Deductions for side work prepared at home

[Rezz]

Hi all,

I've been filing my taxes for the last few years by taking them to the tax office and waiting a few hours for assistance. Until now I've been working several part time jobs, and usually give the staff all of my withholding slips, ideco papers, insurance papers and have them do most of it for me.

This year I switched from multiple part-time positions to one full-time position and a company side gig a few hours a week. The company contracts me as self-employed, and has given me a different kind of withholding slip (kind of like the withholding slip you get that shows taxes paid on bonuses or one-off payments). I prepare for the company work at home, and am wondering if I can use this "home office time" to claim part of my rent as tax deductible.

I have read it's possible for those who run a business out of their home, but I'm not exactly sure how this would apply in my case (if at all). Does anyone have experience of doing this? Is there any kind of rule as to how much of your rent you can deduct? What kind of proof is required?

I realize this is quite a specific question, and of course I'll ask the advisors at the tax office too. A heads up as to what I can expect / prepare would be much appreciated however

Regards,
Rezz

[fools_gold]

I used to do this. I think I claimed around 30% of rent and utilities as I was using one room of a 2LDK as an office. I also claimed for office equipment and part of my car. If it's not a registered business then you don't need to produce receipts, but you should have them in case you're ever audited.

There was a site called gaijin tax that showed how to fill out all the forms.

[ricardo]

Not sure as they give you a withholding slip which means it counts as employment income and they’ve already paid some tax for you - probably too much or too little, which is why you need to file a return to ensure the calculation based on your total income is correct.

You can definitely claim for legitimate expenses for private income (where students give you cash or pay you directly by bank transfer, for example). But employment income already has a deduction built into the system for expenses.

Worth asking, though. Please let us know what they say..

(And worth doing your own tax return, to be honest, rather than just expecting the staff at the tax office to do it for you. How do you know they got the calculation right? The Japanese tax system is not that complicated.

[Rezz]

Thanks for the replies. I realise its not too complicated to file your own taxes, but doing it at home with the etax software seems to require an IC card reader. At the tax office the staff always seem more than happy to help, so I've usually just handed them my documents, checked the forms with them and confirmed a few things while they look over everything.

fools_gold - when you were claiming 30% of your rent as deductible, how many days were you preparing for the sidegig at home? I'm only doing a few hours a week at the company (just one night). Do they take that into account? Thanks

[N00bster]

Thanks for the replies. I realise its not too complicated to file your own taxes, but doing it at home with the etax software seems to require an IC card reader.

Just a small correction: you don't need an IC card reader. Most people (including myself) print the filled forms and bring them to the tax office for submission. You can also have them checked there before submission if you wish.

[ricardo]

Confirmed. No need for an etax card reader. Most Japanese people seem to avoid this too!

The tax office send me a pack every year with all the forms I need, part-completed with some personal details etc, including a very useful guide in quite good English. (Also available as a PDF on the JTA website).

I fill it in by hand then take it to the office because I like to get their stamp on my copies. I could post it or just drop it into their collection box.

[RetireJapan]

Yes, you need the card reader to *file* online. If you don't have one you can just print out and mail/hand in the tax return.

[AustinJapan]

I used to do this....claimed around 30% of rent and utilities....also claimed for office equipment and part of my car.

If it's not a registered business then you don't need to produce receipts, but you should have them in case...

Just curious, how do you claim on a side-business and avoid registering it as a business? They let you do that?

[ricardo]

It has to be legitimate and proportionate.

[hoshimo]

Confirmed. No need for an etax card reader. Most Japanese people seem to avoid this too!

The tax office send me a pack every year with all the forms I need, part-completed with some personal details etc, including a very useful guide in quite good English. (Also available as a PDF on the JTA website).

I fill it in by hand then take it to the office because I like to get their stamp on my copies. I could post it or just drop it into their collection box.

where do you sign up for this?