Tomakomai: real estate guide

When you try to sell a house in Tomakomai that you inherited from your parents, many questions come up at once: “Do I need to change the name first?” “Is there a deadline?” “How much tax will I pay?” From the standpoint of a local real estate company, this article lists the deadlines for selling an inherited house in time order, and explains the steps to make it ready to sell, the two tax special measures you can use, and the procedures in Tomakomai City.

List of deadlines for an inherited house

The transitional deadline for inheritance registration (31 March 2027) and the end of the special deduction for vacant houses (31 December 2027) both fall in 2027. If you plan to sell an inherited house, the earlier you act, the more options you have.

Steps to make the house ready to sell

1. Confirm the heirs and the assets: collect family registers (koseki) to determine the heirs, and check whose name the house is in on the land register.
2. Hold an estate division discussion: all heirs decide together who will take the house, and prepare an estate division agreement (isan bunkatsu kyōgisho). If there is a will, follow its content.
3. Complete the inheritance registration (title transfer): at the Legal Affairs Bureau, change the name from the deceased to the heir. To sell, the house must in principle be in the heir’s name. The registration and license tax is about 0.4% of the assessed value for property tax.
4. Get an appraisal and decide how to sell: brokerage or direct purchase. You can get an appraisal even before the inheritance registration.
5. Sales contract and handover: clear out the belongings left in the house and confirm the boundaries.
6. Tax return: if there is a gain from the sale or you use a special measure, file a tax return the following year.

Four ways to divide a house

If you have already decided to sell, division by sale is the easiest method to sort things out. Co-ownership often just postpones the problem, so avoid it if possible.

Two tax special measures (you cannot use both)

The ¥30 million special deduction for vacant houses

According to the National Tax Agency, if you meet the following requirements, you can deduct up to ¥30 million from the capital gain.

• The house was built on or before 31 May 1981 and is not a unit in a condominium (not under sectional ownership)
• Just before the inheritance began, no one other than the deceased lived in the house
• From the inheritance to the sale, the house was not rented out, used for business, or lived in
• The house meets the earthquake resistance standards, or you demolish the house and sell the land (from January 2024, it is also allowed if the earthquake retrofit or demolition is done after the sale, by 15 February of the following year)
• The sale price is ¥100 million or less
• You are not selling to a person with a special relationship, such as a parent, child or spouse

If there are three or more heirs, the deduction is up to ¥20 million per person. How to obtain the “confirmation of the house where the deceased lived” required in Tomakomai City is on the city’s page “About the ¥30 million special deduction for capital gains on vacant houses“.

The special measure that adds inheritance tax to the acquisition cost

If a person who paid inheritance tax sells inherited property within a certain period, part of the inheritance tax paid can be added to the acquisition cost, which reduces the tax on the gain from the sale (National Tax Agency No. 3267). The period runs from the day after the inheritance began until the day 3 years after the day following the inheritance tax filing deadline.

You cannot use both of these special measures for the same house. Which one is better depends on whether you paid inheritance tax and how large the gain from the sale is. Check with a tax accountant or the tax office before you file your tax return.

Is inheritance tax due at all?

The basic deduction for inheritance tax is “¥30 million + ¥6 million × the number of statutory heirs” (National Tax Agency No. 4152). For example, with three heirs it is ¥48 million, and if the whole estate is at or below this amount, no inheritance tax is due.

Common situations with inherited houses in Tomakomai

• The heirs live outside Hokkaido or outside the city: they cannot come to manage the house, so clearing snow from the roof and draining the water in winter becomes difficult. Who pays for freezing damage is explained in “If water pipes freeze or burst in Tomakomai“.
• The house is old: a house built in or before 1981 may be eligible for the special deduction for vacant houses. If you demolish it, check the city’s subsidy beforehand.
• The house is left vacant: if the city issues a recommendation, the property tax goes up. For details, see “Can property tax on a neglected vacant house in Tomakomai rise up to six times?“.
• Change of the water service owner: when the owner changes through inheritance and the new owner does not live in the city, they must choose an agent in the city and notify the water service.

The selling process and costs are explained in “Selling real estate in Tomakomai“, and the options of renting out or demolishing a vacant house in “Selling, renting out or demolishing a vacant house in Tomakomai“.

What we can do

Banana House Inc. (1-1-1 Honkocho, Tomakomai) handles appraisal, brokerage and direct purchase of inherited houses and land. Even before the inheritance registration, or while the estate division is still being discussed, we can give you an estimate of the sale price. We can also introduce a judicial scrivener (shiho-shoshi) for inheritance registration and a tax accountant for inheritance tax and special measures. To apply, just give us three things: the type of property, its location and your contact details.

This page was machine-translated. The Japanese original prevails.