How to Claim a Tax Refund on Your Pension Refund
*This is Part 2 of How to Claim Your Pension Refund article.
After claiming and receiving your pension refund, you will have noticed that 20.42% income tax has been withheld. In most cases, you should be eligible for an income tax refund on this 20.42%. So what do you need to do now?
Before getting started, you should have completed Steps 1 – 5 by now.
Upon receiving your pension refund, you can now file an income tax return.
Step 6. Submit your tax return
- Tax Return Form, kakutei shinkoku sho
- Pension Refund Notice (Original), dattai ichijikin tsuchisho
- Copy of My Number card (front & back)
If you didn’t make a My Number card, please provide the copy of the My Number notice (front & back)
- Copy of your passport (face photo page)
- Your tax representative’s bank information
Please note the tax refund will be deposited into your tax representative’s bank account. Your tax representative should provide you with the following information.
＊bank name, ginkou mei
＊branch name, shiten mei
＊account type, koza shubetsu
＊account number, koza bango
＊beneficiary name, kouza meigi
Step 7. The Tax Office receives your tax return.
Tax Office will send a copy with the “received” stamp within 5 – 10 business days.
Step 8. The Tax Office makes a deposit to your tax representative’s bank account.
It usually takes 2 – 4 weeks to process a refund. If you file an income tax return in January, February, or March, it may take more than 4 weeks as this is the busiest season for the Tax Office.
Step 9. Your tax representative forwards the tax refund to your account.
You should provide your bank details to your tax representative.
＊SWIFT code or IBAN code
＊bank name
＊branch name
＊branch address
＊account number
＊beneficiary’s name (registered name should be the same as the name on the passport)
Step 10. You receive your tax refund.
Congratulations!
If you are not sure where to find a tax representative or how to fill out the tax return form, please feel free to contact us. We will be happy to put you in contact with the relevant tax professionals.
How do you obtain a tax representative for the tax refund and how much does this usually cost? Can I not put myself as a tax representative?
Hi Jennifer,
Any Japanese person or Permanent Resident of Japan can act as your Tax Representative. They will need to have a Japanese bank account and be responsible for filling out the required documentation. The refund is made into their account and then transferred overseas to the recipient’s account so you should deal with someone or an organization of repute. Fee will either be a one-off payment or a % of your refund. This is something that is discussed on a case-by-case basis during the initial consultation. We have represented dozens of Pension Refunds in the past and are experts on the required procedures and steps for a successful outcome. If you need help with this please contact us at: contact@bridgewaterjapan.com
My daughter recently returned from working in Japan for four years and she needs assistance getting her pension refund. Please let me know if this is something you can help with.
Dear Elizabeth,
Apologies for the late reply. Please email Miki miki@bridgewaterjapan.com
She will assist your daughter with the process.
Bridgewater Japan Admin
Is a copy of our My Number Card suffice we gave up before leaving the country? I am unsure how can fulfil this requirement considering we cannot be a resident of Japan to receive the pension lump sum withdrawal.
Hello, can you file for income tax refund and residence tax refund while still living and working in Japan? Or is this only applicable to those leaving the country?
Thanks in advance
K.S.