Is it true that you don’t need to file a tax return if your side-job income is ¥200,000 or less?

“If your side job earns ¥200,000 or less, you don’t need to file.” Have you heard this on YouTube or social media?

The figure “¥200,000” really does appear in the income tax rules. But if you take this rumor at face value and do nothing, you may later receive a resident tax bill.

We checked this rumor against the original text of the law and the official information published by the National Tax Agency (NTA).

Four tax terms to know first

Here are plain-language explanations of the terms used in this article.

• Final tax return (kakutei shinkoku) = The procedure in which you calculate your own income and tax for the year and submit the forms to the tax office. The filing period is February 16 to March 15 every year.
• Resident tax (jūminzei) = Tax paid to the prefecture and the city, ward, town, or village where you live. For company employees, it is usually deducted from their salary.
• Year-end adjustment (nenmatsu chōsei) = The procedure in which your employer settles your income tax at the end of the year. Almost all company employees go through it.
• No filing required ≠ tax-free = “You don’t need to file” does not mean “no tax is charged.”

Conclusion

Our verdict: “True, with conditions.” It is correct as far as income tax is concerned, but it becomes risky once the conditions are left out.

The difference between “revenue” and “income”

What you compare with ¥200,000 is your income, not your revenue. If you get this wrong, you may fail to file when you should.

• Revenue = The total amount of money you received
• Necessary expenses = The costs of earning that revenue. Examples: cost of goods purchased, phone and internet charges, transportation
• Income = Revenue minus necessary expenses. In other words, your profit

Let’s look at examples.

A’s revenue is ¥250,000, which is over ¥200,000. But compared on an income basis it is ¥150,000, so no final tax return is needed. B still has ¥250,000 of income after expenses, so B must file.

Money from selling assets used in daily life, such as your own clothes or furniture, is not subject to income tax in the first place (Income Tax Act, Article 9, paragraph 1, item 9)［11］. What counts is selling goods bought for resale, as A did.

The key point is that what you compare with ¥200,000 is your “income (profit).” This applies to people who receive salary from one employer and have had their year-end adjustment done.

Note: Even someone like A needs to be careful when filing a final tax return for another reason, such as the medical expense deduction. Side-job income of ¥200,000 or less must then be reported together with everything else. When you file a return to claim a refund, you include all your income, even amounts of ¥200,000 or less［4］.

When the side job is part-time work

If your side job pays you a salary, as part-time work does, you cannot deduct necessary expenses. The salary from the side job is counted at its full revenue amount and added to any profit from other side jobs to make the judgment. This method of counting is written in the original text of the law: Income Tax Act, Article 121, paragraph 1, item 2 (a) (e-Gov Law Search).

第百九十五条第一項（従たる給与についての扶養控除等申告書）に規定する従たる給与等の支払者から支払を受けるその年分の給与所得に係る給与等の金額とその年分の給与所得及び退職所得以外の所得金額との合計額が二十万円以下であるとき。［1］

Reference translation (unofficial): Where the total of the amount of salary, etc. for the year relating to salary income received from a payer of secondary salary, etc. as prescribed in Article 195, paragraph 1 (application for dependent deductions, etc. for secondary salary), and the amount of income for the year other than salary income and retirement income, is ¥200,000 or less.

“Secondary salary” means salary for which no year-end adjustment is done, that is, the pay from your side job. This provision says that a person paid by two or more employers does not need to file a final tax return if the “revenue amount” of the side-job salary plus their other income is ¥200,000 or less.

The NTA’s Tax Answer No.1900 explains the same rule as follows.

給与を2か所以上から受けていて、かつ、給与の全部が源泉徴収の対象となる場合において、年末調整されなかった給与の収入金額と、各種の所得金額（給与所得、退職所得を除く。）との合計額が20万円を超える人［4］

Reference translation (unofficial): A person who receives salary from two or more places, all of which is subject to withholding, and for whom the total of the revenue from the salary not covered by the year-end adjustment and their various other income amounts (excluding salary income and retirement income) exceeds ¥200,000.

For example, if you earn ¥120,000 from part-time work and ¥100,000 of profit from flea-market sales, the total is ¥220,000, so you must file. It does not work to say “each one is ¥200,000 or less, so I’m fine.”

The legal basis of the “¥200,000 rule”

Let’s also look at the original text of the law for people paid by only one employer: Income Tax Act, Article 121, paragraph 1, item 1 (e-Gov Law Search).

一の給与等の支払者から給与等の支払を受け、かつ、当該給与等の全部について第百八十三条（給与所得に係る源泉徴収義務）又は第百九十条（年末調整）の規定による所得税の徴収をされた又はされるべき場合において、その年分の利子所得の金額、配当所得の金額、不動産所得の金額、事業所得の金額、山林所得の金額、譲渡所得の金額、一時所得の金額及び雑所得の金額の合計額（以下この項において「給与所得及び退職所得以外の所得金額」という。）が二十万円以下であるとき。［1］

Reference translation (unofficial): Where a person receives salary, etc. from one payer of salary, etc., and income tax has been or is to be collected on all of that salary, etc. under Article 183 (withholding obligation for salary income) or Article 190 (year-end adjustment), and the total of the person’s interest income, dividend income, real estate income, business income, timber income, capital gains, occasional income and miscellaneous income for the year (referred to in this paragraph as “the amount of income other than salary income and retirement income”) is ¥200,000 or less.

Since this is a long sentence, here is what it means. This law sets out the cases in which a person is “not required to submit” a final tax return. The conditions are: you receive salary from one company, income tax has been collected through the year-end adjustment and so on, and the total of your income other than salary and retirement income is ¥200,000 or less.

The NTA’s Tax Answer No.1900, “Salary earners who need to file a final tax return,” explains the same rule in more familiar words.

給与を1か所から受けていて、かつ、その給与の全部が源泉徴収の対象となる場合において、各種の所得金額（給与所得、退職所得を除く。）の合計額が20万円を超える人［4］

Reference translation (unofficial): A person who receives salary from one place, all of which is subject to withholding, and whose total of various income amounts (excluding salary income and retirement income) exceeds ¥200,000.

In other words, “you don’t need to file if it is ¥200,000 or less” holds only when all three conditions are met.

• You receive salary from one company. If you are paid by two or more, the counting method is different, as explained above.
• Your year-end adjustment has been done on that salary.
• The total profit (income) from your side job and similar sources is ¥200,000 or less.

For side income from online auctions and flea-market apps, the NTA takes the same approach in Tax Answer No.1906.

年末調整が済んでいる給与所得者であっても、その給与所得以外に副収入等によって20万円を超える所得を得ている場合には、確定申告をすれば税金が還付される人を除いて、確定申告が必要となります［5］

Reference translation (unofficial): Even a salary earner whose year-end adjustment has been completed must file a final tax return if, in addition to salary income, they earn more than ¥200,000 of income from side income or the like, except for people who would receive a tax refund by filing.

People “who would receive a refund,” meaning those who have overpaid tax and would get money back, are better off filing even if their side income is ¥200,000 or less. Typical cases are the medical expense deduction and the first year of the housing loan deduction.

Up to this point, the rumor holds. Next, let’s look at two pitfalls that are often overlooked.

Pitfall 1: Resident tax has no “¥200,000 rule”

If you file a final income tax return, the data is also passed on to your municipality, and your resident tax is calculated automatically. But if you do not file a final tax return, you must file a separate resident tax return yourself.

The legal basis is the Local Tax Act, Article 317-2, paragraph 1 (e-Gov Law Search).

三月十五日までに、総務省令で定めるところにより、次に掲げる事項を記載した申告書を賦課期日現在における住所所在地の市町村長に提出しなければならない。［2］

Reference translation (unofficial): … must, by March 15, submit a return stating the following matters, as prescribed by Order of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, to the mayor of the municipality where the person’s address is located as of the date of assessment.

(Excerpt)

This law has no exception saying “not required if ¥200,000 or less.” Suginami City’s official page also gives the following as an example of people who do not need to file a final income tax return but do need to file a resident tax return.

給与所得者で、前年の給与所得および退職所得以外の所得金額が20万円以下の方［8］

Reference translation (unofficial): Salary earners whose income other than salary income and retirement income in the previous year was ¥200,000 or less.

This brings us back to “no filing required ≠ tax-free” from the beginning. Only the final income tax return is unnecessary. Resident tax is charged as usual. In Suginami City, the income-based portion of individual resident tax is 6% special ward tax plus 4% Tokyo metropolitan tax, for a total of 10%［8］. As a rough guide, ¥150,000 of side-job profit results in about ¥15,000 of resident tax.

Here is what happens if you leave it without filing. Resident tax works by the municipality deciding the tax amount and notifying you. So no late-payment charge arises just because you did not file. Instead, the municipality later finds out about your side job and assesses the tax. If you then pay after that payment deadline, a late-payment charge arises. According to material from the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, the statutory rate of the late-payment charge is 14.6% a year, but it is currently reduced under a special provision. For 2026 (Reiwa 8), the rate is 2.8% a year for the first month after the deadline and 9.1% a year after that［6］.

Filing also affects daily life. Suginami City’s page also contains this sentence.

申告する必要のない方でも、非課税証明書を必要とする方などは、申告が必要です。［8］

Reference translation (unofficial): Even people who do not need to file must file if, for example, they need a certificate of non-taxation.

If you have not filed a resident tax return, the municipality cannot issue a correct income certificate (tax certificate), which can affect procedures such as eligibility checks for benefits.

A resident tax return is much simpler than a final income tax return. You can file it at the municipal office counter or by mail. The deadline is March 15［2］. All you need is something like a memo showing your side-job revenue and expenses.

Pitfall 2: How your employer could find out

Here is another common worry: if you file, will your employer find out about your side job?

For company employees, resident tax is usually deducted from salary. This deduction is called special collection. According to material from the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, unless you make a specific request on your final tax return, resident tax on your non-salary income may also be included in special collection and deducted from your salary［10］. If the amount deducted suddenly goes up, your company’s accounting staff may notice.

But the law provides a way to prevent this: the proviso to the Local Tax Act, Article 321-3, paragraph 2 (e-Gov Law Search).

第三百十七条の二第一項の申告書に給与所得以外の所得に係る所得割額を普通徴収の方法によつて徴収されたい旨の記載があるときは、この限りでない。［3］

Reference translation (unofficial): This does not apply where the return under Article 317-2, paragraph 1 states that the person wishes the income-based tax amount relating to income other than salary income to be collected by the method of ordinary collection.

Ordinary collection means paying the tax yourself with a payment slip or by bank transfer. Table 2 of the final tax return form has a section called “Matters concerning resident tax and enterprise tax.” If you check “pay by myself” there, the resident tax on your non-salary income will not be deducted from your salary. If you submit the return without knowing about this section, the accounting staff may notice when they see your pay slip the following June.

However, there are three caveats.

1. You can choose “pay by myself” only for income other than salary and pensions. Side jobs that are part-time work are not eligible. Resident tax on side-job salary is combined with your main salary and deducted from it［3］［9］.
2. In addition, some municipalities have become stricter. Nakano City has announced that from fiscal 2026 (Reiwa 8), all resident tax relating to salary will be collected through special collection［9］.
3. There are cases where special collection applies even if you choose “pay by myself”: when the income you report is negative, when the additional deductions are larger than the income, or when tax credits such as for hometown tax donations (furusato nōzei) are larger than the increase in tax［9］.

So it cannot be said for certain that your employer will never find out. Other routes besides resident tax also remain, such as your social insurance enrollment status or notifications required under your company’s side-job rules.

Exceptions that are easy to miss

“No filing needed if ¥200,000 or less” has further detailed exceptions. If any of these apply to you, you must file a final tax return regardless of the amount.

The one-stop exception for hometown tax donations is an especially commonly overlooked point. A notice from the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (on the handling of the enforcement of the Local Tax Act, municipal taxes) states the following.

当該申告書の記載内容及び提出時期にかかわらず、当該申告特例の求めを行った者が申告特例対象年に支出した特例控除対象寄附金に係る申告特例の求め及び申告特例通知書の送付については全てなかったものとみなされ、当該通知書の送付に基づく控除は適用されなくなるものであること。［7］

Reference translation (unofficial): Regardless of the contents of the return and when it is submitted, the request for the filing exception and the sending of the filing exception notices relating to special deduction-eligible donations made in the eligible year by the person who requested the filing exception are all deemed never to have occurred, and the deduction based on the sending of those notices no longer applies.

Put simply: if you file a final tax return because of your side job, any one-stop exception applications you submitted earlier all become invalid. In that case, unless you also include your hometown tax donations in the donation deduction on your final tax return, you will not receive the deduction.

What to do

If you are a company employee with a side job or side income, check your case in the two tables below.

Final income tax return

Resident tax return

• Even if it is ¥200,000 or less: file a resident tax return at your municipal office every year between February and March. You can do it easily at the counter or by mail. Resident tax itself is still charged, so don’t forget to pay it.
• If you file a final tax return: decide, based on your own situation, whether to check “pay by myself” in Table 2. You can choose it only for income other than salary and pensions.
• What you compare with ¥200,000 is your income. Judge by revenue minus necessary expenses. If your side job is part-time work, count it at its revenue amount and add it to profit from other side jobs.
• If in doubt: tax offices and municipal tax counters offer free consultations. They accept questions about “do I need to file?” even outside the final tax return period.

Summary

“No filing needed if your side job earns ¥200,000 or less” is true, with conditions, as far as the final income tax return is concerned. You still need to file a separate resident tax return, and resident tax is charged. What you compare with ¥200,000 is not the amount you received (revenue) but your profit (income). If your side job is part-time work, it is counted at its revenue amount. Whether your employer finds out depends on a check box in one section of the return.

A rumor is most dangerous when it takes the form of “true, with conditions,” because people tend to believe it even though it becomes wrong once the conditions are dropped. The more a tax story involves numbers, the more you should check what amount the number is compared with and which tax it is about.

Sources

• ［1］Income Tax Act, Article 121 (e-Gov Law Search, Japanese)　Checked: 2026-10-04
• ［2］Local Tax Act, Article 317-2 (e-Gov Law Search, Japanese)　Checked: 2026-10-04
• ［3］Local Tax Act, Article 321-3 (e-Gov Law Search, Japanese)　Checked: 2026-10-04
• ［4］NTA Tax Answer No.1900 “Salary earners who need to file a final tax return” (Japanese)　Checked: 2026-10-04
• ［5］NTA Tax Answer No.1906 “When a salary earner earns side income from online auctions, etc.” (Japanese)　Checked: 2026-10-04
• ［6］Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, “Additional charges, late-payment charges, and refund interest” (PDF, Japanese)　Checked: 2026-10-04
• ［7］Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, “Handling of the one-stop exception for hometown tax donations” (excerpt from the handling of the enforcement of the Local Tax Act, municipal taxes; PDF, Japanese)　Checked: 2026-10-04
• ［8］Suginami City, “Assessment of special ward tax” (Japanese)　Checked: 2026-10-04
• ［9］Nakano City, “How resident tax is collected when you have multiple salaries or income sources” (Japanese)　Checked: 2026-10-04
• ［10］Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, “Concealing details in the special collection tax notice for taxpayers” (PDF, Japanese)　Checked: 2026-10-04
• ［11］Income Tax Act, Article 9 (e-Gov Law Search, Japanese)　Checked: 2026-10-04

Note: This article is based on laws and official information as of October 4, 2026. It is a translation of the Japanese original; if the two differ, the Japanese version prevails. Quotations from laws and official sources are given in the original Japanese, followed by unofficial reference translations. Sources are limited to laws (e-Gov), notices from the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, and official pages of the NTA and local governments, all in Japanese. If a correction is needed after publication, a correction record will be added at the end of this article (Correction policy).