Japan Crypto Tax Guide 2026
Cryptocurrency (仮想通貨/Kasō tsūka) transactions attract Income Tax in Japan. The Japanese National Tax Association (NTA) has set out guidelines on how crypto is taxed. Our guide breaks down everything you need to know about crypto tax in Japan, including the latest changes to crypto tax rules.
Crypto is miscellaneous income and subject to Income Tax at up to 55%
You'll report any crypto income as part of your annual tax return
These rates will be reduced to 20% for some crypto assets in 2026/2027
Is crypto taxed in Japan?
Yes. Cryptocurrency is viewed as property, and profits are taxed in Japan as miscellaneous income, under the Payment Services Act (PSA) and the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act (FIEA), meaning crypto can be taxed at up to 55%.
Miscellaneous income refers to income that does not fall under interest income, dividend income, real estate income, business income, salary income, retirement income, forestry income, capital gains, or temporary income.
If you’ve bought or sold cryptocurrency in the last financial year and made more than 200,000 JPY, you'll need to declare your crypto totals on your Income Tax return.
How much tax will you pay on crypto in Japan?
In Japan, the amount of tax you pay on crypto gains depends on the Personal Income Tax bracket you're in. If you earn more than 200,000 JPY, you need to pay Income Tax.
Japanese crypto investors could pay a maximum of 55% tax on crypto under Income Tax.
If you plan to file taxes for a medical expense deduction or a hometown tax deduction, you must also file any profits from crypto assets, even if the amount is 200,000 JPY or less.
Allowances: If you earn less than 200,000 JPY from investments like crypto and you are not filing for a tax deduction, you don't need to include your crypto profits as part of your annual Income Tax return.
Tax rate: Starts at 5% with a maximum of 45%.
Municipal tax: 10% has to be added at any rate, which ultimately leads to a maximum tax rate of 55%.
Losses: A crypto loss cannot be deducted from income or other assets. Currently, only losses from real estate, business, asset transfers, and forestry income can be deducted from income.
Income Tax rates
Crypto is taxed at your regular Income Tax rate in Japan. See below:
| Taxable Income (Yen) | Tax Rate |
|---|---|
| 0 - 1,950,000 | 5% |
| 1,950,000 - 3,300,000 | 10% |
| 3,300,000 - 6,950,000 | 20% |
| 6,950,000 - 9,000,000 | 23% |
| 9,000,000 - 18,000,000 | 33% |
| 18,000,000 - 40,000,000 | 40% |
| 40,000,000+ | 45% |
Non-permanent residents pay a 20.42% tax on all income earned in Japan.
There are proposals to change this tax regime starting in 2026.
Crypto tax reform 2026
Japan plans to swap the existing progressive crypto tax rate for a flat 20% tax rate pending parliament approval. This overhaul would align crypto with equities in Japan's tax system.
However, the changes would only apply to some crypto assets. Specifically, only crypto assets handled by registered and financial firms. This means many smaller altcoins on unregistered platforms may not qualify and could remain taxed at the higher miscellaneous income rates
Japan’s reform also introduces a three-year loss carry-forward provision for qualifying crypto gains, enabling investors to offset future profits with past losses.
The proposal would also allow losses to be deductible, as well as able to be carried forward if they cannot be offset against gains.
The FSA (Financial Services Agency) also plans to apply the existing Financial Instruments and Exchange Act framework to crypto to apply insider-trading style safeguards alongside other tight investor protections.
Which crypto transactions are taxable in Japan?
Some examples of taxable crypto transactions include both profits from disposals of crypto and income from crypto.
Taxable disposals of crypto would include:
Selling crypto for any fiat currency like JPY
Trading crypto for crypto, including stablecoins and NFTs
Buying goods and services with crypto
Gifting crypto
For these transactions, you'll need to calculate your gain or loss. To do this, take the cost base of your crypto (however much it cost you to acquire, plus any allowable fees) and subtract it from the sale price of your crypto. If you otherwise disposed of your crypto, use the fair market value (FMV) of your crypto on the day you disposed of it. If you have multiple assets of the same kind, use an allowable accounting method to calculate your cost basis.
Meanwhile, transactions that may be categorized as income from crypto include:
Getting paid in crypto
Earning staking rewards and rewards from DeFi protocols
Mining crypto
Airdrops
Referral bonuses
For these transactions, you'll pay Income Tax upon receipt based on the FMV of your crypto in JPY on the day you received it.
Some transactions are tax-free in Japan. This includes:
Buying crypto with fiat currency, like Japanese Yen
Holding crypto
Transferring crypto between your own wallets
Donating crypto to charity
Which accounting method for crypto in Japan?
Two cost-basis methods are allowed in Japan: the total average method and the moving average method.
Currently, Koinly supports the moving average method, also known as ACB.
When is the tax deadline in Japan?
The Japanese tax year runs from January 1 to December 31 every year. Taxpayers can file their crypto taxes from 16 February to 15 March.
How to report crypto in Japan?
You can file online or via paper forms.
For paper forms, use Form A if you only have employment income, miscellaneous income such as cryptocurrency gains, pensions, dividend income, or occasional income, and do not have any estimated tax prepayment.
For online, follow the instructions below:
Sign in or register an account with the National Tax Agency.
Go to relevant income, then salary (給与).
Select miscellaneous income (雑（その他）) then confirm (確定).
Answer "Do you wish to receive deductions for your home?" depending on your situation.
Select the e-Tax number for your submission method, then next. You can also sync with the My Number Portal Website if you wish.
Enter the amount of miscellaneous income in JPY. Profit amount (収入金額): indicates how much you gained or lost.
For the category (種目), select crypto asset from the drop-down list (暗号資産).
Enter the name of the exchange and its legal address. If you have accumulated profits from more than one exchange, enter the name of one of these entities and then enter (ほか).
Fill out the rest of your income tax return according to your personal circumstances.
Does the NTA know about your crypto?
Yes. If you have an account with a Japan-based Crypto-asset Exchange Service Provider (CAESP), then it's likely that the NTA already has your data.
Crypto exchanges in Japan are required to be registered with the FSA IN order to operate – a process that can take up to six months and which imposes stricter requirements around both cybersecurity and data sharing.
In addition, Japan is a founding FATF member and also belongs to the powerful Asia-Pacific Group on Money Laundering (APG), a powerful FATF-style regional body (FSRB) that helps member countries to implement FATF guidelines and also mutually evaluate their efforts.
In 2021, a man was convicted for avoiding crypto taxes for the first time. He was given a year-long sentence for violating Income Tax law and fined more than 22 million JPY. All this to say, the Japanese authorities are taking crypto tax evasion seriously!
How to do your Japan crypto taxes with Koinly
Ready to file? Whether you're filing yourself or handing the job over to your accountant, you'll need to start by downloading your crypto activity summary from Koinly.
While the task of preparing your crypto taxes can seem quite daunting - especially if you traded on multiple exchanges - there are tools like Koinly that can make your life really easy. Here's how it works:
1. Connect your exchanges and wallets
Most exchanges have APIs that can allow Koinly to download your transaction history automatically. You can also import CSV or Excel files with your transaction history if you prefer that (or if your exchange does not have an API). Once imported, you'll have a clear overview of your trades and can use Koinly as a portfolio tracker.
2. Ensure your account settings are correct for Japan
Your base currency should be JPY. The pre-selected cost-basis method is ACB, which is the cost basis method for Japan that Koinly supports.
3. Head over to the Reports page
Select the date range you need to file for. The Japanese tax year runs from 1 January to 31 December of the same year.
Koinly does a number of things under the hood in order to calculate your capital gains and income. First, it fetches the market rates at the time of your trades, then it matches transfers between your wallets and exchange accounts, and finally, it calculates your capital gains.
4. Select and download your report
Koinly offers many downloadable tax reports. For Japan, the report you need to download is called 'Complete Tax Report'.
Your report will download as a PDF and will contain:
Capital Gains Summary
Income Summary
Asset Summary
End-of-Year Balances
Capital Gains Transactions
Income Transactions
Gifts, Donations & Lost Assets
Expenses
Data Sources
With your crypto income summaries calculated, it's time to share your data with the NTA.
