ¥100 million, or if the qualifying period is 5 years or less.²

Test 1: Covered Assets Total ¥100 Million or More

The threshold is ¥100 million or more (1億円以上) in total covered assets across your whole portfolio, not per asset (as of October 2026).¹² Holdings at foreign brokerages, positions at a loss, and NISA holdings all count.¹¹⁴ Open margin and derivative positions enter at the profit or loss if settled.¹

The measurement date is the same as the valuation date for the gain. If the return is filed after departure (the tax agent route), the value at departure applies; if the quasi-final return is filed before departure, the value on the corresponding calendar date 3 months before the scheduled departure applies (NTA’s example: 14 July gives 14 April), and that date also sets the ¥100 million test.¹¹² Assets acquired after that date enter at acquisition-time value, and foreign-currency securities are converted at the TTM mid-rate on the valuation date.¹¹

Test 2: The Asset Is a Covered Financial Asset

Only listed asset types count: securities, Tokumei Kumiai interests, open margin and when-issued trades, and open derivative positions.¹ The next section sorts common holdings into and out of that list.

Test 3: More Than 5 Years of Domicile or Residence in the Last 10 Years

You must have had a domicile or residence in Japan for more than 5 years in total within the 10 years before the departure date.¹² The statutory exclusion covers “5 years or less”, so exactly 5 years does not meet the test.² Foreign residents subtract periods spent under Appended Table 1 visa statuses, as explained below.³

Time abroad under an earlier exit tax deferral counts as time in Japan. Enforcement Order Art. 170(3) treats those deferral periods as domestic periods, so years spent abroad while a previous exit tax was deferred still count toward the test on a later departure.⁴³

Eligibility Flowchart

flowchart TD
    A{"Leaving Japan and losing both domicile and residence?"}
    A -- "No" --> X["Exit tax does not apply (other departure tax filings may still apply)"]
    A -- "Yes" --> B{"Covered assets total ¥100M or more (value at departure, or 3 months before if filing before departure)?"}
    B -- "No" --> X
    B -- "Yes" --> C{"More than 5 years of domicile or residence in the last 10 years (Table 1 visa periods excluded)?"}
    C -- "No" --> X
    C -- "Yes" --> D["Exit tax applies"]
    D --> E{"Tax agent notified to the tax office by departure?"}
    E -- "Yes" --> F["Route A: final return by 15 March of the next year; deferral with collateral possible"]
    E -- "No" --> G["Route B: quasi-final return and payment by departure; no deferral"]

Covered Assets vs. Exempt Assets (Securities vs. Real Estate and Cash)

Covered: Shares, Bonds, Investment Trusts, Tokumei Kumiai Interests, Margin and Derivative Positions

Covered assets fall into three groups under Art. 60-2 and NTA’s FAQ.¹¹²

Securities and Tokumei Kumiai interests (有価証券等): listed and unlisted shares, investment trusts and ETFs, bonds, and contribution interests in an anonymous partnership (Tokumei Kumiai 匿名組合).
Unsettled margin and when-issued trades (未決済信用取引等): valued at the profit or loss if settled.
Unsettled derivatives (未決済デリバティブ取引): futures, options and similar contracts, also valued at the profit or loss if settled.

Unlisted shares are fully covered, which makes founders and early employees a core audience.¹¹ NTA’s valuation order is a recent arm’s-length trade price, otherwise a price by reference to comparable companies, otherwise a value considering net assets per share and other factors.¹¹ This is specialist work for a Zeirishi.

Not Covered: Real Estate, Cash and Deposits, and Other Assets

Real estate, cash and bank deposits are not in the statutory list, so they neither count toward ¥100 million nor generate a deemed gain.¹² NTA publishes no separate list of excluded assets, so check the legal form of any unusual holding before treating it as outside the rule.

Spot crypto assets appear to fall outside the current rule, because they are not securities and are not among the listed types (as of October 2026).¹³ A National Tax College paper (the author’s personal view, not an NTA ruling) reached the same conclusion while arguing crypto should be added, and the FY2026 reform’s crypto measures do not amend the exit tax.¹⁴¹³ Crypto derivatives or crypto funds may be treated differently, so confirm your position with a tax professional.

Special Cases: Stock Options, Restricted Stock, NISA and Unlisted Founder Shares

The stock option exclusion is narrow. Only two kinds of rights are excluded, and only where they would produce domestic-source employment-type income: specified restricted shares whose transfer restriction has not yet been lifted, and stock option rights taxed on exercise under Enforcement Order Art. 84(3), including tax-qualified stock options.¹¹²³

Shares you already hold after exercise or vesting are ordinary covered securities. Options or restricted shares that would produce foreign-source income appear not to be excluded either, so equity compensation from a foreign parent company needs careful review with a Zeirishi.³

NISA holdings count toward the ¥100 million threshold.¹¹ NTA does not state whether a taxable deemed gain arises on them; the NISA rules suggest the gain up to the valuation date may be sheltered, but that is an inference from the statutes rather than official guidance.⁵¹⁵ Ask a Zeirishi how your NISA gain is treated; what happens to the NISA account itself is covered in the guide on keeping Japanese bank and brokerage accounts after moving abroad.

Comparison Table: Asset Class / Counts Toward ¥100M? / Gain Taxed? / Notes

Asset	Counts toward ¥100M?	Deemed gain taxed?	Notes
Listed shares, ETFs, REIT units	Yes	Yes, generally 15.315%	Listed-share loss offset available¹¹¹
Unlisted shares	Yes	Yes, generally 15.315%	Valuation per NTA methods; use a Zeirishi¹¹
Investment trusts	Yes	Yes	¹¹
Bonds	Yes	Yes, if there is a gain	¹¹⁴
Tokumei Kumiai interests	Yes	Yes; rate category not stated by NTA	May be taxed at progressive rates⁵
Open margin and when-issued trades	Yes, at profit or loss	Yes	¹
Open derivatives	Yes, at profit or loss	Yes; 15.315% only for listed futures-type contracts	Others may be taxed at progressive rates¹⁵
Excluded stock options and unvested restricted shares (domestic-source)	No	No	Narrow exclusion³
NISA holdings	Yes	Not stated by NTA	Ask a Zeirishi¹¹¹⁵
Holdings at foreign brokerages	Yes	Yes	Worldwide holdings count¹¹
Real estate, cash, deposits	No	No	Not listed asset types²
Spot crypto	Appears not	Appears not	Current law only; confirm with a tax professional¹³

The 5-Out-of-10-Year Test: Why Visa Category Matters for Foreign Residents

Periods Under Appended Table 1 Statuses Are Excluded

Periods of stay under any Appended Table 1 status are excluded from the count (Enforcement Order Art. 170(3)).³ Appended Table 1 of the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act (出入国管理及び難民認定法別表第一) covers activity-based statuses such as Engineer/Specialist in Humanities/International Services, Intra-company Transferee, Business Manager, Highly Skilled Professional, Professor, Student and Dependent.¹¹¹⁶ The Order refers to Table 1 as a whole, so all five parts of the table are covered.³¹⁶

It is periods that are excluded, not people. There is no “Table 1 exemption” for a person: someone who switches to Permanent Resident is counted from that change.³ The same exclusion applies to the gift and inheritance triggers.¹¹

Periods Under Appended Table 2 Statuses Count (PR, Spouse of Japanese, Long-Term Resident)

Appended Table 2 lists four statuses, and time under each of them counts: Permanent Resident (永住者), Spouse or Child of Japanese National (日本人の配偶者等), Spouse or Child of Permanent Resident (永住者の配偶者等) and Long-Term Resident (定住者).¹⁶ Switching from a work visa to one of these statuses starts the clock.¹¹³ For Japanese citizens no exclusion applies, so every year of domicile or residence counts.³

The 2015 Transitional Rule and Why It Rarely Matters in 2026

A transitional rule also excluded Table 2 periods up to 30 June 2015.¹¹¹⁷ For departures after about 1 July 2025 the 10-year look-back starts after 30 June 2015, so the rule no longer changes anyone’s count; an October 2026 departure looks back to October 2016.²¹⁷

Worked Examples: Three Residence Histories

These illustrative histories assume a departure in October 2026 with covered assets of ¥100 million or more; real cases need exact dates from immigration and residence records.²³

Person	History in the 10 years before departure	Counted period	Test met?
(a) Japanese citizen	10 years living in Japan	10 years	Yes
(b) Foreign national	7 years as Engineer/Specialist in Humanities/International Services, then 3 years as Permanent Resident	3 years	No
(c) Foreign national	4 years on a work visa, then 6 years as Spouse of Japanese National	6 years	Yes

Person (b) is not safe indefinitely. If they stay on as a Permanent Resident until that status covers more than 5 years of the 10-year window, the test is met on a later departure.²³

Filing Deadlines: Final Tax Return Prior to Departure vs. Tax Representative Filing

Route A: With a Tax Agent (Nohzei Kanrinin) Notified Before Departure

If you notify a tax agent (Nohzei Kanrinin 納税管理人) to the tax office by the time you depart, you file the normal final return (Kakutei Shinkoku 確定申告) for the departure year between 16 February and 15 March of the following year, including the exit tax income, and pay by the same deadline.¹¹¹ Assets are valued, and the ¥100 million test is applied, at the time of departure.² The agent appointment itself is covered in the guide on appointing a tax agent.

Assets sold between departure and the filing deadline cannot be deferred, but if the sale price was below the departure value, the lower price can be used in the return.¹¹² Moving sale proceeds abroad, and the CRS reporting that can follow, are covered in the guide on international money transfers from Japan.

Route B: No Tax Agent: Quasi-Final Return by Departure

Without an agent, you file a quasi-final return (Junkakutei Shinkoku 準確定申告) covering 1 January to departure, and pay, by the time you leave.¹¹¹ Because this return is filed before departure, assets are valued on the date 3 months before the scheduled departure, with later acquisitions at acquisition value.¹¹² The quasi-final return in general is covered in the guide on Japan tax residency rules.

Route B closes several doors: no deferral, no value-fall reductions and no Art. 95-2 foreign tax credit, although cancellation on return remains available.⁴² If no agent is notified and the return is filed late after departure, or assessed, the departure-date value applies; that is a late-filing outcome, not a planning option.²

Point	Route A: agent notified by departure	Route B: quasi-final return before departure
Return	Final return for the departure year	Quasi-final return, 1 January to departure
Filing and payment deadline	15 March of the following year	By departure
Valuation and ¥100M test date	Departure	Corresponding date 3 months before scheduled departure
Deferral with collateral	Available	Not available
Value-fall reductions and Art. 95-2 credit	With deferral, or for sales before the filing deadline	Not available
Cancellation on return	Available	Available

Required Schedules and Forms

NTA publishes a dedicated form set for the exit tax (as of October 2026).¹⁸ The core items are:

Covered asset schedule: 国外転出等の時に譲渡又は決済があったものとみなされる対象資産の明細書（兼納税猶予の特例の適用を受ける場合の対象資産の明細書）《確定申告書付表》, with separate versions for departure, gifts and inheritances.
Deferred tax calculation: 国外転出をする場合の譲渡所得等の特例等に係る納税猶予分の所得税及び復興特別所得税の額の計算書.
Continuation notice: 国外転出をする場合の譲渡所得等の特例等に係る納税猶予の継続適用届出書, with its asset schedule attachment.
Tax agent notification: 所得税・消費税の納税管理人の選任・解任届出書, with an exit tax attachment.

The same page carries the extension notice, the partial acceleration statement, the withdrawal form and the collateral documents (担保提供書, 担保目録), and the usual share gains, futures income and foreign tax credit schedules apply where relevant.¹⁸ NTA’s leaflet for departing people gives a short overview, but download current versions from the forms page at filing time.¹⁹¹⁸

Exit Tax Timeline: T-12 Months to Final Return

When	Action
T-12 to T-6 months	Inventory covered assets worldwide, gather acquisition costs, rebuild your visa and residence history, engage a Zeirishi
T-6 to T-3 months	Decide the filing route and whether to defer; arrange collateral and choose a tax agent
T-3 months	Route B valuation and threshold date (the corresponding calendar date)¹¹
By departure	Route A: agent notification filed with the tax office. Route B: quasi-final return filed and tax paid¹
16 February to 15 March of the following year	Route A: final return and payment, or deferral election with attachments and collateral¹¹¹
Each 15 March during deferral	Continuation notice for assets held on 31 December²
By the 5th anniversary of departure	Extension notice if you want the 10-year period²
5 years 4 months (or 10 years 4 months) after departure	Deferred tax plus interest tax due¹¹

Deferral Mechanisms: Posting Collateral (Tanpo) for a 5-to-10-Year Grace Period

Conditions: Tax Agent, Election on the Return, Attachments, and Collateral

Deferral (Nohzei Yuyo 納税猶予) postpones the exit tax on assets you still hold at the return deadline.² Four conditions apply under Art. 137-2.¹²

A tax agent notified to the tax office by departure.
The deferral election stated on the final return.
Attachments, including the covered asset schedule and the deferred tax calculation.
Collateral (Tanpo 担保) covering the deferred tax plus interest tax, provided by the return deadline.

Acceptable collateral includes real estate, national and local government bonds, and securities or guarantors the tax office director considers secure; a corporate guarantee must be within the company’s purposes and properly approved.¹¹ Under a special procedure, unlisted shares of companies that issue no share certificates and interests in partnership-type companies (合名・合資・合同会社) can also be pledged, subject to conditions.¹¹²

The collateral must cover interest tax for the full period, from the statutory due date to 5 years 4 months after departure (10 years 4 months if extended).¹¹ Signers abroad can use a consular or foreign notary signature certificate in place of a seal certificate.¹¹

5 Years, Extendable to 10, and Interest Tax

The deferral runs until 4 months after the 5th anniversary of departure, which NTA describes as 5 years 4 months.¹¹² Filing an extension notice by the 5-year date stretches it to 10 years 4 months.¹¹² It can end sooner if you return to Japan or another event occurs.²

Interest tax (Rishizei 利子税) accrues on the deferred amount and is paid with the tax when the deferral ends.¹ The statutory 7.3% per year is reduced each year to a special base rate: 0.9% for 2022 to 2025 and 1.3% for 2026 (as of October 2026).²⁵²⁰ Because the rate resets annually, the cost of a long deferral cannot be fixed in advance.

Annual Continuation Notice by 15 March

Every year of the deferral, you must file a continuation notice (継続適用届出書) for assets held on 31 December, by 15 March of the following year (the following Monday if 15 March falls on a weekend).¹¹¹² If you miss it, the whole deferral ends and the tax falls due 4 months after the missed deadline.² Late filing may be accepted only where the tax office director finds unavoidable circumstances.²

Events That End the Deferral Early

Selling, settling or gifting a deferred asset ends the deferral for that asset only. The tax on that portion is due 4 months after the event, and a statement of the affected assets must be filed within the same 4 months.¹¹¹

The whole deferral ends early in the following cases.¹

You miss a continuation notice (tax due 4 months after its deadline).
You do not meet a tax office order to increase collateral.
A continuation notice is found to be inaccurate.
You dismiss your agent and do not appoint a replacement within 4 months.
Your agent dies, dissolves, goes bankrupt or comes under guardianship, and no new notification is filed within 6 months of you learning of it.
A non-resident heir who inherits the deferred liability does not notify an agent within 4 months, or a resident heir departs without one.

If the deferring person dies, the heirs take over the liability and the original deadline.¹¹² The simplified diagram below shows the main paths through a deferral.

flowchart TD
    A["Final return by 15 March: election, attachments, collateral"] --> B["Deferral in force"]
    B --> C{"Continuation notice filed by 15 March each year?"}
    C -- "No" --> D["Whole deferral ends: tax plus interest tax due 4 months after the missed deadline"]
    C -- "Yes" --> E{"Deferred asset sold, settled or gifted?"}
    E -- "Yes" --> F["Partial end: statement and payment within 4 months for that asset"]
    F --> B
    E -- "No" --> G{"Returned to Japan within the period, assets still held?"}
    G -- "Yes" --> H["Request correction within 4 months: deemed sale cancelled"]
    G -- "No" --> I{"Extension notice filed by the 5th anniversary?"}
    I -- "Yes" --> J["Deferral ends 10 years 4 months after departure"]
    I -- "No" --> K["Deferral ends 5 years 4 months after departure: tax plus interest tax due"]

Return Scenarios: Reclaiming Paid Exit Tax When Moving Back to Japan

Returning Within 5 Years (or 10 With Extension): Cancellation of the Deemed Sale

If you return to Japan within 5 years of departure (10 if the deferral was extended), the deemed sale is cancelled for assets you held continuously until your return.¹¹² A return means acquiring a domicile in Japan, or a residence that continues for 1 year or more, so a short visit does not count.¹¹ The cancellation is not available for income linked to concealment or falsification.¹²

You must act within 4 months of returning, by filing a request for correction (Kosei no Seikyu 更正の請求) or an amended return.¹² This relief does not require the deferral: if you paid at departure the tax is refunded, and if you deferred the deferred tax is cancelled.⁴ Refund interest runs only from the earlier of 3 months after the request or 1 month after the correction, not from your original payment date.¹¹

Two other events also cancel the deemed sale within 5 years: gifting the assets to a Japanese resident, and death where the heirs or legatees who received them all become residents within the period.¹²

If Assets Fall in Value and Are Sold During the Deferral Period

This relief is for deferral users only. If you sell, settle or gift a deferred asset during the deferral for less than its departure value, the departure-year tax is recomputed with the lower amount, and the request for correction is due within 4 months of the sale.¹¹² Sales below market value, or sales that unjustly reduce tax, do not qualify.³

A fall in value of assets you still hold also counts. If an asset’s value at the end of the 5-year (or 10-year) deferral is below its departure value, the tax is recomputed using that value, with a request for correction due within 4 months of the deferral end date.¹¹² Route A filers who sold before the filing deadline use the lower price directly in their return instead.²

Double Taxation When the Destination Taxes the Later Sale

If your new country taxes the real sale without recognising the Japanese exit tax, the same gain may be taxed twice. Art. 95-2 lets deferral users (and Route A filers who sold before the filing deadline) treat that foreign tax as paid in the departure year for the Japanese foreign tax credit.² It applies only where the foreign tax is imposed by your country of domicile, residence or nationality and that country’s law does not take the Japanese tax into account.²

The request for correction is due within 4 months of the date the foreign tax becomes payable, and can be filed separately from a value-fall correction.¹¹² Whether your destination steps up the basis to the departure value depends on its own law.

Event	Relief	Deadline	Deferral required?
Return to Japan within 5 (or 10) years	Deemed sale cancelled	4 months after return	No⁴
Sale during deferral below departure value	Recompute with sale price	4 months after sale	Yes²
Value at end of deferral below departure value	Recompute with end value	4 months after deferral end	Yes²
Foreign tax on the later sale	Foreign tax credit (Art. 95-2)	4 months after foreign tax becomes payable	Yes, or Route A sale before the filing deadline²

Japanese Citizens vs. Foreign Residents: Critical Distinctions

Point	Japanese citizens	Foreign residents
Periods counted	All domicile or residence periods³	Table 2 periods only; Table 1 periods excluded³
Trigger	Losing domicile and residence¹	Same; immigration status and re-entry permits do not change the trigger¹²
Typical risk	Long-held portfolios easily meet the test	Switching to PR or a spouse status starts the clock¹¹

Japanese citizens are the group most likely to meet the residence test, because every year counts. Many keep a home or family base in Japan, so confirm that your domicile has actually ended under the guide on Japan tax residency rules; if it has not, there is no exit tax, but you remain a Japanese tax resident.

For foreign residents, the trigger is the same tax test regardless of immigration status.¹² A Permanent Resident leaving on a re-entry permit (Sainyukoku Kyoka 再入国許可) or special re-entry permit (Minashi Sainyukoku みなし再入国許可) can still owe the exit tax if they lose domicile and residence; permit rules and keeping PR status are covered in the guide on Japanese citizens versus foreign residents’ departure rules. Special Permanent Residents (特別永住者) hold status under a separate law rather than either Appended Table, so their periods appear to count in full, although NTA has not addressed this directly.³¹⁶

Your new country may have its own rules on arrival or on later sales, such as citizenship-based taxation, which are outside this guide.

Common Pitfalls and Estate/Gifting Triggers

Gifts and Inheritances to Non-Residents (Art. 60-3)

You do not have to leave Japan to trigger the exit tax. A resident who gifts covered assets to a non-resident is deemed to have sold the gifted assets if, at the time of the gift, they hold covered assets of ¥100 million or more and meet the more-than-5-of-10-years test (Table 1 periods excluded).²¹¹¹² The ¥100 million test uses all the donor’s covered assets, not only the gifted portion.¹¹

The donor reports the gain on their normal final return for the gift year.²¹¹¹ Deferral needs an election, attachments and collateral by the return deadline, but no tax agent, because the donor is still resident.²¹² If the donor later leaves Japan without notifying an agent, the whole deferral ends 4 months after departure.²

An inheritance or bequest to a non-resident heir triggers the same deemed sale for the person who died, with the tests applied at death to all covered assets held.²²¹¹ The heirs file the decedent’s quasi-final return by the day before the 4-month anniversary of learning of the death.²²¹¹ Deferral requires every non-resident heir or legatee who received covered assets to notify a tax agent by that deadline, usually in one joint notice, together with the election, attachments and collateral.²²¹¹²

Cancellation works in a similar way: if the non-resident recipients return to Japan within 5 years (10 if extended) still holding the assets, or gift them to a resident, a correction can be requested within 4 months.²¹² Inheritances accepted with limited approval (Gentei Shonin 限定承認) fall under a different provision, Art. 59.¹¹ Inheritance tax and gift tax themselves, including the 10-year rule, are covered in the guide on cross-border inheritance and estate planning.

Pitfall Checklist

Leaving foreign brokerage or unlisted holdings out of the ¥100 million test. Fix: inventory every covered asset worldwide, including positions at a loss and NISA holdings.¹¹
Treating exactly 5 years as enough. Fix: the period must exceed 5 years; count from dated records.²
Assuming a work-visa history protects you after switching to PR or a spouse status. Fix: count Table 2 periods from the change.³
Missing the agent notification before departure. Fix: file it by departure, or lose deferral, the value-fall reductions and the Art. 95-2 credit.⁴²
Missing a 15 March continuation notice. Fix: diarise it; one miss ends the whole deferral.²
Selling or gifting deferred assets without reporting. Fix: file the statement and pay within 4 months.¹
Missing a 4-month correction window. Fix: a return, a sale, the deferral end and a foreign tax bill each start their own clock.²
Relying on rates that add 5% local tax, or assuming a sale before departure saves tax. Fix: exit tax income is outside resident tax, but an actual sale is taxed in its own right, with resident tax depending on your domicile on 1 January after the sale year; compare both with a Zeirishi.⁷
Treating the Juminhyo move-out as the trigger, or a short trip home as a return. Fix: test domicile and residence for income tax purposes; a return needs a domicile, or a residence lasting 1 year or more.¹¹¹²

References & Official Sources

National Tax Agency, Tax Answer No.1478 「国外転出をする場合の譲渡所得等の特例」 (令和8年4月1日現在法令等), accessed October 2026, https://www.nta.go.jp/taxes/shiraberu/taxanswer/shotoku/1478.htm ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰ ↩¹¹ ↩¹² ↩¹³ ↩¹⁴ ↩¹⁵ ↩¹⁶ ↩¹⁷ ↩¹⁸ ↩¹⁹ ↩²⁰ ↩²¹ ↩²² ↩²³ ↩²⁴ ↩²⁵ ↩²⁶ ↩²⁷ ↩²⁸ ↩²⁹ ↩³⁰ ↩³¹ ↩³²
e-Gov, 所得税法 (Income Tax Act, Act No.33 of 1965), Arts. 60-2, 60-3, 60-4, 95-2, 137-2, 137-3, 151-2, 153-2, 153-3, 153-6, current text accessed October 2026, https://laws.e-gov.go.jp/law/340AC0000000033 ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰ ↩¹¹ ↩¹² ↩¹³ ↩¹⁴ ↩¹⁵ ↩¹⁶ ↩¹⁷ ↩¹⁸ ↩¹⁹ ↩²⁰ ↩²¹ ↩²² ↩²³ ↩²⁴ ↩²⁵ ↩²⁶ ↩²⁷ ↩²⁸ ↩²⁹ ↩³⁰ ↩³¹ ↩³² ↩³³ ↩³⁴ ↩³⁵ ↩³⁶ ↩³⁷ ↩³⁸ ↩³⁹ ↩⁴⁰ ↩⁴¹ ↩⁴² ↩⁴³ ↩⁴⁴ ↩⁴⁵ ↩⁴⁶ ↩⁴⁷ ↩⁴⁸ ↩⁴⁹ ↩⁵⁰ ↩⁵¹ ↩⁵² ↩⁵³ ↩⁵⁴ ↩⁵⁵ ↩⁵⁶ ↩⁵⁷ ↩⁵⁸ ↩⁵⁹ ↩⁶⁰ ↩⁶¹ ↩⁶²
e-Gov, 所得税法施行令 (Income Tax Act Enforcement Order, Cabinet Order No.96 of 1965), Arts. 170, 170-2, 266-2, current text accessed October 2026, https://laws.e-gov.go.jp/law/340CO0000000096 ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰ ↩¹¹ ↩¹² ↩¹³ ↩¹⁴ ↩¹⁵ ↩¹⁶ ↩¹⁷ ↩¹⁸ ↩¹⁹
National Tax Agency, 「国外転出時課税制度のあらまし」, May 2015, https://www.nta.go.jp/taxes/shiraberu/shinkoku/kokugai/pdf/03.pdf ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸
e-Gov, 租税特別措置法 (Act on Special Measures Concerning Taxation, Act No.26 of 1957), Arts. 37-10, 37-11, 37-14(4), 41-14, 93, accessed October 2026, https://laws.e-gov.go.jp/law/332AC0000000026 ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶
e-Gov, 東日本大震災からの復興のための施策を実施するために必要な財源の確保に関する特別措置法 (Reconstruction Finance Act, Act No.117 of 2011), Arts. 9, 13, accessed October 2026, https://laws.e-gov.go.jp/law/423AC0000000117 ↩ ↩²
e-Gov, 地方税法 (Local Tax Act, Act No.226 of 1950), Arts. 32(2), 39, 313(2), 318, accessed October 2026, https://laws.e-gov.go.jp/law/325AC0000000226 ↩ ↩²
Ministry of Finance, 「令和8年度税制改正の大綱」六防衛力強化に係る財源確保のための税制措置, December 2025, https://www.mof.go.jp/tax_policy/tax_reform/outline/fy2026/08taikou_06.htm ↩
Ministry of Finance, 第221回国会提出法律案 (FY2026 tax reform bills, including 所得税法等の一部を改正する法律案 and the 復興財確法 amendment, passed and promulgated 31 March 2026), accessed October 2026, https://www.mof.go.jp/about_mof/bills/221diet/index.html ↩
National Tax Agency, 「防衛特別所得税及び復興特別所得税（源泉徴収関係）Q&A」, May 2026 (laws as of 1 May 2026), Q1, https://www.nta.go.jp/publication/pamph/pdf/0026005-024_03.pdf ↩
National Tax Agency, 「国外転出時課税制度（FAQ）」, April 2015, last revised June 2023 (laws as of June 2023), Q3 to Q22, Q24, Q27, Q32, Q43, Q44, Q47, Q52, Q58, Q67 to Q71, https://www.nta.go.jp/taxes/shiraberu/shinkoku/kokugai/pdf/02.pdf ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰ ↩¹¹ ↩¹² ↩¹³ ↩¹⁴ ↩¹⁵ ↩¹⁶ ↩¹⁷ ↩¹⁸ ↩¹⁹ ↩²⁰ ↩²¹ ↩²² ↩²³ ↩²⁴ ↩²⁵ ↩²⁶ ↩²⁷ ↩²⁸ ↩²⁹ ↩³⁰ ↩³¹ ↩³² ↩³³ ↩³⁴ ↩³⁵ ↩³⁶ ↩³⁷ ↩³⁸ ↩³⁹ ↩⁴⁰ ↩⁴¹ ↩⁴² ↩⁴³ ↩⁴⁴ ↩⁴⁵ ↩⁴⁶ ↩⁴⁷ ↩⁴⁸ ↩⁴⁹ ↩⁵⁰ ↩⁵¹
National Tax Agency, 「国外転出時課税制度」 (index page: creation, pamphlets, FAQ), accessed October 2026, https://www.nta.go.jp/taxes/shiraberu/shinkoku/kokugai/01.htm ↩
National Tax College (NTA), 錦織俊介「国外転出時課税（出国税）制度の意義－あるべき対象資産の範囲－」, 税大論叢 No.101, 2020 (author’s personal view), https://www.nta.go.jp/about/organization/ntc/kenkyu/ronsou/101/03/index.htm ↩ ↩² ↩³
Ministry of Finance, 「令和8年度税制改正の大綱」 full text (暗号資産 separate taxation, pp. 22 to 23), 26 December 2025, https://www.mof.go.jp/tax_policy/tax_reform/outline/fy2026/20251226taikou.pdf ↩
e-Gov, 租税特別措置法施行令 (Cabinet Order No.43 of 1957), Art. 25-13, accessed October 2026, https://laws.e-gov.go.jp/law/332CO0000000043 ↩ ↩²
e-Gov, 出入国管理及び難民認定法 (Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act, Cabinet Order No.319 of 1951), Appended Tables 1 and 2, accessed October 2026, https://laws.e-gov.go.jp/law/326CO0000000319 ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴
e-Gov, 所得税法施行令の一部を改正する政令 (Cabinet Order No.141 of 31 March 2015), Supplementary Provisions Art. 8(2), as reproduced in the Enforcement Order supplementary provisions, accessed October 2026, https://laws.e-gov.go.jp/law/340CO0000000096 ↩ ↩²
National Tax Agency, 「国外転出時課税制度関係の各種様式」, accessed October 2026, https://www.nta.go.jp/taxes/shiraberu/shinkoku/kokugai/yoshiki/index.htm ↩ ↩² ↩³
National Tax Agency, leaflet 「国外転出される方へ」, February 2017, https://www.nta.go.jp/taxes/shiraberu/shinkoku/kokugai/pdf/01.pdf ↩
National Tax Agency, 「延滞税の割合」 (reference table: 利子税特例基準割合 by year, 2026: 1.3%), accessed October 2026, https://www.nta.go.jp/taxes/nozei/entaizei/keisan/entai_wariai.htm ↩
National Tax Agency, Tax Answer No.1467 「贈与により非居住者に資産が移転した場合の譲渡所得等の特例（国外転出（贈与）時課税）」 (令和8年4月1日現在法令等), accessed October 2026, https://www.nta.go.jp/taxes/shiraberu/taxanswer/shotoku/1467.htm ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴
National Tax Agency, Tax Answer No.1468 「相続又は遺贈により非居住者に資産が移転した場合の譲渡所得等の特例（国外転出（相続）時課税）」 (令和8年4月1日現在法令等), accessed October 2026, https://www.nta.go.jp/taxes/shiraberu/taxanswer/shotoku/1468.htm ↩ ↩² ↩³