Buying a house in Japan: anyone may — but the tax bill arrives once you've forgotten it
Japan has no permit system for foreign home buyers: no visa requirement, no approval as in Australia or Switzerland. The purchase runs via a licensed estate agent and a registration lawyer. The pitfall lies in the taxes: the one-off acquisition tax of 3% is assessed by the prefecture months after the purchase, and after that come the annual fixed asset tax of 1.4% and the city planning tax of 0.3% — for whoever is the owner on 1 January.
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Written and checked by Auke on , against the sources at the bottom. Is something no longer right? Report it below and I'll fix it.
Yes, as a foreigner you buy in Japan without a permit, without a visa requirement and without an approval desk. In that, Japan differs from Australia or Switzerland. The purchase runs through a licensed agent and a shihō shoshi, the registration lawyer.
What it costs:
- registration tax;
- the agent's commission;
- the lawyer's fee;
- the one-off acquisition tax of 3%, a tax on the acquisition.
After that, the fixed asset tax of 1.4% and the city planning tax of 0.3% follow every year: the property tax, and a surcharge in urban areas.
The pitfall is in the timing of that 3%. The prefecture only sends the bill months after the purchase, when the money has long been spent on the move.
In your first year you don't buy. You rent, you get to know your neighbourhood, and only then do you decide — why that order is fixed. This article is for the moment you've got that far.
May I buy in Japan as a foreigner?
Unlike Australia or Switzerland, Japan imposes no permit requirement on foreign buyers. There is no visa condition and no approval desk. The ministry MLIT (Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism) even publishes its explanation of real estate transaction law specifically in English.
The purchase runs via a licensed estate agent. By law, the agent must give you an explanation of the important matters before you sign, the jūyō jikō setsumei. Have it translated if you can't follow it, because this is where the restrictions and defects are listed.
The ownership registration (tōki) at the Legal Affairs Bureau (the Japanese land registry) is almost always handled by a shihō shoshi, the Japanese registration lawyer. The shihō shoshi sits at the table at the transfer as standard.
Two practical checks weigh more heavily in Japan than anywhere else:
- the year of construction relative to the 1981 earthquake standards;
- the awareness that Japanese buildings depreciate in accounting and commercial terms: the land holds its value, the house often doesn't.
What does buying a house in Japan cost on top of the price?
At registration you pay registration tax on the assessed value, plus the fee of the shihō shoshi and the estate agent's commission. The Japanese tax agency NTA lists the rates, with temporarily reduced rates for those buying a home to live in themselves:
| Tax | Base | Rate |
|---|---|---|
| Registration, purchase of land | assessed value | 2%, reduced to 1.5% for registration up to and including 31 March 2029 |
| Registration, purchase of a building | assessed value | 2% |
| Registration, purchase of a home for own occupation | assessed value | 0.3% up to and including 31 March 2027, with at least 50 m² and registration within a year |
| Acquisition tax, land and home | assessed value; residential land at half the value up to and including 31 March 2027 | 3%, one-off |
| Fixed asset tax | assessed value, for whoever is the owner on 1 January | 1.4% a year |
| City planning tax (urban areas) | same | 0.3% a year |
The assessed value is as a rule the value in the municipality's register for property tax. For the reduced registration rate you must supply a certificate from the municipality with the application; whoever hands it in only after registration no longer gets the low rate.
The acquisition tax comes months later. It is a one-off, 3% for homes and residential land, but the prefecture only sends the bill months after the purchase, when the money has long since been spent on the move. Report the acquisition within 30 days to the prefectural tax office; if you applied for registration within those 30 days, that is in principle already taken care of. Set the amount aside now.
For new builds and for homes below a threshold value there are deductions and exemptions. Two examples:
- In Tokyo, ¥ 12 million comes off the base for a new home of 50 to 240 m².
- Below a base of ¥ 100,000 for land, no acquisition tax is levied.
What do I pay every year after that?
Whoever is in the register as the owner on 1 January pays that year the fixed asset tax of 1.4% on the assessed value. In urban areas the city planning tax of 0.3% comes on top. You pay in four instalments through the year, with reductions for residential land and new builds.
The assessed value lies below the market price, so the amounts are often less than feared. With a concrete house, do ask for the latest bill, then you know for sure. What your first months look like, you read in your first weeks in Japan.
In Vertrekklaar this is phase 5 of 5 of the journey: the same steps, but for your situation — in your order, tickable, and with the deadlines watched. See the whole journey to Japan.
What this rests on
The facts in this article come from these official pages. Rules change. When in doubt, go by the source, not this article.
- MLIT — English-language basic information on Japanese real estate transaction law (laws, registration, procedures and taxes) — mlit.go.jp
- Tokyo Metropolitan Tax Bureau — Guide to Metropolitan Taxes (acquisition tax, fixed assets tax, city planning tax) — tax.metro.tokyo.lg.jp
- NTA — the rates of registration tax (Taxanswer 7191, as of 1 April 2026) — nta.go.jp
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