Why Your Foreign Broker Statement Does Not Match Your Japanese Tax Return
Your broker reports in a foreign currency under its own rules. Japan taxes you in yen under Japanese rules. The gain changes because of exchange rates, the average cost method and, for RSUs, the salary already taxed. Use your statement as raw data, not as the number for your final tax return (kakutei shinkoku).
Four reasons the numbers differ
Your broker and Japan measure the same trades in different ways. A foreign account is not a specified account (tokutei koza), so no one prepares yen figures for you. You build them from each trade.
| Point | Your statement may show | Your Japanese return uses |
|---|---|---|
| Currency | Dollars or another foreign currency | Yen, converted trade by trade |
| Cost method | The cost of a specific lot | The average cost of that stock |
| RSU cost | Zero, blank or a dollar value | The yen amount taxed as salary |
| Year of sale | A trade date, or a period that is not January to December | The calendar year of delivery, or of the contract date if you choose |
Exchange rates: a dollar loss can be a yen gain
Japan converts each side of a trade at its own rate, so a dollar loss can become a yen gain. A National Tax Agency (NTA) circular on share prices uses the bank's buying rate (TTB) for the sale. It uses the bank's selling rate (TTS) for the purchase. Both use the trade date.
That circular refers to the foreign securities account terms of brokers registered in Japan. It does not directly mention a broker outside Japan. The NTA's general rule for foreign currency is the mid rate (TTM). A 2003 tax tribunal decision, made before the current law, accepted TTB for a sale through a US broker. So if your broker is outside Japan, confirm the rate before you file, and use the same method each year. You do not need to split out the currency gain. It stays inside your stock gain.
David has lived in Japan for many years. He bought 100 shares in 2021 at a TTS of ¥110, and sold them all in 2026 at a TTB of ¥150. We ignore fees, the rates are assumptions, and the example follows the circular's TTB and TTS.
| Broker | Japanese return | |
|---|---|---|
| Sale | 100 × $90 = $9,000 | $9,000 × ¥150 = ¥1,350,000 |
| Cost | 100 × $100 = $10,000 | $10,000 × ¥110 = ¥1,100,000 |
| Result | Loss of $1,000 | Gain of ¥250,000 |
At the 2026 rate of 20.315%, the tax on this gain would be about ¥50,787. This is only an estimate, based on the assumptions shown.
The rules look to the published rates of a main bank. Keep a record of where each rate came from.
RSU shares: how to avoid paying tax twice
Your RSU cost is the yen amount taxed as salary, whatever your statement shows. That value was already taxed, so you subtract the same yen amount when you sell.
- Find the yen amount taxed for each vest. Check your employer's records behind your withholding slip (gensen choshuhyo), or your own return. See how RSUs are taxed.
- If that salary was never reported, fix that year first.
- Average the cost across all shares of the same stock. Do not use one vest alone.
Priya received 100 shares in 2024, with ¥1,500,000 taxed as salary. She received 100 more in 2025, with ¥2,100,000 taxed as salary. In 2026 she sold 100 shares for ¥2,635,000.
- Average cost: ¥3,600,000 ÷ 200 shares = ¥18,000 a share
- Gain: ¥2,635,000 − ¥1,800,000 = ¥835,000
- Using the 2024 vest alone: the gain would be ¥1,135,000, which is ¥300,000 too high
We ignore fees. This is only an estimate, based on the assumptions shown.
Non-permanent residents: when you got the shares matters
Non-permanent resident status does not make every overseas stock gain tax-free. This is a tax status, not your visa. It covers non-Japanese residents who lived in Japan for five years or less in the past ten. See your tax status in Japan.
Taxed even if the money stays abroad
- Shares you got while a non-permanent resident, after March 31, 2017 and within ten years before the sale
- This includes RSU shares you received during this status
Taxed only if paid in or sent to Japan
- Shares you got before this status, over ten years before the sale, or by March 31, 2017
- They must also be sold on a foreign market, sold through a foreign broker, or held in a foreign account
For this test, your oldest shares count as sold first, even though your cost uses the average. A transfer to Japan is matched first to income paid abroad that is not foreign source income, then to foreign source income. Remittance can also include acts other than a bank transfer.
Common mistakes
- Converting the total gain at one rate. Each trade needs its own rate.
- Leaving out a sale because the money stayed abroad. A resident who is not a non-permanent resident is taxed on overseas sales too.
- Reporting dividends after foreign tax. Dividend income is the amount before foreign tax. The foreign tax may go to the foreign tax credit.
- Expecting a loss to carry forward. The three-year carryforward covers sales through a securities firm registered in Japan and certain other routes. A sale through a broker not registered in Japan generally does not qualify, and Japanese courts upheld this for a US broker. The same limit applies to offsetting a loss against dividends. A loss can still offset gains on listed shares in the same year.
What you can do yourself, and where you need help
You can prepare the raw data yourself. Download your yearly statements and trade confirmations. List each purchase, vest and sale with its trade date, settlement date, share count and amount. Save the published TTB, TTS and TTM for those dates, and note which bank published them.
These points depend on your facts:
- Stock splits, mergers and other changes to your share count
- Shares sold or withheld at vesting to cover tax
- An employee stock purchase plan (ESPP). Your employer's report to the tax office (zeimusho) can list these rights, so check the plan terms and the discount.
- A change in your tax status during the year, and foreign tax on dividends or gains
What changes when a tax accountant handles it
We rebuild your stock history in yen and prepare your return from that record. What we do:
- Review your statements through a secure upload folder.
- Tie each RSU vest to the salary already taxed.
- Convert each trade to yen, and calculate your average cost.
- Check the non-permanent resident rules and the foreign tax credit.
- Send an English summary, and file after you approve it.
We work with individuals only, on Japanese tax only, with no calls. Stock sales totaling up to ¥30 million a year are a flat ¥43,500 (¥47,850 including tax), added to the ¥48,000 base fee and your other items. Our minimum fee is ¥97,500 (¥107,250 including tax). See our RSU tax return service.
Frequently asked questions
Can I use one average exchange rate for the whole year?
Generally no. Each stock trade uses the rate for its own trade date. NTA guidance describes monthly and average rates only for real estate, business, timber and miscellaneous income.
Which year does a late-December sale belong to?
Generally the year the shares are delivered, which is the settlement date. You may instead report it in the year of the contract date. Under the NTA circular on share prices, the exchange rate still comes from the trade date.
I cannot find my old purchase records. What can I do?
First ask your broker for past statements. If the cost is still unknown, the NTA allows 5% of the sale price as the cost. This can make your gain much larger, so rebuild the RSU salary amount if you can.
I am a non-permanent resident and kept the money abroad. Do I still report the sale?
It depends on when you got the shares. Shares you got during this status are generally taxable even if the money stays abroad. Older or pre-arrival shares sold abroad are taxable only to the extent paid in Japan or sent to Japan.
Want your broker statements turned into a Japanese return?
Yuma Komatsu is a Japanese CPA and licensed tax accountant. We prepare, sign and file your return. We work by email in written English. Our tax accountant does not speak English, and we do not offer calls.
Sources
- NTA, 2025 Income Tax and Special Income Tax for Reconstruction Guide (English)
- NTA, No.12017 Conversion of foreign currency transactions into yen (English)
- NTA, No.12007 Foreign tax credit for residents (English)
- Special Taxation Measures Circular 37-10 and 37-11 common 1 and 6, Timing of sale income and yen conversion of share prices (Japanese)
- Income Tax Basic Circular 57-3-2, Yen conversion (Japanese)
- NTA written Q&A, Income from selling shares in a foreign currency (Japanese)
- NTA Tax Answer No.1463, Tax on selling shares (Japanese)
- NTA Tax Answer No.1464, Cost of shares sold (Japanese)
- NTA Tax Answer No.1466, Cost of the same stock bought more than once (Japanese)
- NTA Tax Answer No.1476, Specified accounts (Japanese)
- NTA Tax Answer No.1474, Offsetting and carrying forward listed share losses (Japanese)
- NTA Tax Answer No.1465, Losses on share sales (Japanese)
- NTA Tax Answer No.1937, Residents who sell shares abroad (Japanese)
- NTA Tax Answer No.1330, Dividend income (Japanese)
- NTA Tax Answer No.1240, Foreign tax credit for residents (Japanese)
- NTA Tax Answer No.2010, Who is taxed (Japanese)
- Income Tax Basic Circular 7-1 to 7-6, Non-permanent residents (Japanese)
- National Tax Tribunal, decision of July 24, 2012 (Japanese)
- National Tax Tribunal, decision of June 12, 2003 (Japanese)
- National Tax Tribunal, decision of December 7, 2023 (Japanese)
- Kyoto District Court, judgment of July 3, 2015 (Japanese)
- Osaka High Court, judgment of March 17, 2016 (Japanese)
- NTA, Instructions for the report on benefits from a foreign parent (Japanese)
- Income Tax Act, Articles 7, 48 and 57-3 (Japanese)
- Order for Enforcement of the Income Tax Act, Articles 17, 109 and 118 (Japanese)
- Act on Special Measures Concerning Taxation, Articles 37-11, 37-11-3 and 37-12-2 (Japanese)
This article is general information based on rules in force as of November 6, 2026. It is not advice for your situation.