Printed on your letter

住民税督促状

jūminzei tokusokujō

Residence tax reminder

Last checked: 8 October 2026

This is a formal reminder (督促状) from your city. It means one of your residence tax (juminzei) payments was not received by its deadline. Pay with the slip that came with it by the date printed on it, or contact the tax office before that date.

What to do now

Find the date on the slip and pay by then. If you already paid, keep your receipt: the letters may have crossed.

What it is: A formal reminder that a residence tax payment is overdue. It is the legal step that comes before the city can seize property.
Who sends it: The tax section of your city or ward office (納税課 or similar).
When it arrives: The law says it should be sent within 20 days after the missed deadline, but cities may set a different period. Yokohama and Osaka allow 30 days, and it can come later: Edogawa sent reminders for the June payment at the end of September 2026.
Deadline: The date printed on the reminder or its payment slip (指定期限): the last day to use that slip. It does not move the original deadline, so late fees still count from that deadline. If the tax is still unpaid 10 days after the reminder was sent, the law requires the city to seize property.

How to read it

Tap a number to see what it means. Yellow marks the amount and the deadline.

Simplified drawing. The exact layout differs by city.

Step by step

Check which payment is unpaid and how much. If you already paid, compare it with your receipt: in Kawasaki, for example, a payment can take up to 2 or 3 weeks to reach the city.
Pay with the slip that came with the reminder by the date printed on it. If you already pay in parts (分納), keep using your instalment slips instead, as Setagaya and Ota ask.
If that date has passed, the slip may no longer be accepted. Call the tax office and ask for a new one.
Keep the receipt part of the slip. Saitama, for example, notes that you may need it for visa procedures.
If you cannot pay in full, contact the tax section before the date on the reminder and ask about paying in parts (分納).

Ways to pay

Convenience storeOnly if the slip has a convenience-store barcode. Some cities allow it only up to ¥300,000 per slip.
Bank, post office or city office counterAt the city office: the tax section or a branch office.
Smartphone payment appsWhere the slip has a code the app can read. Edogawa, for example, accepts them. In Setagaya, app payments give no paper receipt, so pay in cash if you need one.

Where you can pay, and the last day the slip can be used, differ by city. The back of the slip lists the places that accept it.

If you do not pay

Late fees (延滞金) keep growing, counted from the day after the original deadline: 2.8% a year for the first month, then 9.1% a year (2026 rates). Fees under ¥1,000 are not charged. Some cities, such as Otsu, also add a ¥100 reminder fee (督促手数料).
Many cities then send more letters, such as a 催告書 or a notice before seizure (差押事前通知書). These are not required: Yokohama, for example, says it can seize without sending them.
If the tax is still unpaid 10 days after the reminder was sent, the law requires the city to seize property, such as your salary or bank savings, whatever the amount. It may first check with your employer and bank. Nakano, for example, says it gives no advance warning.
For renewal or change of status, Immigration treats unpaid tax as a negative factor, and may decide using information it asks other public offices for. For permanent residence, Immigration’s current guideline says that tax not paid by its original deadline is in principle counted against you, even if it was paid by the time you apply. A revised guideline applies to applications made from 1 April 2027. Under it, a past failure to pay properly, such as having had savings or other assets seized for unpaid taxes or premiums (滞納処分), is in principle counted against you even if nothing is unpaid when you apply, and this is in principle judged for your household as a whole.
From 1 April 2027, permanent residence can be cancelled for deliberately not paying taxes. One example Immigration gives is not contacting the office about payment despite reminders. It does not apply when there is an unavoidable reason and you are not at fault. Unless Immigration finds that you should not stay in Japan, it changes your status to another one instead, and it expects this to be long-term resident (定住者) in most cases.

If you cannot pay

If money is tight or your situation has changed, ask your office first.

Contact the tax section before the date on the reminder. Many cities let you pay in parts (分納). In Setagaya, for example, reminders still come and late fees still apply while you pay in parts.
If you cannot pay because of a disaster, illness or a similar reason, ask about postponement (徴収の猶予), in principle for up to 1 year.
If paying all at once would make your life very hard, ask about 換価の猶予: up to 1 year to pay, with part of the late fee waived. In Yokohama and Setagaya, you must apply within 6 months of the original deadline, and only if no other city tax is overdue. Setagaya may ask for collateral.

Common questions

I already paid. Why did I get a reminder?

Payment data takes time to reach the city: up to about 2 weeks in Yokohama, and up to 2 or 3 weeks in Kawasaki. Check your receipt. Kawasaki says you may throw away a reminder that crossed with your payment.

Can I still use the original payment slip from June?

It depends on the city. In Kawasaki, the original slip works, in principle, until 31 May of the next year, but a late fee may be added. In Nagoya, the slip that came with the reminder cannot be used after its date. If in doubt, ask the tax office which slip to use.

Someone called and asked me to transfer the tax to a bank account. Is it real?

Be careful. Edogawa, for example, says it never tells people to transfer money to a named bank account. Hang up and call the tax office using the number on your city’s website or on your letter.

Can the tax be reduced now that it is late?

Not for the overdue payment. In Setagaya, a reduction (減免) is possible only for tax whose deadline has not yet passed. For the overdue part, ask about paying in parts or postponement instead.

I always paid through my salary. Why did I get this?

When you leave a job, the residence tax not yet deducted usually has to be paid by you (普通徴収). Also, the city where you lived on 1 January charges the whole year, even if you moved or left Japan after 2 January.

I am leaving Japan. What happens to the unpaid tax?

It is still due. If you cannot pay before you leave, name a person in Japan to handle your tax (納税管理人) and tell your city office before you leave.

Show this at the counter

Show this to the staff if you go to the office in person.

住民税の督促状が届きました。日本語があまり分かりません。いくら、いつまでに払えばよいか教えてください。一度に払えない場合の相談もしたいです。

In EnglishI received a reminder for my residence tax. I do not understand much Japanese. Please tell me how much I need to pay and by when. I would also like to ask what I can do if I cannot pay all at once.

Official sources