---
title: "Corporate tax (hojinzei) and related municipal taxes — overview"
url: https://memocore.ai/memos/6a5f62fc63d783ad687093bb
project: "Doing Business in Japan"
tags: "tax-corporate, japan-business"
updated_at: "2026-07-21T12:15:56.946Z"
---

# Corporate tax (hojinzei) and related municipal taxes — overview

Companies in Japan pay several layers of tax on profit and on simply existing as a legal entity: national corporate tax, local corporate tax, prefectural and municipal business taxes, and a flat corporate inhabitant tax. Topics covered: corporate tax rates and total burden; filing systems (e-Tax and eLTAX); Enterprise Tax; taxes due even at zero profit; the minimum corporate inhabitant tax; practical eLTAX difficulties; choosing a fiscal year-end date; the 10 million yen capital threshold; sharp profit swings as an audit red flag; a discussed (not adopted) tax break; the global minimum tax; inheritance tax on a business; and the absence of special benefits for IT companies. See the linked detail records for each topic.