Obtaining No. 3 tax certificates proving the payment status of national taxes in Japan

When applying for a permanent resident (PR) permit for Japan, one of the documents required is "No. 3 tax certificates for withholding tax, Special Income Tax for Reconstruction, self-declared income tax, consumption tax, local consumption tax, inheritance tax, and donation tax". This is proof that you have no unpaid taxes at the national level.

Applying for this certificate by mail is easiest. It saves visiting the tax office in-person; and as of 2023, Japan's e-tax systems are currently barely usuable.

The process for obtaining this is as follows.

1. Form. Download this pre-filled template PDF of the "Tax payment certificate issuance request form" and complete it (the instructions for completing it are here). This PDF includes an addendum requesting the five items required. You should check it against the original from the NTA, in case they've changed it since this article was written.

2. Revenue stamp. After checking the price is still 400 yen on the NTA website, buy a 400 yen revenue stamp (収入印紙・shūnyū inshi) from a convenience store (they'll likely give you 2 x 200 yen stamps), and attach it to the form.

3. ID. Photocopy your MyNumber card.

4. Return envelope. Make a self-addressed envelope and apply an 84 yen stamp to it.

5. Sending envelope. Make another enveloped addressed to your local tax office (printing, cutting, and sticking the address to the envelope is easiest), with an 94 yen stamp, and put in it: the form (with its addendum), the MyNumber card photocopy, and the self-addressed envelope.

6. Mail it. Expect a one-page certificate listing five items to be returned to you in a week or so.

Note that for a PR permit application, you'll need to do this for both you and your principal supporter.