Two Employers in Japan: Do You Need to File a Tax Return?
Not necessarily. Suppose all your pay from both employers is subject to Japanese withholding, and your total pay is ¥20 million or less. Then two tests can excuse you from the final tax return (kakutei shinkoku).
You pass the ¥200,000 test if your pay with no year-end adjustment (nenmatsu chosei), plus your other income, is ¥200,000 or less. You pass the ¥1.5 million test if your total pay minus certain deductions is ¥1.5 million or less. Your other income must also be ¥200,000 or less. If you pass neither, you generally must file.
Withheld tax may still be refunded if you file. Resident tax (juminzei) generally covers both jobs either way, but you may need to report other income to your city.
Your second job gets no year-end adjustment
Only one of your employers does your year-end adjustment (nenmatsu chosei), so the tax on your second job is not settled at year end. This guide is for tax residents of Japan.
Each year, you give an employer the dependents form, officially the Application for (Change in) Exemption for Dependents of Employment Income Earner (fuyo kojo-to shinkokusho). You can give it to only one employer. That employer is your main job.
Main job
- Has your dependents form
- Withholds tax using column A (ko-ran) of the tax tables
- Does your year-end adjustment
Second job
- Has no dependents form
- Withholds tax using column B (otsu-ran)
- As a rule, does no year-end adjustment
Your tax for the year is based on your total pay. For example, the employment income deduction applies once, to the total of your withholding slips (gensen choshuhyo). A final return settles the difference, and the tests below show when you can skip it.
Changed jobs instead, and never worked for both at the same time? Then you count as having one employer. The ¥200,000 test then looks only at your other income. If your new employer included your old pay in its year-end adjustment, that pay is already settled.
Check two tests, in this order
If all your pay is subject to Japanese withholding and totals ¥20 million or less, passing either test means no duty to file.
- 1. Is any of your pay not subject to Japanese withholding? One example is pay you receive abroad. If yes, the tests do not apply, and you generally must file.
- 2. Is your total pay over ¥20 million? If yes, you generally must file.
- 3. The ¥200,000 test. Add the pay from every job with no year-end adjustment to your other income. If the total is ¥200,000 or less, you need not file.
- 4. The ¥1.5 million test. From your total pay, subtract your deductions except the basic, medical expense, donation and casualty loss deductions. If the result is ¥1.5 million or less, and your other income is ¥200,000 or less, you need not file.
- 5. Passed neither test? You generally must file. For tax year 2026, the filing period is February 16 to March 15, 2027.
You also have no duty to file if you would owe no tax, or if filing would give you a refund. The National Tax Agency (NTA) lists other cases where you must file. One is a director of a family company, or the director's relative, who receives rent or interest from it. See who must file.
Pay means gross pay: the payment amount (shiharai kingaku) on each withholding slip, before tax and social insurance. Other income means income from side work, rent and similar sources, after expenses. Some investment income does not count, as our side income guide explains.
They raised the basic deduction and the minimum employment income deduction, which can lower your tax. The ¥20 million, ¥200,000 and ¥1.5 million figures did not change. The ¥1.5 million test leaves out the basic deduction, so the increase does not affect it.
Three examples: how other income and total pay change the result
The same second job can lead to different answers, because the tests also look at your other income and total pay.
| Item | Ken | Maria | Lin |
|---|---|---|---|
| Main job pay (year-end adjusted) | ¥5,000,000 | ¥4,200,000 | ¥1,000,000 |
| Second job pay (no year-end adjustment) | ¥150,000 | ¥150,000 | ¥600,000 |
| Other income after expenses | ¥0 | ¥80,000 | ¥0 |
| ¥200,000 test: second job pay + other income | ¥150,000 Pass | ¥230,000 Fail | ¥600,000 Fail |
| ¥1.5 million test: total pay − counted deductions | Not needed | ¥3,650,000 Fail | ¥1,480,000 Pass |
| Result | No duty to file | Generally must file | No duty to file |
Maria: ¥4,350,000 total pay − ¥700,000 social insurance = ¥3,650,000. Lin: ¥1,600,000 − ¥120,000 = ¥1,480,000. This is only an estimate, based on these assumptions: all pay is subject to Japanese withholding, and social insurance is the only deduction counted.
Filing can still get tax back
Passing a test means you may skip the return, not that you must skip it. If more tax was withheld than you owe, you can file a refund return.
Suppose Lin's second job withheld ¥18,000 in 2026, and her main job's year-end adjustment settled that job. Her ¥1,600,000 of pay minus the ¥740,000 employment income deduction leaves ¥860,000. Her 2026 basic deduction of ¥1,040,000 is larger, so her income tax is zero. The ¥18,000 may be refunded after she files a return.
This is only an estimate, based on these assumptions: 2026 amounts after the December 1 change, no other income, and the withholding shown.
You can file a refund return from January 1 of the next year, for five years. If you file for any reason, include the pay from both jobs. Include any side or rental income too, even if it is ¥200,000 or less.
Resident tax covers both jobs anyway
Skipping the national return does not make your second job tax-free. Tax is withheld from its pay as a rule, and resident tax (juminzei) is separate.
By January 31, each employer that withholds tax generally sends a pay report (kyuyo shiharai hokokusho) to your city of residence as of January 1. For example, Minato City in Tokyo says you need no resident tax report if you earn only salary and your employers sent the reports.
One case to check: an employer you left during the year need not report pay of ¥300,000 or less. Ask your city about that pay.
Your employers do not report your other income. If you have side or rental income, you generally report it to your city for resident tax, even if it is ¥200,000 or less. Our side income guide explains this. If you file a final return, you need no separate resident tax report.
Common mistakes
- Giving the dependents form to both employers. It goes to your main employer only, and your second employer withholds using column B.
- Applying ¥200,000 to each job. It is one total for all pay with no year-end adjustment, plus all your other income.
- Skipping a required return. File as soon as you can. If you file on your own before the tax office (zeimusho) gives notice of an audit, the late-filing penalty is 5% of the tax due. Late-payment interest is added.
What you can do yourself, and where you need help
You can run both tests yourself:
- Get a withholding slip from each employer for the year.
- Note which employer did your year-end adjustment.
- Add up the figures for each test, using gross pay.
You may be able to file yourself if you have only two slips and simple deductions. You need help when the answer depends on your facts. Examples are pay from a company abroad, stock pay outside your slip, side income, dependents abroad and past years you did not file.
What changes when a tax accountant handles it
Komatsu CPA & Tax Accounting Office helps individuals only, with Japanese tax only, and offers no calls. Our service runs by email in written English. Once you engage us, we:
- Confirm in writing whether you must file, from your slips and other income.
- Combine both salaries and your other income, and check the tax withheld.
- Prepare the Japanese return and send an English summary for your approval.
- Sign and file the return, then send you the filed copy.
For two salaries and standard deductions only, our English-language service items add up to ¥66,000 (¥48,000 base + ¥9,000 salary + ¥9,000 standard deductions). That is below our minimum, so the fee is ¥97,500 (¥107,250 including tax). This is only an estimate, based on the assumptions shown.
Frequently asked questions
Which of my jobs is the main job?
Your main job is the employer you gave the dependents form to. You can give that form to only one employer. Your other employer withholds tax using column B and generally does no year-end adjustment.
Is the ¥200,000 based on gross pay or take-home pay?
Gross pay. Use the payment amount (shiharai kingaku) on the withholding slip from your second job. Do not subtract tax, social insurance or the employment income deduction.
If I do not need to file, is my second job tax-free?
No. Tax is withheld from its pay, as a rule. Resident tax also generally covers both salaries, through the pay reports your employers send to your city.
One of my employers pays me abroad. Do the tests apply?
No. The tests apply only when all your pay is subject to Japanese withholding, and pay you receive abroad is not. In that case you generally must file.
Two withholding slips and not sure what to do?
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, page 11 (who needs to file)
- NTA: 2026 Application for (Change in) Exemption for Dependents of Employment Income Earner (English version)
- NTA Tax Answer No.1900 (in Japanese): employees who must file
- NTA Tax Answer No.1900 Q&A (in Japanese): a return must include income of ¥200,000 or less
- NTA basic circular on the Income Tax Act, 121-4 and 121-5 (in Japanese): one employer, and pay received abroad
- NTA Tax Answer No.2520 (in Japanese): withholding when you have two or more employers
- NTA Tax Answer No.2511 (in Japanese): columns A and B of the withholding tax tables
- NTA Tax Answer No.2665 (in Japanese): who receives a year-end adjustment
- NTA Tax Answer No.2668 (in Japanese): pay included in the year-end adjustment
- NTA Tax Answer No.1410 (in Japanese): employment income deduction
- NTA Tax Answer No.1199 (in Japanese): basic deduction
- NTA Tax Answer No.2020 (in Japanese): final tax return
- NTA (in Japanese): main national tax due dates
- NTA Tax Answer No.2030 (in Japanese): refund returns
- NTA Tax Answer No.2024 (in Japanese): if you forgot to file
- Minato City (in Japanese): who must report for resident tax
- Income Tax Act, Articles 120, 121, 183, 185, 190, 194 and 195 (Japanese)
- Local Tax Act, Article 317-6 (Japanese)
This article is general information based on rules in force as of November 8, 2026. It is not advice for your situation.