---
title: "Business expense deductions (keihi) — overview"
url: https://memocore.ai/memos/6a5f639a63d783ad6870946c
project: "Doing Business in Japan"
tags: "tax-sole-proprietor, japan-business"
updated_at: "2026-07-21T12:18:34.636Z"
---

# Business expense deductions (keihi) — overview

Deducting business expenses (経費) in Japan spans many practical topics: home office and utility costs; equipment, machinery and vehicles; the lack of a formal expense cap; the risk of over-claiming and audits; meal and business-meeting expenses; housing for a director/employee as a fringe benefit, including the 役員社宅 scheme; the owner's personal spending as company debt; outsourced software development; deducting expenses through a subcontractor; software amortization thresholds; the depreciable-asset declaration (償却資産税); deposits and prepaid expenses; medical deductions; and gifting money to family members. See the linked detail records for each topic.