Japan Crypto Tax Guide 2025

Cryptocurrency - 仮想通貨 – Kasō tsūka - transactions attract Income Taxes in Japan. The Japanese National Tax Association (NTA) has set out guidelines on how crypto is taxed. Here we break down everything you need to know about crypto taxes and how you can avoid notices, audits, and penalties later on, and offer tips on how to reduce your Japanese crypto tax bill.

Is crypto taxed in Japan?

Cryptocurrency is viewed as property and is taxed in Japan States 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%.

You won't pay tax when you buy crypto, hold crypto, or move your crypto between wallets. In addition, the NTA does not yet distinguish between individuals and businesses when it comes to cryptocurrency taxes.

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.

Will 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!

Crypto is miscellaneous income

Cryptocurrency gains are taxed as Miscellaneous Income in Japan.

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, and temporary income.

How much will you pay?

In Japan, the amount of tax you pay on crypto gains depends on the Personal Income Tax bracket you're in.

Japanese crypto investors could pay a maximum of 55% tax on crypto under Income Tax. By contrast, profits made from stocks sit under a different tax category and are taxed at a fixed rate of 20%. If you earn more than 200,000 JPY from crypto - you need to pay 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. As of now, losses from real estate, business, asset transfers, and forestry income can only be deducted from income, and cryptocurrencies do not classify as any of these categories.

Here are some examples of when you might be taxed under Miscellaneous Income for transacting with crypto in Japan:

• Selling crypto for any fiat currency, like JPY

• Exchange crypto for crypto, including stablecoins

• Buying goods and services with crypto

• Gifting crypto

• Getting paid in crypto

• Earning staking rewards and rewards from liquidity pools

• Receiving new coins from forks

• Mining crypto

• Airdrops

• DeFi interest

• Referral bonus

How much will you pay in crypto tax?

Crypto is taxed at your regular Income Tax rate in Japan. You can see the different Income Tax rates below:

Accounting method used

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.

How to report crypto tax

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:

1. Sign in or register an account with the National Tax Agency.

2. Go to relevant income, then salary (給与).

3. Select miscellaneous income (雑（その他）) then confirm (確定).

4. Answer "Do you wish to receive deductions for your home" depending on your situation.

5. Select the e-Tax number for your submission method, then next. You can also sync with the My Number Portal Website if you wish.

6. Enter the amount of miscellaneous income in JPY. Profit amount (収入金額): indicates how much you gained or lost.

7. For the category (種目), select crypto asset from the drop-down list (暗号資産).

8. 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).

9. Fill out the rest of your income tax return according to your personal circumstances.

Tax deadline

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.

Who can help you calculate your crypto tax?

Crypto tax reporting is fairly new, and a road less traveled for most accountants. That doesn't mean Japan's NTA is going to cut you any slack. Here are 4 ways you can tackle your crypto taxes and stay in the taxman's good books. We'll start with the easiest and most accurate method first.

1. Use a crypto tax calculator like Koinly to create a report of crypto activity. Send the report to your accountant to complete your tax return.

2. Use a crypto tax calculator like Koinly to create a report of crypto activity. Add the necessary data to your tax return and file it yourself.

3. Get your accountant to work out your crypto activity by supplying transaction histories, statements, etc. Let them work it out and file it for you.

4. Work out your activity yourself, and file yourself.

How to use a crypto tax app like Koinly

Don't get stuck in the busy work. Don't get it wrong. Don't rely on your accountant to know where to look. Use Koinly. Here's how easy it is:

1. Sign up for a FREE account.

2. Select your base country (Japan) and currency (Yen/JPY).

3. Connect Koinly to your wallets and exchanges. Koinly integrates with Coincheck, Binance, bitFlyer, Huobi, Kraken, Paybis, and 600+ more. (See all)

4. Let Koinly crunch the numbers. Make a matcha latte.

5. Ta-da! Your data is collected and your full tax report is generated!

6. To download your crypto tax report, upgrade to a paid plan.

7. Send your report to your accountant, or complete your NTA tax submission yourself, using the figures from your Koinly report.

Now that you know how to go about calculating and submitting your taxes, let's explore Japan's crypto tax rules in more detail. Here's a breakdown of the most common crypto scenarios and the tax liability they trigger:

Selling crypto for fiat

According to the NTA, selling crypto for fiat currency, such as the Japanese JPY, is a taxable event. Profit made from the sale of cryptocurrency attracts a tax as miscellaneous income.

Swapping crypto

Trading one crypto for another (ex. BTC → XRP) is a taxable event in Japan. The NTA sees a trade as 2 separate transactions, first, you are selling your BTC for X amount of fictional yen, then you are buying ETH with these fictional yen.

Even though you never received any yen in hand, you still have to pay tax on the sale of the BTC.

The fair market value in JPY of the purchased coins is used to determine the gain. If the cryptocurrency that you received can't be valued, you will have to take into account the market value of the crypto you sold at the time of the transaction.

Gifting crypto

Gifting crypto is viewed exactly the same as selling it, so it's a taxable event and you'll need to pay Miscellaneous Income Tax. The proceeds would be the fair market value of the crypto in JPY on the date when the gift was given.

Trading with stablecoins

A stablecoin is simply a class of cryptocurrency that offers price stability. That's because stablecoins are backed by a reserve asset, usually a stable fiat currency like JPY or USD. As far as the NTA is concerned however, stablecoins like TrueUSD are exactly the same as any other cryptocurrency, and so the tax treatment - Miscellaneous Income Tax - is the same as for regular crypto to crypto exchanges.

Mining

In Japan, mined crypto rewards generate taxable income. You have to declare it on your Income Tax statement as additional Miscellaneous Income.

Getting paid in Bitcoin

Whether you are freelancing or working for a company that pays employees in crypto, you can't escape income tax.

Any coins received as income are taxed at fair market value, in JPY, at the time you receive them. Bitcoin and all cryptocurrency income must be declared on your Income Tax statement as additional Miscellaneous Income.

Spending crypto on goods and services

Unfortunately, spending your bitcoin or any other cryptocurrency generates taxable income in Japan. You have to declare it on your Income Tax statement as additional Miscellaneous Income

Airdrops

The value of a coin received through an airdrop generates taxable income. You have to declare it on your Income Tax statement as additional Miscellaneous Income

Interest from DeFi/Lending/Staking/Masternodes

Lending your cryptocurrency and getting interest on the same generates taxable income. You have to declare it on your Income Tax statement as additional Miscellaneous Income.

Signup and referral bonuses

Any crypto you get in return for signing up or referring users to a service is taxed as Income. You have to declare it on your Income Tax statement as additional Miscellaneous Income.

Buying cryptocurrency

Like in most parts of the world, there are no taxes on buying cryptocurrencies in Japan.

However, keeping accurate records of the purchase is very important so that you can calculate the cost basis of the transaction when you decide to sell or 'dispose' of your crypto - as that is the moment when you will have to pay tax.

Koinly is not just a crypto tax calculator but a crypto portfolio tracker too - the perfect tool to keep a hold on your crypto purchase and sale dates.

Transferring crypto between own wallets

Moving crypto between different wallets or accounts is not a taxable event and doesn't trigger CGT. Having said that, it's important to keep track of these movements because automated crypto tax software like Koinly uses these movements to keep track of your cost basis.

Holding crypto

If your strategy is to simply buy and hold your crypto, then you don’t need to pay tax on the cryptocurrency you hodl, even if the value of your portfolio increases. The taxable event is when you sell, exchange, or gift your crypto.

Receiving crypto as a gift

If you’re a lucky recipient of a gift or donation made in crypto, your 'gain' is not immediately taxed, in fact, the event is tax free.

Donating crypto

In Japan crypto donations work the same as regular donations - they're tax deductible if you're donating to a registered charity.

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:

1. Capital Gains Summary

2. Income Summary

3. Asset Summary

4. End-of-Year Balances

5. Capital Gains Transactions

6. Income Transactions

7. Gifts, Donations & Lost Assets

8. Expenses

9. Data Sources

With your crypto income summaries calculated, it's time to share your data with the NTA.