In Japan, inheritance tax is charged against the beneficiary receiving the inheritance. This is in contrast to other countries where the estate is taxed before being divided among the heirs. Therefore, because the tax is charged based upon the asset each heir receives, the amount of tax each heir owns will necessarily be different.
As each heir will need to pay inheritance tax upon inheriting property, in many situations the heirs will cooperate to hire an accountant to calculate all of their taxes together. Hiring one accountant can save both time and money as most of the relevant information will be similar for each of the heirs’ tax filings.
If you have any questions about probate in Japan, please contact our office for a legal consultation.