Nothing to see here
Well, it’s that time of year again. Our property tax bill just arrived. Once again, the assessed value of our manshon has increased, resulting in a 100 yen increase in our tax bill for this year compared to last year. I can live with that 🙂
There are a couple of things to be aware of with regards to property taxes here, which are paid by the owners of buildings and land, not the occupiers.
First, property taxes are based on the assessed value of the land or building (inheritance taxes are also based on this value), which is usually much lower than the market value. We bought our manshon for 9 million yen, and based on the resale value of similar units in our building the market price seems to be 12-13 million. However, the assessed value is just over 4.5 million, resulting in lower property and inheritance taxes.
Second, the assessed value of new builds is discounted for the first few years, so you may get an unpleasant surprise when that discount ends. Also, it is possible for the local government to make a mistake when assessing the value. If your property taxes seem too high it may be worth talking to the property tax office at your city hall or ward office.
If you don’t pay your property taxes your land/building can be seized by the government. Make sure you pay on time or at least talk to the property tax office about your options if you are having trouble paying. Ignoring them seldom ends well.
This Reddit thread has lots of examples of property tax bills.
Ours was ¥53,800 (全). The house is old, but at least not falling down, and the parking is free.
Just a quick caveat – “property taxes are based on the assessed value of the land or building (inheritance taxes are also based on this value), which is usually much lower than the market value.” – that’s only been true since 2012, when prices have started going up (so the market no longer reflects the assessed value). The assessments are refreshed every few years, and if a market has actually gone down in value since the last assessment (as Sapporo did, for instance, between 2011-2014 or so), the assessed value can actually be higher than market prices (reflected in a higher property tax bill).
Thanks Ziv!
I think also you should say that the taxes on your property go lower as you get older, like 70 years old.
I think our taxes on our home which is around 200k to 350k, don’ t know till we have a buyer, but we pay around 800 USD a year, not too bad.
Wasn’t aware there was an age-based criteria… do you have a link for that? The taxes will fall over time as the building depreciates.
Just got mine today……ï¿¥111,000 for the year divided into 4 payments of 30,000 or so. It’s pretty much stayed the same as I bought it in 1996.