Foreign-Currency Invoices in Japan: Yen Tax, Exchange Rates, Bank Details

Question 68 of the NTA's Q&A on the qualified invoice system says that for transactions in US dollars or other foreign currencies, a qualified invoice needs the same items as a yen invoice. Apart from the consumption tax amount for each tax rate, those items may be written in a foreign language or currency^[1]. The consumption tax amount must be converted to yen, even for a foreign-currency transaction^[1][2].

• A tax amount in the foreign currency (for example, Tax amount USD 123.45) is not a required item; it is shown for reference only^[1]. If you show it, mark it "reference" (参考) so it is not confused with the yen amount.
• If your client calculates its input tax credit by adding up the tax amounts on the invoices it receives, it uses the yen tax amount on your invoice. The NTA says this is fine even if your conversion differs from the client's own method^[1].

The consumption tax amount is converted to yen in the same way as the consideration itself (Consumption Tax Basic Circular 10-1-7): following the method used to convert foreign-currency sales for income tax or corporate tax^[1][3]. That method uses the TTM on the date the transaction is recorded. TTM is the midpoint between the bank's telegraphic transfer selling rate (TTS) and buying rate (TTB)^[7][8].

In principle, use the rates of your main bank^[7][8]. If this is impractical, for example because the transaction-date rate is not known yet when you write the invoice, a reasonable method is also accepted, such as consistently using the TTM on the day you issue the qualified invoice or the rate on the settlement date^[1][2].

1. Decide which day, which bank and which rate (TTM, TTB and so on) you will use.
2. Keep using the same method for every invoice^[1][2].
3. Show the rate and its basis on the invoice, for example "換算レート 1 USD = ¥150.25 (2026/10/22 TTM)". The rate is not a required item, but Question 68's sample also shows the TTM used, above the table. Showing it lets your client check the yen tax amount^[1].

Question 68 gives four ways to arrive at the yen tax amount. In every one, the rounding is applied to the tax amount once it is in yen^[1].

• In methods 3 and 4, the interim tax in the foreign currency must not be rounded. Rounding applies only to fractions of a yen, so there is nothing to round until the tax is in yen^[1].
• In methods 1 and 2, rounding the yen consideration is optional. That rounding is not the rounding of the consumption tax amount^[1].
• The consumption tax amount is rounded once per tax rate on each qualified invoice. You may round up, round down or round to the nearest yen^[1].

Method 1 and method 3 both give ¥18,549. Under method 1, rounding the yen consideration of ¥185,492.64 down to ¥185,492 before applying 10% gives ¥18,549.2, which is also ¥18,549^[1]. The amount billed stays USD 1,358.01; the yen tax amount is not added to the total.

小計（10%対象）　USD 1,234.56
消費税（10%）（参考）　USD 123.45
合計　USD 1,358.01
消費税額等（円換算）10%対象　18,549円
換算レート　1 USD＝150.25円（2026/10/22 TTM）

When the client is abroad, first check whether Japanese consumption tax applies at all. This section covers only the starting points for that decision.

• Domestic or overseas transaction: a service is, in principle, located where it is performed. "Electronic services" (電気通信利用役務の提供) such as distributing e-books, music or advertising online are located by the recipient's address. Overseas transactions are outside the scope of consumption tax^[9].
• Export exemption: services provided to non-residents (非居住者) are generally exempt as exports. Services the non-resident benefits from directly in Japan are not exempt, such as transporting or storing goods located in Japan, or meals and accommodation in Japan^[10][5].
• Proof: to apply the export exemption to services for non-residents, keep the contract or other documents containing the required details for seven years^[10].
• Obligation to issue a qualified invoice: it applies to taxable sales made in Japan, when a business customer (other than a tax-exempt business) asks for one. Sales exempt from consumption tax, such as export-exempt sales, are excluded^[4].

If you are a registered issuer and bill a client in Japan in a foreign currency for a taxable domestic sale, you still have to issue a qualified invoice when the client asks^[4]. The rules above apply in the same way. Whether to bill in a foreign currency is agreed with the client.

If the fee is subject to withholding tax (源泉徴収), the payer converts the foreign-currency fee to yen. When paying in the foreign currency, the payer generally uses the TTB on the date payment is due. If the contract says the foreign-currency amount is paid in yen, the yen amount follows the conversion method in the contract^[11]. When the fee is paid in the foreign currency, the rate on the due date is not known when you write the invoice, so the withholding amount cannot be fixed on the invoice. Which fees are covered and at what rate is explained in Withholding tax on invoices in Japan.

To be paid from abroad, give the remitter your Japanese bank and account details in English. MUFG Bank lists the following items to give the remitter^[6]. Items and formats differ between banks, so also check your own bank's guide to receiving payments from overseas.

• No IBAN or ABA: Japan does not use IBAN or ABA routing numbers. Tell the remitter so if asked^[6].
• Intermediary bank: some banks, such as Rakuten Bank, ask you to have the remitter include intermediary bank details in the payment instruction^[12].
• Currency received: if you name a yen account, the bank converts the payment to yen at its own rate. To receive the foreign currency as it is, name a foreign-currency deposit account in the same currency^[6].
• Fees: your receiving bank may also charge a fee when the payment arrives^[6]. In practice, agree who pays the bank charges at the quote or contract stage and repeat it in the invoice notes.

Bank: SAMPLE BANK, LTD.　TOKYO BRANCH
SWIFT: XXXXJPJT
Account No.: 123-4567890
Beneficiary: TARO YAMADA
Address: 1-2-3 MARUNOUCHI, CHIYODA-KU, TOKYO 100-0005, JAPAN