Every time my resident tax payment slip arrives, I think, 'Ah, I really am a sole proprietor'

Every year in June, my resident tax payment slip arrives. Honestly, every time I open the envelope, I let out a little sigh.

When I was a company employee, I never felt this way. Resident tax was automatically deducted from my salary every month, so I barely even had the sense that I was paying it. I never really paid attention to the amount or when it was being deducted.

What changed after becoming a sole proprietor is that this resident tax became something I pay myself.

Around June every year, the local government mails me all the payment slips at once. It contains payment slips for four installments, which I have to pay myself. I use PayPay to take care of all four installments at once. Since it's just a matter of scanning a barcode with my smartphone, the effort itself isn't much.

The notice just arrived this year, and I have already paid it.

The amount that was invisible when it was being deducted now appears right in front of me as a paper payment slip. I am clearly confronted with the numbers, thinking, 'I have to pay this much?' Even though I finish paying it conveniently in a few minutes, that feeling of 'having seen it' remains.

My current self pays for my past self's share

There is another unique weight to resident tax: it is calculated based on the previous year's income.

The resident tax I am paying now is not for 'this year's earnings' but for 'last year's earnings.' It is structured so that the bill for what I worked hard to earn last year arrives to my current self with a one-year delay.

As long as I have a string of good years, this doesn't bother me. But even in a year when my income has leveled off, the resident tax based on the previous year still comes. 'I'm not earning that much now, but the amount based on last year is coming'—this time lag was one of the things I understood firsthand only after becoming independent.

That is why I make sure to set aside a little money for resident tax in advance, thinking of it as 'something that comes later.' I realized that it is easier on my mind to be prepared from the start than to be startled by the bill every time it arrives.

My heart is heavy. But I don't hate it

To be honest, the resident tax payment slip might be the moment I feel most like a 'sole proprietor' every year.

It is not like when I was a company employee, where someone else would deduct it and handle it neatly for me. I earn under my own name and pay under my own name. All of that is in my own hands.

My heart is heavy. I let out a sigh. But strangely, I don't hate it. This tangible feeling of 'paying it myself' is something I could not have had when I was under the umbrella of a company.

Every June, while sighing, I tap 'Payment Complete' on PayPay four times. And I think to myself, just a little, 'I am standing on my own two feet again this year'.

I have summarized the specific payment methods (PayPay procedures, deadlines, and points to note) on my blog.

I also post daily on X (@soloji_fire). Please take a look if you'd like.

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