Capital gains tax in Japan for foreigners: selling property or shares

Japan has no single capital gains tax. Gains on land and buildings and gains on shares are each taxed separately from your salary (申告分離課税). As of October 2026, property held more than 5 years (counted at 1 January of the sale year) pays 15% income tax and 5% resident tax; property held 5 years or less pays 30% income tax. Share gains pay 20% (15% + 5%). Your nationality doesn’t matter; whether you are a resident or non-resident when you sell does.

Which category are you in?

The National Tax Agency (国税庁, NTA) sorts individuals into three groups:

For your own classification, see Japan tax residency for foreigners.

Selling land or a house

Gain = sale price minus (what you paid + selling costs) minus any special deduction. Then:

Reconstruction surtax is 2.1% of the income tax, filed together with it.

The ¥30 million home deduction

If you sell your own home, you can deduct up to ¥30 million from the gain. The NTA conditions are about the property and the sale, not nationality:

• It’s the home you live in, or you sell it by 31 December of the year containing the third anniversary of moving out.
• You don’t sell to family, cohabiting relatives, an unmarried partner or certain related companies.
• You haven’t used this deduction in the previous two years.
• It isn’t a vacation home, temporary housing or a home bought mainly to claim the deduction.

If your resident-register address differed from the property’s on the day before the contract, the NTA asks for extra documents, such as a copy of the family-register supplement (戸籍の附票の写し).

Selling shares

Gains on shares are taxed at 20% in total (15% income tax plus 5% resident tax) with 2.1% reconstruction surtax on the income tax. Listed and unlisted shares are calculated separately, and losses generally can’t cross over.

In a withholding specific account (特定口座・源泉徴収あり), your broker withholds 15.315% income tax and 5% resident tax on each gain, and you can skip filing. You must file if you want to offset another account or carry a loss forward. The withholding election has to be submitted before your first sale of the year and can’t change mid-year. For setting one up, see opening a securities account, and for tax-free gains see NISA for foreigners.

If you sell shares through an overseas broker while you are a resident, the NTA says they are taxed as domestic sales, and you can claim a foreign tax credit with documents.

Selling as a non-resident

If you leave Japan and then sell Japanese real estate, Japan still taxes the gain. The NTA describes:

• The buyer withholds 10.21% of the price (income tax plus reconstruction). An individual buying for their own or a relative’s home at ¥100 million or less doesn’t withhold. The NTA notes a further defense special income tax applies from 2027, which may change the withholding rate.
• You generally file a return between 16 February and 15 March of the next year. If too much was withheld, the same return claims a refund.
• You must appoint a tax agent (納税管理人) and notify your tax office before filing.

Also note the exit tax (国外転出時課税): since 1 July 2015 it applies to certain people who lived in Japan more than 5 of the past 10 years and leave holding securities and similar assets worth ¥100 million or more. See the NTA page No.1478.