Overview

Filing period to submit statutory records (法定調書) — including withholding tax certificates (源泉徴収票) and payment records (支払調書) — along with the summary table (合計表) to the jurisdictional tax office. No official start date is specified, but submissions can begin from January 1 once the previous year's data is finalized.

Schedule

Applicability

• Applicable to: Kabushiki Kaisha (KK), Godo Kaisha (GK), Individual
• Requires paying salaries

Filing is required of any corporation or sole proprietor that made payments subject to statutory reporting during the previous year. This includes: employers who paid salaries or wages (requiring withholding tax certificates (源泉徴収票)), businesses that paid fees or compensation to individuals such as lawyers, tax accountants, or designers (requiring payment records (支払調書)), and those who paid real estate usage fees, acquisition consideration, or brokerage commissions. The obligation applies regardless of whether the filer is a corporation or an individual — any qualifying payment triggers the filing requirement. Filing can be done via e-Tax (electronic filing), by mail, or in person at the jurisdictional tax office. Electronic submission via e-Tax, optical media, or cloud services is mandatory when the number of records of the same type submitted two years prior was 100 or more (dropping to 30 or more from January 2027). Filing on paper when electronic submission is mandatory may be treated as non-filing. The eLTAX "unified electronic submission" (電子的提出の一元化) feature allows simultaneous creation and submission of withholding tax certificates (源泉徴収票) to the tax office and salary payment reports (給与支払報告書) to municipalities, reducing administrative burden. The summary table (合計表) must always be submitted even when no individual statutory records meet the submission threshold. Even a "nil" return requires the summary table to be filed.

Authority

Filing Methods

Additional Details

The formal name is "Summary Table of Statutory Records Including Withholding Tax Certificates for Salary Income" (給与所得の源泉徴収票等の法定調書合計表). The summary table (合計表) aggregates totals from individual statutory records (法定調書) by type and is submitted to the jurisdictional tax office alongside the individual records. The summary table covers 6 main types of statutory records: 1. Withholding tax certificates for salary income (給与所得の源泉徴収票) 2. Withholding tax certificates for retirement income (退職所得の源泉徴収票) 3. Payment records for fees, compensation, contract payments, and prizes (報酬、料金、契約金及び賞金の支払調書) 4. Payment records for real estate usage fees (不動産の使用料等の支払調書) 5. Payment records for real estate acquisition consideration (不動産等の譲受けの対価の支払調書) 6. Payment records for real estate brokerage fees (不動産等の売買又は貸付けのあっせん手数料の支払調書) There are 63 types of statutory records defined across 4 governing laws: Income Tax Act (所得税法, 43 types), Inheritance Tax Act (相続税法, 5 types), Special Tax Measures Act (租税特別措置法, 10 types), and Act on Records of Foreign Remittances (国外送金等調書法, 5 types). The summary table must include total payment amounts for each category even when individual records fall below the tax office submission threshold. Individual withholding tax certificates (源泉徴収票) need only be submitted to the tax office when they exceed certain thresholds (e.g., over 1.5 million yen for corporate officers (役員), over 5 million yen for general employees). However, copies must be provided to all employees regardless of amount. The filing deadline is January 31, but no official start date is specified by law. Since the statutory records cover payments made during the previous calendar year (January through December), submissions can in practice begin from January 1 once the prior year's data is finalized.

Penalties for Non-Compliance

Penalties for non-submission or false entries include imprisonment of up to 1 year or a fine of up to ¥500,000 (Income Tax Act Article 242, Item 5). The tax office may also conduct a statutory records audit (法定監査) — distinct from a regular tax audit (税務調査) — to verify compliance. Deficiencies discovered during such audits result in corrective guidance.

Legal Basis