1. Introduction
The individual income tax filing season has come again this year. The filing due date in the 2019 or 2020 individual tax returns was extended nationwide to prevent the spread of COVID-19. In the 2021 tax returns, in principle, you need to follow the standard filing schedule while you can still apply for an extension of tax filing by a simplified way in case of some difficulties due to the effect of COVID-19.
In this News, we will mention some amendments to individual income tax returns for 2021.
2. Contents of amendments
① Abolishment of obligation of affixing a seal on tax returns
In the former rules, affixing a seal by the submitter on national and local tax-related documents submitted to tax authorities was normally required; however, on or after 1 April, 2021, it is no longer required except for certain documents.
The amendment is due to the intention of reducing the burden of administrative procedures by promoting digitalization and dealing with the changes in social conditions caused by the spread of COVID-19.
Actually, as you might already know, sealing was not necessarily mandatory for some of the tax-related documents in the 2020 individual tax returns even though it was before the enforcement of the new rule.
② Non-taxable child-rearing expenses
In the former rules, child-rearing subsidies provided by the Japanese government or municipalities were treated as miscellaneous income and required to file individual income tax returns. By virtue of supporting child-rearing, the government subsidies to support the following expenses are tax-exempted.
1) Expenses for the use of babysitters
2) Expenses for the use of unlicensed nursery facilities
3) Expenses for the use of facilities for temporary care or sick-kids care
In the former rules, some parents hesitated to use the government subsidy program because they ended up filing individual tax returns or taking additional tax burdens. The new rule will enhance more parents to use the subsidy program and support child-rearing.
3. Conclusion
In this News, we mentioned some amendments to the 2021 individual income tax returns. Please note that this News only introduces general outlines and does not include professional advice. So please make sure not to make any decisions without taking professional advice individually. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us.
(References / in Japanese)
National Tax Agency Website
Outlines of 2021 Income Tax Revisions
No.2011 Taxable income and non-taxable income
(Accessed on 24 April, 2022)
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