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I'm going to start graduate school in Japan soon, and there is a remote job that I might take, which I will bring to Japan. I understand that there's a debate about whether this constitutes work, but since students can apply for leave to work up to 28 hours per week, there should be no grey areas in this zone.

However, how shall I deal with the taxes? I assume I need to report my taxes: should I just do it like any other Japanese freelance/remote worker?

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  • Are you asking about Japanese taxes related to your earnings, or taxation in your country of citizenship?
    – DavidRecallsMonica
    Commented Jun 30, 2019 at 22:15
  • Japanese taxes. My own country of citizenship does not tax expatriates on foreign-sourced income; the company I will potentially be working for is not in my own country.
    – xuq01
    Commented Jun 30, 2019 at 22:17
  • Unless you earn a large amount of income no one cares. IIRC a citizen needs to file only if the yearly salary exceeds 103w JPY.
    – Blaszard
    Commented Jul 19, 2019 at 21:20

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You will need to pay Japanese taxes one way or another if you are living there and earning income. The company's location does not really matter for your tax situation, and if they are remitting your compensation to Japan then you will need to report it whether or not you are a tax resident. Some remote workers find a way to have compensation sent to their home country, and avoid the foreign tax where they are living, but that carries the risk that Japan finds out and tries to tax you anyway.

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  • Thanks. Actually, I just found out that the tax treaty between my country and Japan exempts students from paying income tax on income earned for the purpose of "maintenance, education or training" (生計、教育又は訓練). But surely this still requires me to file a tax return, report my income, and claim the treaty benefits?
    – xuq01
    Commented Jul 3, 2019 at 3:33
  • I dont know. You will have to ask a Japanese tax attorney. Maybe your student status allows you to avoid income tax.
    – user17312
    Commented Jul 3, 2019 at 10:42
  • + 1. I think you need to declare your income. I live in Japan and a long time ago when I was still a student here I remember that the admin people where I worked (although not remote work) handed me and other students the tax declaration forms. Check out below link, maybe this could give you more info. baitoru.com/contents/bm_money
    – XVD
    Commented Aug 22, 2019 at 6:39

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