Japan Permanent Residence: Are Resident Tax Certificates for the "Most Recent 〇 Years" Counted by Fiscal Year or Back on the Calendar?

Note: This article is based on Japanese laws and materials published by the Immigration Services Agency of Japan (ISA) as of October 9, 2026.

For resident tax (Individual Inhabitant Tax, 住民税) in an application for permanent residence (永住許可申請), the resident tax certificates (taxation or tax-exemption certificates, 課税（非課税）証明書) and the tax payment certificates (納税証明書) are counted by fiscal year (年度), and the documents showing that you paid on schedule are counted back on the calendar from the date of application. For those with a work-related status of residence (就労関係の在留資格), both cover the "most recent five years".

Because the two are counted differently, even for a fiscal year that is no longer covered by the certificates to be submitted, payment periods of that fiscal year may remain within the "most recent five years" (直近5年間). This article explains an example of applying in October 2026 and how to think about the timing of the application when a late payment is found.

Certificates are counted by fiscal year; payment periods are checked counting back from the date of application

Resident tax certificates are counted fiscal year by fiscal year, and the documents showing that you paid on schedule cover the period counted back from the time of application. The ISA asks those with a work-related status of residence for the following two kinds of documents.

Source: Immigration Services Agency of Japan, "Application for Permanent Residence 3" (in Japanese), 7(1)

The certificates in A show your total income for one year and the status of your tax payment, and municipalities issue them for each fiscal year. For this reason, "five years' worth" means five fiscal years' worth, that is, the certificates for five fiscal years.

B is the documents for showing that there has been no payment after the payment deadline (late payment, 遅延納付). The Immigration and Residence Examination Guidelines (入国・在留審査要領), which the ISA uses in its examinations, also set the period subject to review (確認対象期間) for local tax as "the most recent five years at the time of application", the same as for the independent livelihood requirement (独立生計要件) (Part 12, Section 27).

For any period in which your resident tax was withheld from your salary (special collection, 特別徴収), the documents in B are not required. Only those who have a period under the method of paying the tax yourself (ordinary collection, 普通徴収) submit the documents for that period. The documents cover the applicant and the person who supports the applicant as a dependent.

The period covered for each status of residence

The period covered depends on the applicant's status of residence or personal status. For pension contributions and health insurance premiums, it is, in principle, the past two years.

Source: Immigration Services Agency of Japan, "Application for Permanent Residence 1" (in Japanese), "Application for Permanent Residence 2" (in Japanese), "Application for Permanent Residence 3" (in Japanese)

The documents to be submitted by those applying as a "highly-skilled foreign professional" (高度人材外国人) or a "Special Highly-Skilled Professional (J-Skip)" (特別高度人材) are set out by the ISA on separate pages. Below, we use as the example those for whom the most recent five years are covered.

An example of applying in October 2026

If you apply on October 1, 2026, the certificates are those for five fiscal years, from FY2026 back to FY2022, and the check on payment periods covers those on or after October 1, 2021. FY2021 is no longer covered by the certificates, but its later payment periods remain within the five years.

This table assumes a municipality where the payment periods for ordinary collection are June, August, October and January of the following year. The Local Tax Act (地方税法) provides that the payment periods for ordinary collection are set by municipal ordinance "in June, August, October and January" (Article 320 of the Local Tax Act).

Some municipalities set payment periods that differ from these. Please check your own payment periods on the tax notice (納税通知書) sent to you by your municipality.

The ISA has not published how the five years are counted down to the day (as of October 2026). For a payment period close to the boundary, it is safer to prepare the documents on the assumption that it is covered.

What those with a period of ordinary collection should check before applying

Those who have a period of ordinary collection should check, before applying, whether each installment was paid by its payment deadline. This is because the documents in B are required separately from the certificates in A.

Source: Immigration Services Agency of Japan, "Application for Permanent Residence 3" (in Japanese), 7(1)(イ)

Around a change of jobs, the method may have switched from special collection to ordinary collection. Among the consultations our office has received, there was a person whose resident tax had been switched to ordinary collection at the time of a job change about five years earlier.

Because this person's memory was not clear, the person checked the payment records at the city tax division. As a result, it turned out that the payment for one of the four installment periods had been late.

Those who have neither receipts nor bankbook records left start by checking the payment records at the resident tax counter of their municipality. How much the counter will tell you about payment deadlines and dates of payment differs from municipality to municipality.

How is an amount paid after the payment period evaluated?

Under the current Guidelines, an amount paid after its payment period is, in principle, evaluated unfavorably, even if it has been paid in full by the time of application. Which version of the ISA's Guidelines for Permission for Permanent Residence (永住許可に関するガイドライン) applies differs depending on the date of application.

Source: Immigration Services Agency of Japan, "Guidelines for Permission for Permanent Residence (revised on October 1, 2026)" (in Japanese), Part 2, 5(3) and Part 6 (第2の5(3)・第6), "Guidelines for Permission for Permanent Residence (revised on February 24, 2026)" (in Japanese)

The revised version does not use the term "payment period" (納期), but the page on documents to be submitted continues to ask for documents showing that there has been no late payment.

Of the revised version, the two items on income and the burden on the public are also applied to cases that were applied for on or after April 1, 2026 and were under examination as of October 1, 2026. The revision as a whole is summarized in What Changed in the Revised Guidelines for Permission for Permanent Residence.

The Immigration and Residence Examination Guidelines state the following two points on late payment and non-payment (Part 12, Section 27).

These Examination Guidelines are the version disclosed before the Guidelines for Permission for Permanent Residence were revised on October 1, 2026. We have not been able to confirm whether the Examination Guidelines were amended in line with the revision (as of October 2026).

When a late payment is found, how to decide the timing of the application

The timing of the application is decided on both the details of the late payment and whether you can apply on or before March 31, 2027. It cannot be said for certain that it is enough to wait until the payment period that was paid late falls outside the most recent five years.

From what the Examination Guidelines state above, the fact that the payment period that was paid late moves outside the period subject to review is one guide for the timing of the application. However, the whole of the revised Guidelines for Permission for Permanent Residence applies to applications on or after April 1, 2027.

The Guidelines for Permission for Permanent Residence, both before and after the revision, do not state the period that is subject to evaluation. The period of five years comes from the documents to be submitted and the Examination Guidelines. Whether the handling of this period will change for applications on or after April 1, 2027 has not been published (as of October 2026).

If you postpone the application to April 1, 2027 or later, Japanese language proficiency, annual household income and other matters are also added as factors to be considered. The decision is made by looking at both the points that become favorable and the points that become unfavorable as a result of postponing.

For those who are uneasy about their payment records, we check the payment status and the timing of the application together with you in our consultation on applications for permanent residence.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are the documents in B also required for periods under special collection (withheld from salary)?

They are not required. The ISA states that those for whom the whole of the most recent five years was under special collection need only submit the documents in A.

What if the company did not pay the resident tax it had withheld? The Immigration and Residence Examination Guidelines state that non-payment for reasons that cannot be said to be the person's own responsibility is not treated as failing to meet the requirement.

What should I do if the municipality does not issue certificates for five fiscal years?

Submit the certificates for the longest period that is issued. The ISA's page on documents to be submitted states this.

From when can I obtain the certificate for the new fiscal year?

The timing differs depending on the municipality where you live. The timing at which payments for the new fiscal year are reflected in the certificate also differs depending on the municipality.

Those who apply around the time the fiscal year changes should first check up to which fiscal year certificates are issued, and then gather the certificates for five fiscal years.

Summary

For resident tax in an application for permanent residence, the taxation certificates and tax payment certificates are counted by fiscal year, and the documents showing that you paid on schedule are counted back from the date of application. Even for a fiscal year that is no longer covered by the certificates, payment periods of that fiscal year may remain within the most recent five years.

Those who have a period of ordinary collection should check the payment deadline and the date of payment for each installment before applying. If a late payment is found, decide the timing of the application by looking at both the details of the late payment and whether you can apply on or before March 31, 2027.

References

• Immigration Services Agency of Japan, "Application for Permanent Residence 3" (in Japanese; for applicants whose status of residence is a work-related status of residence or "Dependent")
• Immigration Services Agency of Japan, "Application for Permanent Residence 1" (in Japanese; for a spouse, biological child, etc. of a Japanese national, Permanent Resident or special permanent resident)
• Immigration Services Agency of Japan, "Application for Permanent Residence 2" (in Japanese; for applicants whose status of residence is "Long-Term Resident")
• Immigration Services Agency of Japan, "Guidelines for Permission for Permanent Residence (revised on October 1, 2026)" (in Japanese; October 2026)
• Immigration Services Agency of Japan, "Guidelines for Permission for Permanent Residence (revised on February 24, 2026)" (in Japanese; February 2026)
• Immigration Services Agency of Japan, Immigration and Residence Examination Guidelines (入国・在留審査要領), Part 12, Section 27, "Permanent Resident" (no link)
• Local Tax Act (in Japanese), Article 320 (payment periods of individual municipal inhabitant tax under ordinary collection)