Japan Automobile & Weight Tax Calculator

Automobile Tax (自動車税 種別割) is an annual prefectural/municipal property tax levied on registered vehicle owners as of April 1 each year, calculated by engine displacement (or flat ¥10,800 for Kei cars). In contrast, Automobile Weight Tax (自動車重量税) is a national tax levied by vehicle weight (per 0.5 metric ton) and paid upfront during mandatory vehicle safety inspections (Shaken 車検, typically every 2 years).

Under the 2019 tax reform, permanent annual tax cuts were introduced for regular passenger vehicles first registered on or after October 1, 2019. The annual tax was reduced by ¥1,000 to ¥4,500 depending on engine displacement (e.g., standard 1.5L–2.0L cars dropped from ¥39,500 to ¥36,000/year; cars ≤1,000cc dropped from ¥29,500 to ¥25,000/year). Kei car tax remained unchanged at ¥10,800/year.

To encourage environmental fleet renewal, Japan imposes a greening surcharge on older vehicles. Gasoline and LPG passenger cars older than 13 years (from initial registration date) face an approximate 15% annual tax surcharge. Diesel vehicles face the 15% surcharge after 11 years. Kei cars face an approximate 20% surcharge (rising to ¥12,900/year) after 13 years.

When purchasing a regular passenger car mid-year, annual automobile tax is prorated on a monthly basis from the month following registration through March of the fiscal year. If an owner scraps and formally deregisters (廃車・永久抹消登録) a car, they are legally entitled to a monthly refund for remaining months. Note: Kei car tax is neither prorated nor refundable mid-year.

Automobile Weight Tax offers 25%, 50%, or 100% tax exemptions for vehicles achieving stringent fuel efficiency and emissions standards (e.g., electric vehicles, plug-in hybrids, and fuel-cell vehicles enjoy full Shaken weight tax exemptions). Standard non-eco vehicles pay the baseline rate of ¥4,100 per 0.5 ton per year.