What kind of taxes do foreigners pay in Japan? -

It looks like I ll be getting a job in Japan soon. So how much will the Japanese tax man take from my salary?

You will be paying national income tax and local inhabitants tax. The 2007 tax rates for income tax range from 5% to 40%. The national inhabitants tax rate is a flat 10%. If you have resided in Japan for less than 5 years, you are considered a non-permanent resident. You would be taxed just on income earned in Japan. If you have resided in Japan for 5 years or more out of the last 10 years, or have decided to make Japan your permanent home, you would be considered a permanent resident and taxed on worldwide income. While income tax is calculated at the end of the year and is based on the current year s income, inhabitants tax is assessed on January 1 and is calculated based on the prior year s income. So a tax planning tip is to make sure that when you decide to leave Japan permanently, make sure you leave BEFORE January 1, otherwise you will be liable for inhabitants tax. As for social insurance, employees pay 4.1% monthly towards health insurance, 7.144% monthly towards welfare pension insurance, and if the employee is over the age of 40, 0.615% monthly towards nursing care. There are monthly maximums to the amount of salary and bonuses subject to these taxes. You will also pay 0.8% of your total payroll towards employment insurance.