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Tax and accounting services for foreign companies in Japan
Accounting, tax and group reporting for foreign companies in Japan. We work with your Japan entity and your HQ in English, by email and chat, from the month you incorporate.
Our Services
From monthly books to group reporting.
We work with companies. Select a service to jump to the details.
DetailsServices
Monthly Accounting & Reporting
We keep your books in Money Forward Cloud Accounting(Accounting system) and close each month quickly, so your HQ receives Japan's figures on time. Every month you receive a trial balance and a short report in English that explains the main movements and any issues to watch.
If your Japan team keeps its own books, choose the Light plan: we review the entries each month, correct errors and explain how to fix them. If you would rather hand over the bookkeeping entirely, choose the Standard plan.
- Newly established Japanese subsidiaries and branches
- Japan entities without their own finance team
- Entities that keep their own books and want a professional review
- Bookkeeping (Standard) or review of your entries (Light)
- Monthly trial balance
- Monthly report in English
- Tax and accounting questions by email and chat
Group Reporting & Tax Provision
We prepare your Japan entity's reporting package in the format your HQ uses, and calculate current tax and deferred tax for your group accounts. We have handled this work for Japanese subsidiaries of foreign companies since our KPMG years, and we take it on for entities of any size, from newly established subsidiaries to large ones.
We plan the monthly and year-end timetable backwards from your HQ's closing dates, so Japan's numbers arrive when your group needs them.
- Reporting package preparation
- Current tax and deferred tax calculations (tax provision)
- Explanations of Japanese tax adjustments for HQ
- Answers to HQ's questions
Corporate & Japanese Consumption Tax Filing
We handle the year-end closing and prepare your corporation tax, local tax and Japanese consumption tax returns, file them electronically and tell you in advance how much to pay and by when. We give you a projection of the year-end result before the fiscal year ends, so there are no surprises for your HQ.
We also advise on Japanese consumption tax status in the first years and on registration as a tax-qualified invoice issuer.
We also accept year-end filing on its own, without a monthly plan, for example when your Japan team keeps its own books or your previous accountant has stepped away.
- Year-end closing entries
- Financial statements
- Corporation tax, local tax and Japanese consumption tax returns
- Account breakdown schedules
- E-filing
- Payment guidance
- With a monthly plan: from JPY 400,000 (Light) / from JPY 500,000 (Standard)
- Year-end filing only (without a monthly plan): from JPY 600,000
- Japanese consumption tax return only: from JPY 150,000
Support for Group Audits
When your parent company's auditors review the Japan entity, we prepare the balance breakdowns and supporting documents they request, and draft answers to their questions in English. Our representative has dealt with statutory audits from both sides, at KPMG and in the accounting department of a listed company.
Points raised by the auditors are built into our monthly process, so the same issue does not come up again the following year.
- Japan entities included in their parent's group audit
- Entities that receive audit questions from HQ or group auditors
- Audit schedules and balance breakdowns
- Supporting documents
- Draft answers to auditor questions (English)
- Follow-up on audit points
Payroll, Year-end Adjustment & Expatriate Tax
We calculate monthly payroll and withholding tax, handle the year-end adjustment and prepare the annual statutory reports. For directors and assignees of our client companies, we also prepare personal income tax returns in Japan.
Social insurance procedures are handled by our partner certified social insurance and labour consultants. We brief them in Japanese on your behalf.
- Monthly payroll
- Withholding tax
- Year-end adjustment
- Statutory reports
- Personal tax returns for directors and assignees of client companies
Personal tax returns are available only for directors and assignees of our client companies. We do not take on one-off personal tax returns.
Tax Agent (Nozei Kanrinin)
A foreign company with no office in Japan must appoint a tax agent (nozei kanrinin) to deal with its Japanese tax matters, for example when it registers for Japanese consumption tax. We take on this role: we file the notification, receive letters from the tax office, send you an English summary of each one and keep track of your deadlines.
Anyone living in Japan can be a tax agent, but only a certified public tax accountant can prepare your tax returns and advise you on Japanese tax. With us, filing and advice are available from the same office, so nothing has to be passed on to someone else.
- Foreign companies with no office in Japan that sell to Japanese customers
- Foreign companies registering for Japanese consumption tax or as tax-qualified invoice issuers
- Filing the tax agent notification
- Receiving mail from the tax office
- English summaries
- Deadline management
Working with
specialists
What we do not handle ourselves, we coordinate with trusted partners. We do not handle transfer pricing or permanent establishment (PE) matters ourselves; when these come up, we introduce you to our partner international tax specialists, who work in English. For company registration and social insurance, we gather the information and brief our partners in Japanese, so you deal with one contact: us.
Partner international tax specialists, who work with you directly in English.
Partner judicial scriveners for incorporation and changes to your company register. We coordinate with them in Japanese.
Partner certified social insurance and labour consultants, who handle social insurance enrolment and employment procedures for your staff. We coordinate with them in Japanese.
Partner lawyers for contracts and legal questions.
- Fees for work carried out by partner specialists are agreed directly with each specialist.
- We do not charge referral fees for introductions.
Contact
Tell us about
your Japan entity.
Send us a message and we will reply in English within one business day. There is no charge for the initial consultation by email.
Please noteMeetings and phone calls are available in Japanese only. We do not take phone calls in English.