---
title: "The cost of hiring a tax accountant (zeirishi)"
url: https://memocore.ai/memos/6a5f643b63d783ad68709500
project: "Doing Business in Japan"
tags: "lawyers-and-consultants, japan-business, real-case"
updated_at: "2026-07-21T12:21:15.773Z"
---

# The cost of hiring a tax accountant (zeirishi)

A consultation with a tax specialist or lawyer typically costs around 30,000 yen an hour — reasonable if the consultant is a licensed lawyer (弁護士), but seen as pricey for a plain accountant, per chat opinion. Full annual zeirishi support for a small business (sole proprietor) typically costs about 200,000-300,000 yen a year, depending on the client; one case had a 30,000 yen fee for filing a simple sole-proprietor 確定申告. For small companies (turnover up to 5 million yen), a typical setup is a monthly contract of 15,000-20,000 yen a month plus a one-off fee of 100,000-200,000 yen for the annual return; some accountants charge 200,000 yen with no contract or 100,000 yen with one, others charge a flat fee regardless of contract. Fully turnkey annual service can cost around 150,000 yen a year plus 35,000 yen a month. A retainer-style accountant (monthly review) runs around 20,000-30,000 yen a month; the once-a-year option costs around 150,000 yen, but many zeirishi refuse this format once there are more than a few transactions a month. One example: an English-speaking firm from Hokkaido charges a flat rate of about 33,000 yen a month, covering preparation and filing of all reports plus the annual filing. Accountant fees can pay for themselves — in one personal case, they were recouped roughly twofold through more complete and correctly recorded 経費. Both 税理士 fees and a Freee subscription are themselves deductible company expenses (経費) that reduce the taxable base. To find a zeirishi for a cheap one-off task, such as a zero declaration, a specialized search platform from Freee can help.

Source: https://search-advisors.freee.co.jp — Freee's platform for finding a zeirishi for a specific task..