Upfront Costs of Buying a Resale Condo in Japan: Taxes, Brokerage Fee and Loan Charges in One Table

In one sentence

When you buy a home in Japan, the money due at contract and at handover is not just the price. There is stamp duty and registration tax paid to the national government, real estate acquisition tax paid to the prefecture, the brokerage fee, the judicial scrivener's fee, the loan arrangement fee and fire insurance, plus the fixed asset tax and management fees apportioned with the seller as of the handover date. Together these are the "upfront costs" (shohiyo). For a 50 million yen resale condo in Osaka, owner-occupied and financed with a 45 million yen loan, they come to roughly 3 million yen, close to 6% of the price^[6][3][8]. Below we go through each item: how much, paid to whom, and when.

Cost overview: a 50 million yen resale condo in Osaka

The assumptions for the example: a resale condo in Osaka City, built in 2005, 70 m² exclusive area, purchase price 50 million yen, owner-occupied, with a 45 million yen bank loan. The fixed asset tax assessed values are taken as 9 million yen for the building and 4 million yen for the land share (illustrative figures; the real numbers are on the seller's tax notice)^[5][3].

Item	Paid to, when	How it is calculated	Example
Stamp duty on the sales contract	National government, affixed at signing	Contract over 10 million up to 50 million yen: 10,000 yen[1]	10,000 yen
Stamp duty on the loan contract	National government, at loan signing	Over 10 million up to 50 million yen: 20,000 yen[2]	20,000 yen
Brokerage fee	Brokerage, at signing and handover	By price band: 5.5% up to 2 million yen, 4.4% over 2 million up to 4 million, 3.3% above 4 million (tax inclusive)[6]	1,716,000 yen
Registration tax	National government, paid via the scrivener on handover day	Land assessed value × 1.5%, building assessed value × 0.3%, loan amount × 0.1% (reduced rates)[3]	132,000 yen
Judicial scrivener's fee	Scrivener, handover day	Set freely by each office[7]	Separate
Loan arrangement fee	Bank, at drawdown	Example: loan amount × 2.2% (tax inclusive)[8]	990,000 yen
Fire insurance	Insurer, before handover	Compulsory for the loan term; premium depends on cover and term[9]	Separate
Settlement adjustments	Seller, handover day	The year's fixed asset tax and the month's management fees, apportioned at handover[10][11]	Separate
Real estate acquisition tax	Osaka Prefecture, months after handover	Zero after the deduction and reduction for an owner-occupied 70 m² unit built in 2005[5]	0 yen

The items that can be fixed add up to 2,868,000 yen. Add the scrivener's fee, fire insurance and the settlement adjustments and the total is about 3 million yen, close to 6% of the price^{[1][2][6][3][8]}. The brokerage fee and the loan fee make up more than nine tenths of that; the taxes are the small part.

Three taxes: stamp duty, registration tax, acquisition tax

Stamp duty: by contract amount

Both the sales contract and the loan contract carry revenue stamps. Real estate sales contracts enjoy a reduction: for contracts drawn up between 1 April 2014 and 31 March 2027, the band over 10 million up to 50 million yen is 10,000 yen and the band over 50 million up to 100 million yen is 30,000 yen^[1]. Without the reduction the statutory amounts are 20,000 and 60,000 yen respectively, so the current duty is effectively halved^[2]. The loan agreement has no such reduction, and the band over 10 million up to 50 million yen is 20,000 yen^[2]. A contract of exactly 50 million yen falls in the "up to 50 million" band, which is why the example uses 10,000 yen^[1].

Registration tax: three registrations, three rates

On handover day the judicial scrivener files three registrations: the transfer of ownership of the land and of the building, and the bank's mortgage. The rates apply to the fixed asset tax assessed value or to the loan amount^[3]:

• transfer of land by sale: statutory rate 2%, reduced to 1.5% for registrations up to 31 March 2029^[3];
• transfer of a residential building by sale: statutory rate 2%, reduced to 0.3% up to 31 March 2027 where an individual buys for their own residence and meets the conditions^[3];
• mortgage for a home loan: under the same conditions, 0.1% up to 31 March 2027^[3].

The building and mortgage reductions are not automatic. A "residential building certificate" issued by the municipality must be attached to the registration application; filing it afterwards does not work^[3]. Osaka City's conditions are that an individual acquires the home for their own residence, registers within 1 year of acquisition, the registered floor area is 50 m² or more, a condominium unit is in a fireproof or quasi-fireproof building, and the building was completed on or after 1 January 1982 or holds a seismic compliance certificate; the certificate costs 1,300 yen^[4].

In the example: land 4 million × 1.5% = 60,000 yen, building 9 million × 0.3% = 27,000 yen, mortgage 45 million × 0.1% = 45,000 yen, a total of 132,000 yen^[3]. If the unit is bought to let, or the exclusive area is under 50 m², the building portion reverts to the statutory 2%, or 180,000 yen, and the mortgage portion also reverts to the statutory rate, adding well over 100,000 yen to this line^[3][4].

Real estate acquisition tax: the bill that arrives months later

Real estate acquisition tax is a prefectural tax at 3%, with the tax base for residential land set at one half of the assessed value. For an owner-occupied resale home built on or after 1 January 1982 with a floor area of 40 m² to 240 m², up to 12 million yen is deducted from the building value and the land gets a separate reduction^[5]. In the example, the building value of 9 million yen minus the 12 million yen deduction is zero, and the land portion is reduced to zero, so this item is 0 yen; the same unit bought to rent out gets neither relief and owes about 330,000 yen^[5]. A separate article in this column covers the calculation in detail.

Paying the professionals: brokerage fee and scrivener's fee

The brokerage fee cap is set by an MLIT notification in price bands: 5.5% up to 2 million yen, 4.4% over 2 million up to 4 million yen and 3.3% above 4 million yen, all inclusive of consumption tax, and buyer and seller each pay the brokerage they engaged^[6]. For a 50 million yen property that is 110,000 + 88,000 + 1,518,000 = 1,716,000 yen, the same result as the common shortcut "(price × 3% + 60,000 yen) × 1.1"^[6]. This is a ceiling, not a fixed price. Low-priced properties of 8 million yen or less have a special cap of 330,000 yen^[6]. When you buy directly from a developer or a dealer acting as seller there is no broker, and this item is zero^[6].

The judicial scrivener verifies identities and title documents, prepares the registration papers and files them on handover day. Fees are set freely by each scrivener, and the Japan Federation of Shiho-Shoshi Lawyer's Associations asks clients to get a full explanation of the fee before engaging one^[7]. In practice the buyer's side usually appoints the scrivener, and the fee is settled on handover day together with the registration tax.

Loan-related: arrangement fee, guarantee fee, fire insurance

With a mortgage, the bank charges an arrangement fee. Online banks mostly use a percentage of the loan: Docomo SMTB Net Bank (formerly SBI Sumishin Net Bank), for example, charges 2.2% of the loan amount including tax, deducted directly from the funds advanced, with stamp duty, registration costs and fire insurance not included^[8]. On a 45 million yen loan that is 990,000 yen^[8]. Other banks combine a flat fee with a guarantee fee, and the totals differ considerably, so loans should not be compared on the interest rate alone.

Flat 35 needs no guarantor and no guarantee fee, but its arrangement fee is set by each participating lender and varies widely^[9]. Whatever the loan, the home must be covered by fire insurance until repayment is complete, with cover of at least the loan amount, the premium borne by the borrower, and the term and payment method as the lender requires^[9].

Settlement adjustments with the seller: fixed asset tax and management fees

Fixed asset tax and city planning tax are charged to whoever owns the property on 1 January, so the year's tax notice goes to the seller. In practice the sales contract splits the burden at the handover date, and the buyer pays the seller the share from handover onwards on handover day^[10]. There are two conventions for the start of the tax year, 1 January and 1 April; Kansai generally uses 1 April, but the law does not prescribe either, and the contract governs^[10].

Condominium management fees and repair reserve contributions are normally paid a month in advance, so the handover month is also apportioned at the handover date, with the buyer bearing the days from handover and settling with the seller on the same day^[11]. These adjustments are not taxes but part of the purchase consideration. They usually amount to a few tens of thousands of yen, but they must be paid in cash.

What this means for buyers

1. Have about 6% of the price in cash. A loan normally covers only the price, and most upfront costs are paid from your own funds at contract and handover; for a 50 million yen home, plan on at least 3 million yen or so for these costs^[6][8][3].
2. The big items are the brokerage fee and the loan fee. The taxes together come to little more than 100,000 yen; the brokerage fee and the bank's fee are the main outlays. Buying directly from a dealer-seller or comparing bank fees saves more than any tax planning^[6][8].
3. Owner-occupied, 50 m² or more, built in 1982 or later gets the full set of reductions. The residential registration tax reduction requires 50 m² or more, and the acquisition tax deduction starts at 40 m²; investment studios qualify for neither^[3][4][5].
4. Many reductions expire on 31 March 2027. The stamp duty reduction, the registration tax reductions for residential buildings and mortgages, and the 3% acquisition tax rate with the half-value land base are all written to run until 31 March 2027; whether they are extended depends on the 2027 tax reform^[1][3][5].
5. Handover day needs more cash than you expect. Registration tax, the scrivener's fee, settlement adjustments and the balance of the brokerage fee are all paid on handover day. Ask your agent in advance for a settlement cost statement.

Summary

The upfront costs of buying a home in Japan consist of national taxes (stamp duty and registration tax), prefectural tax (real estate acquisition tax), the brokerage fee, the judicial scrivener's fee, the loan arrangement fee, fire insurance and the settlement adjustments with the seller. For a 50 million yen owner-occupied resale condo they total about 3 million yen, close to 6% of the price, most of it brokerage and loan fees, with the taxes small once the owner-occupation and floor-area conditions are met^[6][3][8][5]. If you would like an itemised estimate for a specific listing, or a recalculation under your own loan terms, please get in touch with us.