Holiday rental in Japan run by a manager: what do you actually keep?

Your estimate

Same property, two managers

Worked examples

All three owners live abroad, have no other Japanese income and use a management company. Amounts are yearly, 2026 rules. Open any example in the calculator to change the numbers.

Reading the examples. In Niseko, about ¥7,312,500 of the ¥15,000,000 goes to booking sites and the manager, and heating, snow and insurance eat another large slice: the owner keeps ¥2,955,700 before tax (19.7% of gross after tax). Depreciation of the new chalet (¥4,720,000) wipes out the taxable income, so there is no income tax for now — but consumption tax (¥681,800) applies once sales pass ¥10m. In Ota-ku the owner keeps ¥1,724,760 after an estimated ¥29,400 tax. The Kyoto machiya keeps ¥3,959,275; its old wooden building depreciates over just 4 years, sheltering the income until then.

The rules, checked against official sources

How many nights you can rent

Ordinary minpaku (住宅宿泊事業) is capped at 180 nights a year nationwide, and many wards and towns cut that further by zone (weekends-only ≈ 104–120 nights, Kyoto residential zones ≈ 60). Tokku minpaku (特区民泊) has no cap but exists only in a few places (Ota-ku; Osaka City for existing certificates) and needs a minimum stay of 2 nights. A hotel/ryokan licence for simple lodging (簡易宿所) allows 365 nights but only where zoning allows hotels, with fire-safety and staffing rules. This is why most Niseko and Hakuba rentals run on a simple-lodging licence. Details by city: minpaku rules by city.

Management fees: what is typical

Japanese minpaku managers most often charge 15–25% of revenue (industry articles report 10–30% overall); the companies in our survey that publish fees range from 8% + ¥10,000 a month to 20%, and flat plans of about ¥30,000–70,000 a month. Niseko: one agency publishes about 35% of the nightly rate (10% admin + 25% operations), another 15% + ¥13,000 a month; the big Niseko operators do not publish rates. Hakuba: no manager we found publishes a rate, so ~25–30% is only our planning assumption. Always check the base (gross, nightly rate only, or after OTA fees and cleaning), whether 10% consumption tax is added to the fee, whether cleaning and linen are billed separately, and extra fees for repairs, consumables and owner stays.

OTA commission

Airbnb's host-only fee is 15.5% for most hosts (charged on the nightly rate plus cleaning fee; single-fee structure rolled out from late 2025 — check your account). Booking.com commission in Japan is typically around 15% and depends on your contract. Some managers include OTA fees in their percentage; tick the box if so.

Japanese income tax for a non-resident owner

Income from renting out property in Japan is Japan-source income: a non-resident files a Japanese return for it and pays progressive income tax (5–45%) plus the 2.1% surtax on the net income after expenses and depreciation, usually through a tax representative (納税管理人). The calculator deducts the basic deduction (for a non-resident at most ¥620,000 from 2026). Inhabitants tax (10%) is generally charged only on people with a Japanese address on 1 January. The NTA treats minpaku income of an individual as miscellaneous income in principle (so a loss cannot offset other income); expenses such as OTA and management fees are deductible.

The 20.42% withholding

If a company or business pays you rent for Japanese property — for example under a lease or sub-lease to an operator, or some rental-pool contracts — it must withhold 20.42% and pay it to the tax office. It is a prepayment: you file and get back what exceeds your actual tax. Under a pure management contract, where the manager collects guests' money on your behalf, this usually does not apply. Check your contract.

Consumption tax

Accommodation is subject to 10% consumption tax. An individual is exempt while taxable sales two years earlier were ¥10m or less (and not over ¥10m in the first half of last year), unless registered for invoices. Under the simplified method (base-period sales ≤ ¥50m), accommodation is a type-5 business with a 50% deemed purchase rate: you pay about 4.5% of tax-inclusive sales.

Depreciation

Only the building depreciates, straight-line over the statutory life (wood 22 years, reinforced concrete 47). For a used building the life is shortened: (life − age) + 20% of age, or 20% of the life if it is already older than that. It reduces taxable income but not cash, and it will reduce your cost basis when you sell (see our sale net proceeds calculator).

Next steps

• Minpaku rules by city: nights, zones, licences
• Management fees compared
• Selling later: net proceeds calculator
• Tax & cost calculator (buy, hold, rent)
• Buying a ryokan in Japan

Property prices: Niseko · Hakuba · Tokyo · Kyoto · Fukuoka

Not included

• Accommodation tax (宿泊税) collected from guests in Kyoto, Tokyo, Kutchan, Niseko etc. — passed on to the municipality.
• Individual enterprise tax (個人事業税) where a prefecture treats the activity as a business; home-country tax and treaty relief.
• Furniture and fit-out depreciation, loan interest (deductible, but enter it under other costs), vacancy for renovation, licence set-up costs.
• Tax-accountant fees and FX conversion costs unless you add them to other costs.

Official sources

• NTA No.2260: income tax rates
• NTA No.1199: basic deduction (non-resident max ¥620,000 from 2026)
• NTA No.1926: real-estate income while living abroad (filing, 納税管理人)
• NTA No.2878: Japan-source income of non-residents
• NTA No.2880: 20.42% withholding on rent paid to non-residents
• NTA: taxation of income from minpaku (住宅宿泊事業) (PDF, 2018)
• NTA No.6501: consumption-tax exemption threshold (¥10m)
• NTA No.6505: simplified consumption tax, deemed purchase rates
• NTA No.2100 / 2106: useful lives and straight-line depreciation
• MIC: individual inhabitants tax for foreign nationals
• Airbnb Help: host service fees (15.5% host-only fee)
• Stay Buddy (2025-07-18): minpaku management fee levels, 10–30% (industry article)
• ReINN: minpaku management fees in Osaka, 15–25% (industry article)
• Nisade Real Estate FAQ: Niseko management ~35% (10% admin + 25% operations)
• Japan Tourism Agency: Residential Accommodation Business Act (180 nights) (PDF)
• Cabinet Office: National Strategic Special Zone minpaku (特区民泊)

Estimates only — not tax, legal or investment advice. Japan House Prices is not a property manager, real estate broker or tax accountant. Fee levels are typical ranges and assumptions, not offers. Tax rules reviewed 2026-09-28; minpaku rules checked 2026-09-27. Exchange rates are indicative.