Real-Estate Acquisition Tax in Japan: Base, Timing, and Relief

The short answer

Real-estate acquisition tax, fudōsan shutoku zei (不動産取得税), is a prefectural tax triggered by acquisition of land or a building under the applicable rules. Its tax base generally uses an official assessed value rather than the contractual price, and land and building are calculated separately. Rates, temporary measures, residential deductions, land relief, new or used building criteria, floor area, use, and dates matter.

Do not estimate it as a fixed percentage of purchase price. Obtain the relevant assessed values and apply the current prefectural rule for the actual acquisition.

Identify the taxpayer, asset, and acquisition

Record who acquires each land parcel, building, condominium unit or share, the acquisition cause and date, use, floor area, construction date, and whether the buyer or property may satisfy relief conditions. A company investment, individual residence, inherited property, gift, new building, and resale can follow different treatment.

For a condominium, obtain the building and land-share assessment information used by the authority. For a house, separate land and building and include ancillary registered assets. Co-ownership should be modelled by the actual shares.

The tax can be assessed after settlement. Include it in total acquisition cash even when it is absent from the closing statement.

Use assessed value, not an invented ratio

Ask the seller, broker, judicial scrivener, tax adviser, or authority for current fixed-asset assessment information appropriate to the transaction. Do not assume assessed value is always a stated percentage of market price. It answers a tax-assessment question and can differ by asset, location, age, and assessment cycle.

Apply current rate and any land-base adjustment or temporary measure from the relevant prefectural guidance. Then calculate residential building deductions and related land relief only if the facts satisfy the conditions. Preserve the formula and source.

For an illustrative calculation, if a building's relevant taxable base after verified deductions were JPY 20 million and the applicable rate were 3%, the building component would be JPY 600,000. This arithmetic does not state the current base, rate, or relief for a real property.

Check relief procedure and evidence

Relief may require an application or documents proving floor area, construction, use as a residence, seismic eligibility or other conditions. Ask which office handles the property, deadline, form, evidence, and whether the buyer must act before or after the notice.

Prepare registry records, sale contract, resident or use evidence, building documents, certificates, and assessment material as instructed. International buyers should confirm how absence from Japan, non-resident status, second-home use, or rental use affects eligibility and filing.

Do not budget a relief merely because a portal calculator offered it. Mark it “confirmed,” “conditional,” or “not used” in the acquisition model.

Reconcile the notice

When the notice arrives, compare taxpayer, asset, assessed value, rate, relief, due date, and payment method with the acquisition file. Resolve errors promptly through the issuing authority. Keep the notice and receipt with tax-basis and closing documents.

For remote owners, appoint reliable mail handling so the notice is not missed. The annual fixed-asset tax process is separate; payment of one does not cover the other.

Before closing, keep an uncommitted reserve for the full no-relief estimate. Release that reserve only after the authority calculation and any relief application are confirmed. This prevents a later notice from competing with renovation, mortgage, or operating cash.

If the property is renovated, demolished, newly completed, or changes use around the acquisition, ask which physical state and date the assessment uses. Preserve completion, use, floor-area, seismic, and residence evidence requested for relief. A seller's historical eligibility does not automatically transfer to the buyer, and a future plan does not establish the condition at acquisition.

Record the authority's written response with the final estimate.

Primary sources

• Tokyo Metropolitan Government — Real-estate acquisition tax: https://www.tax.metro.tokyo.lg.jp/kazei/real_estate/fudosan
• MLIT Housing Literacy Platform — Costs when purchasing a home: https://www.mlit.go.jp/sumai_literacy_pf/knowledge02/0005/
• National Tax Agency — Registration and licence tax, a separate acquisition cost: https://www.nta.go.jp/taxes/shiraberu/taxanswer/inshi/7191.htm

Reviewed against the linked sources on 23 August 2026. Apply the current rule of the prefecture where the property sits and obtain transaction-specific advice.