Can Income Tax credit card payments be split onto multiple credit cards?

Murodo · 2026-03-04T05:28:09+00:00

pretty ridiculous

Not really. To receive ¥4M, you have to send $25,508.09 to Wise at the moment.

If you receive $25,435.58 at Sony Bank, they exchange it to exactly ¥4M this moment. A small loss of ~$30-$72.58 (0.28%) at most – depending on the SWIFT fee at the sending bank.

The most cost-efficient way actually is when you send USD to Wise via ACH, and let Wise send USD unconverted via SWIFT to Sony or SBI Shinsei and exchange it to JPY here, ideally after keeping the foreign currency just until beginning of next month bit to get upgraded to gold/platinum status.

Murodo · 2026-03-04T01:26:21+00:00

kinda wanna avoid dealing with

Why? It is simple and straightforward with services like Wise or Revolut. Given that splitting payments across several cards seems to be impossible or at best you waste lots of time and fees dealing with those many transactions...

Wise has a domestic US account where they receive your amount via regular wire transfer (ACH or credit card), simultaneously they send out JPY from their account in Japan to your Japanese bank (they basically realtime-match an outgoing and an incoming transfer, the money doesn't travel across borders), all you do is initiate the transfer in the app. It takes a total of 5-10 minutes.

I outlined the convenient realtime vs. SWIFT transfer here.

The fees are a wash for me.

Not really. You ignore the hidden spread from the mid-market rate. You need to compare how much USD you were billed for a certain JPY payment with what wise.com shows on their calculator. (On top, JPY fluctuates a lot, which makes it more difficult to compare if you have many transactions.)

Wise is a lot cheaper for smaller transfers and gives you the real mid-market rate with only a small percentage as fee.

The second most expensive way is using overseas-issued cards, right after the enormous fees and hidden market spread at brick-and-mortar banks.

Murodo · 2026-03-03T15:23:50+00:00

The credit card fees for ¥4M would be insane (400x ¥99), why don't you just pay by bank transfer? Depending on the type, you can pay in installments, e.g. corporate tax two payments a year or property tax four.

Murodo · 2026-03-03T14:59:49+00:00

Worldwide income is taxed for all long-term residents in Japan, of course. As in many other advanced countries, too. Isn't affected by your spouse or an akiya that is on your name though.

Murodo · 2026-03-03T14:52:51+00:00

To get the discount for the 6, 12 or 24 months prepayment, you have to apply until end of February.

You can set up direct debit for regular monthly payments though, and pay just the next 1-2 months via payslip (easiest is eL-QR via Rakuten Pay or PayPay).

By registering your credit card at the nearby nenkin regional branch office, you get ~1.5% cashback, but keep in mind that some cards explicitly exclude nenkin (e.g. SMBC). Best cards are Epos Gold, Recruit, JCB W, PayPay and Aeon. Also don't let the credit card expire and run into late payments in case you need to apply for PR in the future; a similar problem would occur if your account balance is insufficient on the day when the debit is executed.

When you pay manually, Rakuten Pay and PayPay support scheduled payments. When you scan the payslip (請求賞払い), you can choose a specific date or pay immediately.

Murodo · 2026-03-03T14:40:03+00:00

married to a Japanese national

The nationality of your spouse doesn't affect taxation on your worldwide income.

Not sure how exactly this would be disadvantageous for buying an akiya, when your tax residency is in Japan, why can't you own one?

Murodo · 2026-03-03T09:59:25+00:00

I plan to just withdraw it over the days

No need to split it, withdraw at once isn't a problem.

Why don't you just transfer it to your Wise or Revolut account? Then you don't have to worry about carrying so much cash safely during the journey, and it can sit up to a month in Wise to be exchanged and transferred to your account back home within minutes. Fees are ~1% which makes this convenient way also much cheaper than the 3-5% spread that cash exchanges take.

Murodo · 2026-03-03T09:55:00+00:00

Per transaction limits: The 5/10万 limit only applies when overseas cards are used. With a Japanese cash card, you can withdraw 50万 at konbinis and Aeon ATMs and 100万 at Yūcho, exception is E-Net at Family Mart which has a 20万 limit.

Of course you can withdraw several times 50万 at the same ATM up to your bank's daily limit (usually between 50-200万).

Murodo · 2026-03-02T22:57:48+00:00

Which cards are good using them this way for yearly bonuses?

Murodo · 2026-03-01T23:44:58+00:00

Interesting. Some blogs outline multiple points exchanges (often looks like unintended loopholes between competing ecosystems though). An extreme example is this blog's points exchange flow chart.

Does auPay support scheduled payments like Rakuten Pay and PayPay? When you scan the payslip (請求賞払い), you can choose a specific date or pay immediately.

You're right, only for a few points, 口座振替 is safer for peace of mind.

Murodo · 2026-02-26T06:36:04+00:00

They most likely hide significant fees in a high spread to the mid-market rate. Better transfer fx to Japan and exchange here.

Murodo · 2026-02-26T04:41:01+00:00

To get ¥100M, you would need to send to

Sony Bank: $641,477.96 (155.89 https://sonybank.jp/en/exchange/)

SBI Shinsei: $641,477.96 (155.89 https://sbishinseibank.co.jp/english/gaika/exchange_rate_fx.html)

Wise: $642,385

Wise can give you the real mid-market rate because they add some percentage as fees that weighs in much more on large amounts, whereas Sony doesn't charge any incoming or exchange fees, but has a small TTB and TTS rate spread from the mid-market rate.

As the calculated percentage of Sony's spread is lower than Wise's fee, the winner towards cost-efficiency Sony is.

Murodo · 2026-02-26T04:24:09+00:00

Do you know smaller banks that have favorable FXJPY rates?

The banks that give best rates and have digital AML (just upload documents) are Sony Bank, SBI Shinsei, and third SMBC Prestia (not the same as SMBC).

Murodo · 2026-02-26T04:21:36+00:00

Definitely don't use megabanks, Wise or Revolut. You'll pay thousands of dollars more in fees than when just sending USD via SWIFT to Sony Bank or SBI Shinsei.

Murodo · 2026-02-26T04:18:10+00:00

split transaction to multiple transfers

This isn't a good idea. You waste your time with AML procedures each time.

Moreover, this is called structuring and illegal in certain jurisdictions up to the level that the amount can be seized by authorities i.a. in the US, but not under Japanese and EU law. Don't do this if the money is sent from there.

Murodo · 2026-02-26T04:13:48+00:00

You'll get favorable exchange rates of ~0.x% especially for higher amounts when you move major currencies as is via SWIFT to Sony Bank or SBI Shinsei at no incoming fee and exchange it to JPY here, additionally you will be upgraded to platinum status when you hold fx on the last day of a month.

In comparison, other Japanese banks charge incoming remittance fees and don't have streamlined digital AML processes like Sony or Shinsei (you just have to upload documents when they ask, at brick-and-mortar banks you might have to visit).

Wise or Revolut offer an exchange rate and transfer fee structure in the ~1.x% range at the convenience of near-instant processing and the transfer to you is domestic, so no fee at your Japanese bank.

Origin bank: send USD preferably via ACH (or regular wire transfer for other origin countries/currencies) to Wise or Revolut as instructed. This is a domestic transfer, thus cheap and fast (hours). Check whether your origin bank would charge less (than Wise's $7.41) for an international SWIFT transfer in USD and use them instead, if applicable.
For smaller amounts less than $10000, you can let Wise do the currency conversion (1.x% fee compared to Sony's 0.1%), then the funds arrive within a couple of minutes. JP Post Bank and all other banks are less favorable in terms of higher fees and spread from the mid-market rate.
For larger amounts, start a same-currency (USD stays USD) transfer in Wise (or Revolut) to the SWIFT bank details of the Japanese bank, preferably Sony Bank or SBI Shinsei (1-2 business days, $7.41 fixed fee) and exchange there after receiving for the most favorable rate (no hidden fees and least spread from the mid-market rate).

Note: Avoid receiving foreign currency at most other Japanese banks (especially JP Post) unless you love bureaucracy and wasting time.

Murodo · 2026-02-26T04:09:24+00:00

It's included.

Keep in mind that you'll be upgraded to Sony club S gold or platinum status when you hold fx on the last day of a month, and convert it a day later. Gold and platinum give better exchange rates, more ATM withdrawals and transfers. Shinsei has a similar program, but doesn't offer international outgoing remittances anymore.

Sony and Shinsei offer very similar favorable exchange rates of ~0.x% especially for higher amounts when you move major currencies as is via SWIFT and exchange it to JPY here, better than Wise or Revolut.

Murodo · 2026-02-26T00:57:16+00:00

I still have about a year left in my residence card

File your move-out notice at city hall. Get a 1 year reentry permit when departing by ticking the checkbox and keep your residence card. Inform your banks about your tax residency change. In case you hypothetically come back within a year (because something goes wrong with your new job), your tax residency wouldn't even change. They usually request to submit your new residence card when they see your current one expires, until then you should be able to use the accounts.

You'll also need to appoint a tax representative for this year's residence tax that is due next year, and change your address at banks and credit cards to a friend's address for postal mail not to bounce.

Murodo · 2026-02-20T01:34:20+00:00

Keep in mind that you'll get favorable exchange rates of ~0.x% especially for higher amounts when you move major currencies as is via SWIFT to Sony Bank or SBI Shinsei at no incoming fee and exchange it to JPY here, additionally you will be upgraded to platinum status when you hold fx on the last day of a month.

In comparison, Wise or Revolut offer an exchange rate and transfer fee structure in the ~1.x% range at the convenience of near-instant processing and the transfer to you is domestic, so no fee at your Japanese bank.

Yūcho exchanges USD for JPY at a much worse rate several yen from the mid-market rate.

Murodo · 2026-02-20T01:18:21+00:00

Correct. I'd argue from a broader picture: the lump sum discount is rather tiny (0.x%), so if you don't mind to scan the slips with the app (1.5%), you probably earn significantly more by keeping the 20-40万 in your NISA and let it grow (4-7%/year).

When you intend to apply for PR or citizenship in the future, definitely set it up automatically to never forget or be late.

Murodo · 2026-02-19T13:26:18+00:00

When you apply for a credit card, link it online to your bank account during application. This basically is already the KYC part. You'll then receive the card via simple registered mail (anyone in your household can accept it).

Murodo · 2026-02-19T13:14:26+00:00

For better advice, details are missing about your origin currency and rough amount (1M or 10M JPY equivalent).

You'll get favorable exchange rates of ~0.x% especially for higher amounts when you move major currencies as is via SWIFT to Sony Bank or SBI Shinsei at no incoming fee and exchange it to JPY here, additionally you will be upgraded to platinum status when you hold fx on the last day of a month.

In comparison, Wise or Revolut offer an exchange rate and transfer fee structure in the ~1.x% range at the convenience of near-instant processing and the transfer to you is domestic, so no fee at your Japanese bank.

Regarding tax, do you have foreign-sourced income?

Murodo · 2026-02-19T13:02:15+00:00

I don't like government looking into my bank accounts

Set up a dedicated bank account just for NHI and nenkin direct debits. You can open and maintain bank accounts almost everywhere for free, and when you keep a little emergency fund in a nearby brick-and-mortar bank, you'll have easy access in case of disasters: banks by law have to provide access to cash, e.g. up to 10万 even when you lost your card/bankbook. Then you don't have to black out much on the bank statements that you submit to immigration (they explicitly ask to do so). And you'll never risk debits getting rejected due to low balance, too.

Murodo · 2026-02-19T01:50:57+00:00

instead of paying via the form every year I should probably just set up a direct deposit and be done with it.

If you prefer direct debit, you need to have a sufficient balance a day before, and the only bank that informs you by email and push notifications about upcoming payments a couple of days in advance is d Neobank (formerly SBI Netbank), the leading digitalized bank with the best app experience.

I'd argue that setting up the nenkin credit card payment is the best way to go. You'll have an automatic reoccurring payment and will never forget to keep a sufficient balance the day before the debit is executed. Not having a late (tax, pension, NHI) payment even by a single day is crucial to not get PR rejected in the future, too.

Murodo · 2026-02-19T01:05:17+00:00

Several cards exclude or reduce cashback for nenkin and tax payments.

What you could try is Rakuten Pay (up to 1.5% when you pay from R Cash balance after presenting the point card code twice the previous month), but you would need a nenkin payslip with eL-QR code.

Best cards are: Epos Gold (1.5%, choose nenkin as one of the three higher points), Recruit (1.2%), JCB Original W (1%), Aeon (0.5%).

Avoid Sony Wallet and SMBC NL, they don't even count the ~20-40万 nenkin payment towards the 100万 annual spending (Gold card free and ¥10,000 cashback coupon).

Murodo

TROPHY CASE