Invoice Registration Application Deadline Calculator (Japan Qualified Invoice Issuer)

Work out, for free, the filing deadline for the application to become a Qualified Invoice Issuer (Japan invoice/インボイス). Just enter your desired registration date to see the 15-day deadline and whether the transitional measure applies.

Last updated: 2026-10-17

What Is the Invoice Registration Application Deadline Calculator?

The Invoice Registration Application Deadline Calculator works out the filing deadline for the application to become a Qualified Invoice Issuer under Japan's invoice system. Just enter the date you want registration to take effect, and the tool automatically calculates the deadline, 15 days earlier.

Tax-exempt businesses can use a transitional measure: when registering in a taxable period that includes any day from October 1, 2023 to September 30, 2029, they can name any date at least 15 days after the filing date as their "desired registration date." This tool works out when the transitional measure ends from the month your taxable period ends, automatically checks whether your entered date falls within that window, and if the filing deadline has already passed, also shows the earliest date you could register if you filed today (15 days from now).

Sources used in this calculation

Statutory figures such as tax and insurance rates come from the public bodies listed below. They change when the law is revised, so please also check the primary source before relying on the result for an important decision.

Transitional rules for invoice issuer registration (requested date and 15-day filing) — National Tax Agency (国税庁) Effective 2023-10 to 2029-09 ／ Last checked 2026-10-17

How we source and maintain these figures

How to Use

Enter the date you want registration to take effect Select the date you want to become a Qualified Invoice Issuer — for example, next January 1 for a sole proprietor, or the day after your fiscal year end for a corporation.
Select the month in which your taxable period ends Choose December for a sole proprietor, or your fiscal year-end month for a corporation. This is used to determine the last day the transitional measure can be used (the end of the taxable period that includes September 30, 2029).
Check your result See the filing deadline (15 days before) and whether the transitional measure applies. If that deadline has already passed, you'll also see the earliest date you could register if you filed today.

Tips for getting more out of it

The filing deadline is the day that falls 15 days before the date you want registration to take effect. If you miss it, you cannot register from your requested date — but during the transitional measure, you can simply re-file with the earliest date you could register if you filed today (15 days from now) as your new target.
Tax-exempt businesses can use a transitional measure: when registering in a taxable period that includes any day from October 1, 2023 to September 30, 2029 (through December 31, 2029 for a calendar-year sole proprietor), you can name any date at least 15 days after your filing date as your "desired registration date." Without this measure, registration is generally only possible from the start of a taxable period.
Once the transitional measure ends (at the end of the taxable period that includes September 30, 2029), registration will generally only be possible from the start of a taxable period — plan around January 1 for sole proprietors, or the start of the fiscal year for corporations.
Registering makes you a taxable person for consumption tax from your effective date onward, regardless of your taxable sales. Before registering, check taxable_person_judge for your current taxable/exempt status and invoice_two_percent_special_provision for whether the post-registration relief measure applies to you.
It takes some time to receive your registration notice, and the processing time varies with the season. Check the latest processing-time estimate published by the National Tax Agency and file with plenty of lead time so you can notify business partners of your registration number on schedule. Even if the notice arrives after your desired registration date, you are treated as registered from that desired date.

Use Cases

Planning your filing schedule after a business partner requests registration

A tax-exempt business asked by a partner to provide a registration number can work out the filing deadline that meets their desired registration date.

Preparing for a meeting with a tax accountant

Knowing the approximate filing deadline and whether the transitional measure applies in advance helps you get more out of a consultation with a tax professional.

Coordinating with the timing of becoming a taxable person

After using taxable_person_judge to confirm your current taxable/exempt status, use this tool to work out exactly when registration will make you a taxable person.

Glossary

Qualified Invoice Issuer Registration Application: An application filed with the tax office to become a Qualified Invoice Issuer. Once approved, you receive a registration number and can issue qualified invoices (インボイス).
Qualified Invoice Issuer: A business registered with the tax office that is authorized to issue qualified invoices (インボイス), which buyers need in order to claim the input tax credit.
Desired Registration Date: During the transitional measure, any date a business names in its application as the date registration should take effect. It must be at least 15 days after the filing date.
Transitional Measure: A special rule that lets a tax-exempt business name any date, not just the start of a taxable period, as its desired registration date. It applies only when registering in a taxable period that includes any day from October 1, 2023 to September 30, 2029 (Supplementary Provisions, Article 15 of the 2018 amended Consumption Tax Act Enforcement Order). A calendar-year sole proprietor can use it through December 31, 2029.
Taxable Period: The unit of time used to calculate consumption tax liability. For sole proprietors it is generally the calendar year (January 1 to December 31); for corporations it is generally their fiscal year.

Frequently Asked Questions

By the date 15 days before the date you want registration to take effect. For example, to register starting next January 1, you'd need to file by around December 17 of the current year.

You cannot register starting from your originally requested date. But during the transitional measure (until the end of the taxable period that includes September 30, 2029), you can re-file naming the earliest date you could register if you filed today (15 days from now) as your new desired registration date.

If you are a tax-exempt business, then during the transitional measure (from October 1, 2023 until the end of the taxable period that includes September 30, 2029) you can choose any date at least 15 days after your filing date. Outside that window, registration is generally only possible from the start of a taxable period, such as January 1 for a sole proprietor.

Mail it to the Invoice Registration Center covering your place of tax payment, or file it online using the National Tax Agency's e-Tax software, which tends to result in a faster registration notice.

Treat it as an estimate. Actual deadlines and procedures can vary by individual circumstances, so confirm the official deadline with a tax accountant, the tax office, or the Invoice Call Center.

Side Note — Why the "15 Days Before" Rule Comes Paired With a Transitional Measure

When Japan's invoice system launched in October 2023, the basic rule was that registration could only take effect from the start of a taxable period — January 1 for a sole proprietor, or the start of the fiscal year for a corporation. This was because the registration's effect needed to align with the unit of time used to calculate consumption tax liability.

For small business owners who were still negotiating prices with trading partners or updating their systems right up until the launch, being locked into a fixed date was a real burden. So a transitional measure was introduced for tax-exempt businesses: when registering in a taxable period that includes any day from October 1, 2023 to September 30, 2029, they can name any date at least 15 days after their filing date as their "desired registration date," letting them register whenever suits them.

This transitional measure pairs with the "15 days before" rule introduced by the 2023 tax reform (the same number of days also applies to registration cancellation), letting businesses plan flexibly around "a date at least 15 days from today." Because the transitional measure ends at the end of the taxable period that includes September 30, 2029 (December 31, 2029 for a calendar-year sole proprietor), anyone planning a new registration after that will need to schedule around the start of a taxable period instead.

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