Buying a house in Japan: anyone may — but the tax bill arrives once you've forgotten it

First the order that's fixed on this site: in your first year you don't buy — you rent, you get to know your neighbourhood, and only then do you decide. This article is for the moment you've got that far.

Buying is allowed — for everyone

Unlike Australia or Switzerland, Japan imposes no permit requirement on foreign buyers: there is no visa condition and no approval desk, and the ministry MLIT even publishes its explanation of real estate transaction law specifically in English. The purchase runs via a licensed estate agent, who by law 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 is almost always handled by a shihō shoshi, the Japanese registration lawyer — who sits at the table at the transfer as standard. Two practical checks that weigh more heavily in Japan than anywhere else: the year of construction relative to the 1981 earthquake standards, and the awareness that Japanese buildings depreciate in accounting and commercial terms — the land holds its value, the house often doesn't.

The purchase costs — and the bill that arrives months later

At registration you pay a registration tax on the assessed value (with temporarily reduced rates for residential transfers), plus the fee of the shihō shoshi and the estate agent's commission. And then the classic surprise for newcomers: the real estate acquisition tax. It's a one-off, 3% for homes and residential land (where for residential land only half the value counts as the base until 31 March 2027) — 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 (with timely registration that's usually already taken care of) and set the amount aside now.

And after that: two annual taxes

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 and, in urban areas, the city planning tax of 0.3% on top — 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 — but with a concrete house 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.