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U.S. Tax Information
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) office serving Japan is located in Philadelphia, and provides U.S. Federal tax assistance to Americans in Japan. The IRS office at the American Embassy in Tokyo closed on June 18, 2004.
The IRS Home Page, www.irs.gov, has a lot of
information available to answer many questions. Go to 'Individuals' and then 'Overseas Taxpayers' you will find a section of FAQ, which will take you to IRS Publication 54. Many questions of overseas taxpayers can be answered from that source.
One point to remember for all overseas taxpayers is that the United States taxes its citizens on their worldwide income. Even though they may be eligible to exclude a certain amount of their earned income from their income tax computation, they must file a US tax return in order to claim that exclusion. Also, while certain amounts of their earned income can be excluded for purposes of computing income tax, that income is not excluded for the purposes of computing Self Employment Tax, for those who are self-employed.
Questions about U.S. state taxes and/or Japanese taxes should be directed to the appropriate agencies. Neither the IRS nor the Embassy in Tokyo cannot advise you or provide forms for U.S. state or Japanese taxes. You can access some information about Japanese taxes on the web or by phone; follow this link.
Please choose a topic:
 Contact the IRS
Obtain Forms
Individual Taxpayer Identification Numbers (ITINs)
Reporting Rates of Exchange
List of Tax Preparers
Copies/Transcripts of Previous Tax Returns
Tax Scams
Contacting the IRS
You must contact the IRS in Philadelphia. There is unfortunately no one at the Embassy in Tokyo or at any of our Consulates in Japan who can answer tax-related questions.
Phone
215-516-2000 (M-F, 6am-2am EST)
FAX
215-516-3256
FAX for Transcripts of Returns
215-516-2931/1311/1322
Mail
IRS Philadelphia Service Center Philadelphia, PA 19255-0215
OnLine
www.irs.gov
IRS Forms
Tax forms are available by mail from the IRS on-line.
U.S. military personnel can pick up tax forms from their unit tax advisor or from many base libraries.
Commonly-used, current year tax forms are also available by FAX from 81-3-3224-5465.
Most forms are also available on CD-ROM as "Publication 1796". You can order a copy of this CD on-line.
Treasury Reporting Rates Of Exchange - Annual Average Rates
For those filing U.S. Federal income taxes, here are the Treasury Reporting Rates Of Exchange, Annual Average Rates, for 2003 (Rates of Exchange for Foreign Currency to One U.S. dollar):
| |
1Q2003 |
2Q2003 |
3Q2003 |
4Q2003 |
2003 AVG |
2002 |
2001 |
| Japan |
118.08 |
118.69 |
111.35 |
107.37 |
113.873 |
123.9 |
121.62 |
| Korea |
1193.6 |
1205.9 |
1150.1 |
1195 |
1186.150 |
1225.2 |
1277.65 |
| Hong Kong |
7.798 |
7.798 |
7.744 |
7.763 |
7.776 |
7.8 |
7.8 |
| China |
8.265 |
8.265 |
8.265 |
8.265 |
8.265 |
8.27 |
8.27 |
| Taiwan |
34.72 |
34.59 |
33.68 |
33.96 |
34.238 |
34.43 |
33.88 |
Individual Taxpayer Identification Numbers (ITINs)
Social Security Numbers are only available to American Citizens and Legal Permanent Residents (LPRs, or "Green Card" holders). They are not issued to spouses of American Citizens who are not LPRs or Japanese students going to the U.S. for college.
Instead, the Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN) was created for use as a tax reporting number for those taxpayers who do not qualify for Social Security Numbers. ITINs are for tax purposes only. The numbers are not valid as personal identification, and do not imply or in any way provide legal status in the U.S. or entitle holders to work in the U.S.
How to Apply for an ITIN 
Complete IRS form W-7, available at www.irs.gov, or at www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/fw7.pdf. All new ITIN applicants should use the December 2003 revision of Form W-7.
Obtain a certified copy of your passport at the Embassy or one of our Consulates as a notarial service. The cost is US$30. Please see tacs-7126a.html for opening hours and details. You must apply in person with your passport.
Check the instructions with form W-7 for additional filing requirements, such as the need to include original, completed tax returns. Each applicant will have to show a federal tax purpose for seeking an ITIN, either by attaching a federal tax return to Form W-7 or providing documents that support an exception to the requirement to file a return. Exceptions are listed in the Form W-7 instructions.
Mail the completed form, certified copy of your passport and other documents to:
IRS, Philadelphia Service Center
ITIN Unit
PO Box 447
Bensalem, PA 19020
Tel. 215-516-4846/800-829-1040
Processing time for an ITIN is four to six weeks.
If you have had a child born abroad, registering him/her and obtaining a first passport also gets your child a Social Security Number. More information and forms are here.
If you otherwise have an American Citizen dependent without a Social Security Number, or have questions about obtaining a Social Security Number, please follow this link.
Tax Scams
The U.S. Department of the Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service warn taxpayers of an e-mail-based scheme that attempts to trick taxpayers into revealing personal information such as social security numbers, driver's license information and bank and credit card numbers.
In this ploy, unsuspecting consumers receive an e-mail, claiming they are under investigation for tax fraud and are subject to prosecution. The e-mail informs recipients they can "help" the investigation by providing "real" information and directs them to an official-looking web site, deptreas.org/irs/7634//, where detailed personal information must be provided to dispute the charge.
Identity thieves can use an individual's personal data to take over their financial accounts, run up charges on their credit cards, apply for loans, credit cards or other services in the victim's name and file fraudulent tax returns.
At the request of the IRS and the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA), the Internet service provider that was hosting the web site has shut the site down. The scheme is being investigated by TIGTA, which addresses threats to federal tax administration. The bogus IRS web page and the e-mail in this instance contained several grammatical errors, rendering them immediately suspect. However, new versions of the scam could surface in the future, including more effectively-written text and a different destination web site.
The IRS does not use e-mail to contact taxpayers about issues related to their accounts. Official taxpayer contact usually includes a letter on IRS stationery in an IRS envelope. IRS letters also contain a contact phone number.
Taxpayers who believe they have received suspect communication are encouraged to contact TIGTA
through www.treas.gov/tigta. Additional information on identity theft and other fraud may be found on the following web sites:
www.consumer.gov/idtheft and www.tigta.gov.
Japanese Tax
The Embassy and our Consulates do not provide assistance with Japanese taxes.
You can find information in English, as well as many of the necessary forms, at www.taxanser.nta.go.jp. Scroll down the page for the link to English language information.
You can also contact the Foreign Section of the Tokyo Regional Tax Bureau at 03-3216-6811.
For more information, including our phone and FAX number, please contact the
office serving your part of Japan.
The U.S. Embassy and our Consulates are closed on both U.S. and Japanese holidays.
This is an official source of U.S. Government information on the Web. Inclusion of Non-U.S. Government links or information does not imply endorsement of contents.
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