＜prologue＞
I started a blog called “The Baby Boomer Generation’s Miscellaneous Blog”（Dankai-sedai no garakutatyou:団塊世代の我楽多（がらくた）帳） in July 2018, about a year before I fully retired. More than six years have passed since then, and the number of articles has increased considerably.
So, in order to make them accessible to people who don’t understand Japanese, I decided to translate my past articles into English and publish them.
It may sound a bit exaggerated, but I would like to make this my life’s work.
It should be noted that haiku and waka （Japanese short fixed form poems） are quite difficult to translate into English, so some parts are written in Japanese.
If you are interested in haiku or waka and would like to know more, please read introductory or specialized books on haiku or waka written in English.
I also write many articles about the Japanese language. I would be happy if these inspire more people to want to learn Japanese.
my blog’s URL:団塊世代の我楽多（がらくた）帳 | 団塊世代が雑学や面白い話を発信しています
my X’s URL:団塊世代の我楽多帳（@historia49）さん / X
For salaried workers, unless they have real estate income, they don’t have to file tax returns during their working years.
However, once they retire and start receiving a pension, they’ll need to file tax returns.
1. Filing Tax Returns is Difficult
Self-employed individuals often hire a tax accountant because they have a lot of paperwork, such as accounting books and receipts, and require specialized accounting knowledge. However, most former salaried workers probably do it themselves.
However, even after looking at the “Guide to Filing Income Tax and Special Reconstruction Income Tax Returns” distributed by the tax office, my first impression is that it’s complicated.
It’s easy to understand why so many people flock to tax offices and their “on-site” tax offices every year to ask for advice on how to prepare their tax returns.
2. Is e-Tax really that easy?
By the way, when tax return season comes around, you often see famous celebrities on TV using e-Tax at the tax office and commenting that it’s “surprisingly easy.” But is it really that easy?
(1) Conclusion
In reality, e-Tax is an online service that requires a lot of preparation and has limited usage environments, and is a service with almost no benefits that doesn’t take user convenience into consideration.
I believe it’s easier to prepare your tax return in paper form and submit it in person at the tax office or by mail.
However, if you submit it in person at the tax office, be aware that there is limited parking and the wait times can be long due to the large number of people filing.
If you mail it, be sure to include a return envelope and have a copy returned to you. While non-standard mail offers the cheapest postage, there’s no guarantee in the event of a postal accident. It’s safer to use Letter Pack or have non-standard mail marked with a special tracking number.
(2) Advantages of e-Tax
① You can omit the submission of supporting documents.
You do not need to attach the following documents: My Number Card (copy), tax withholding slip, medical expense receipts, social insurance premium deduction certificate, life insurance premium deduction certificate, earthquake insurance premium deduction certificate, and donation deduction certificate.
However, even if you do not use e-Tax, you no longer need to attach medical expense receipts for returns filed in 2019, and you no longer need to attach tax withholding slips for returns filed in 2020.
② You can file early (24-hour application period)
Applications usually begin in mid-February, but with e-Tax, you can file from early January.
③ You can receive your refund faster.
Refunds usually take one to one and a half months to process, but with e-Tax, you can receive your refund in two to three weeks.
④ Starting with blue return filing for 2020 (filed in 2021), the blue return deduction will be reduced from 650,000 yen to 550,000 yen if you do not use e-Tax.
(3) Disadvantages of e-Tax
① Advance preparation is tedious.
Requires “creating a My Number card,” “purchasing and installing an IC card reader,” “installing various software,” “obtaining an electronic certificate,” “compiling an e-Tax start notification form,” “obtaining a user identification number,” and “registering an electronic signature.”
Of these, the “IC card reader” costs a fee (around 3,000 to 5,000 yen).
② If using the “ID/Password Method,” you must verify your identity at the tax office.
③ Browsers generally require Internet Explorer 11 for Windows and Safari 10.1 for Mac.
Chrome and Firefox are not supported. If you want to use Edge, you must first visit the Microsoft Store and download the dedicated Edge extension.
④ The e-Tax instructions are very confusing.
⑤ Attached document data sent as “image data” must be scanned and then converted to “PDF format.”
3. About the “e-Tax Usage Rate” announced by the National Tax Agency
According to the “Status of e-Tax Usage in Fiscal Year 2018” published by the National Tax Agency in August 2019, the situation is as follows:
However, while the use of e-Tax is increasing for company and sole proprietorship tax returns filed by tax accountants, it seems that the “complete use of e-Tax without paper documentation” for income tax returns filed by individuals is not yet widespread.
Online Usage Rate
Two national tax return procedures that are affected by factors such as My Number Card adoption (income tax return, consumption tax return (individual)) 58.5% (+3.4 points)
Four other national tax return procedures (corporate tax return, consumption tax return (corporate), liquor tax return, stamp tax return) 82.9% (+2.9 points)
Nine application/notification procedures (six procedures for withholding slips for employment income, interest payment statements, tax payment certificate requests, electronic filing/tax payment commencement (changes, etc.) notification forms) 76.9% (-0.5 points)
ICT Utilization Rate 82.7% (+2.9 points)
Satisfaction with e-Tax 81.5% (+5.5 points)