Car tax

[Wales4rugbyWC23]

It being May we got our car tax through and found that it had gone up by about 6000 yen a car. My wife's car was 33,000 yen an is now 39,000 yen. Mine was 39,000 yen and is now 45,000. Does anybody know if there has been an increase in car tax over the last year?

[RetireJapan]

I'm about to pay ours and it seems high. We have a kei and a hybrid. I don't have last year's numbers to hand though.

Looking forward to getting rid of the damn things

[fools_gold]

How old are your cars? The tax goes up by about 15% if your car is 13 years old for petrol or 11 years old for diesel.

[Jake]

It being May we got our car tax through and found that it had gone up by about 6000 yen a car. My wife's car was 33,000 yen an is now 39,000 yen. Mine was 39,000 yen and is now 45,000. Does anybody know if there has been an increase in car tax over the last year?

As mentioned car age is related, 13 years old for tax increase

[mighty58]

I have a 19 year old car with a 2.4 litre engine so the tax is a tad pricey at 51,700yen, but the savings realized buying a cheap used car more than make up for it.

[TJKansai]

I just paid ¥34,500 for our Aqua, 1.5L, 9 years old. I think that is the same as last year.

[JaviLM]

Your amounts sound too high compared to what I just paid for mine. I just paid 9,000 yen about a week ago. However, the car is new (I bought it last October) and is a very common and average Toyota hybrid.

Is my tax this low because it's a hybrid, because I'm paying only for the few months I've had the car, or a combination of these? Just wondering how much I should budget for next year.

[TJKansai]

Your amounts sound too high compared to what I just paid for mine. I just paid 9,000 yen about a week ago. However, the car is new (I bought it last October) and is a very common and average Toyota hybrid.

Is my tax this low because it's a hybrid, because I'm paying only for the few months I've had the car, or a combination of these? Just wondering how much I should budget for next year.

When you bought the car the dealer probably added in the tax and that took you up to May. There might also be a new car/hybrid discount for the first few years, as ¥9,000 is low if it is for the whole year.

In case of cars that are gasoline engine cars registered as new on or prior to March 31, 1999, an approximately 10% higher motor vehicle tax is levied (Higher-rate Motor Vehicle Tax”).

Table of Motor Vehicle Tax Amounts

Passenger Vehicle

Engine displacement \ Regular Motor Vehicle Tax \ Higher-rate Motor Vehicle Tax

1,000cc or less \ 29,500 \ 32,400

1,001cc～1,500cc \ 34,500 \ 37,900

1,501cc～2,000cc \ 39,500 \ 43,400

2,001cc～2,500cc \ 45,000 \ 49,500

2,501cc～3,000cc \ 51,000 \ 56,100

[TJKansai]

Your amounts sound too high compared to what I just paid for mine. I just paid 9,000 yen about a week ago. However, the car is new (I bought it last October) and is a very common and average Toyota hybrid.

Is my tax this low because it's a hybrid, because I'm paying only for the few months I've had the car, or a combination of these? Just wondering how much I should budget for next year.

When you bought the car the dealer probably added in the tax and that took you up to May. There might also be a new car/hybrid discount for the first few years, as ¥9,000 is low if it is for the whole year.

However, newly purchased cars can receive 50 percent off their first annual tax bill provided they are "low environment impact vehicles" (tei-kogai-sha 低公害車).

I got curious, and perhaps you are paying the business use rate. If so, maybe that is something to consider (not sure if driving to work counts though):

Regular cars are divided into two tax categories: home use (jika-yo 自家用) and business use (jigyo-yo 事業用). Cars registered for business use are taxed at a much lower rate compared to home-use vehicles. Naturally, you have first prove that your vehicle is vital to your business before you can register it as a business use vehicle. The exact cost of standard home and business use vehicles can be found below.


http://www.accessj.com/2013/05/annual-a ... japan.html

[captainspoke]

One of the benefits of being classed as disabled (障害者) is that the car tax is waived (locally, at least). Once registered, and until you change cars, you don't need to do anything with the bill. Just put it in the glove box and forget about it. ¥34,500 for me.