Tools · For employers

Can they work from there?

For managers and HR. Someone on your team wants to work from abroad for a while. Tell us where, and for how long, and we will show you the four things that can turn a yes into a tax bill: their residence, your payroll, social security, and a taxable presence for the company.

UK employer · Japan · 6 months, about 183 days

Manageable, with paperwork and a check or two.

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  1. Their tax residence

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    No day count

    Japan has no day count. You are resident if your domicile, the base of your life judged on objective facts, is in Japan, or once you have lived there continuously for a year or more. Take a job that normally needs a year or more in Japan and you are presumed resident from the day you arrive.

    The rule, as the tax tracker states it

  2. Your payroll

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    Inside the treaty's day line

    The 2006 convention (amended in 2013) keeps the salary taxable only in the UK for an employee there no more than 183 days in any 12 months starting or ending in the tax year, paid by an employer not resident there, and not charged to a branch there. About 183 days is inside that, as long as the employee stays resident in the UK for treaty purposes. That is close to the line, so count the days carefully, including travel days.

    gov.uk, UK-Japan tax treaties · HMRC, tax treaties

  3. Social security

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    UK cover, with the agreement

    The UK has a social security agreement with Japan. An employee sent there for a posting expected to last no more than 5 years can stay in UK National Insurance instead of paying into Japan's scheme. Whether an employee who asks to work there counts as sent was not confirmed. The UK-Japan agreement covers contributions only, not benefits. Japan's pension service says the posting can be extended by up to 3 more years for unforeseen reasons. HMRC's manual page giving the 5 years is marked as under review.

    HMRC National Insurance Manual, NIM33405 · gov.uk, reciprocal social security agreements

  4. A taxable presence

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    Depends on the reason

    The OECD's November 2025 guidance says a home generally will not count as a fixed place of business if the employee works from it for less than half their working time over 12 months. At half or more, it asks whether the company has a commercial reason for them to be there; keeping the employee happy or saving office costs does not count. Countries do not all follow OECD guidance.

    OECD, November 2025 update to the Model Tax Convention · Deloitte summary of the OECD 2025 update

On the UK side

HMRC's PAYE Manual says that if an employee is sent abroad by the employer, the employer must continue to operate PAYE, unless HMRC issues a code that says otherwise. Form P85 is for someone leaving the UK to live or work abroad full-time, so a stay like this does not usually need one. HMRC PAYE Manual, PAYE81640

In Japan

Japan's digital nomad status is for remote work for employers or clients abroad. It does not allow work under an employment contract with a Japanese organisation. It asks for annual income of at least 10 million yen and private medical insurance, and lasts up to six months with no extension. Immigration Services Agency of Japan, digital nomad status

This is not tax or legal advice. It is the first filter: it tells you which questions to take to an adviser, and gives you the rule and source behind each one. Every case turns on facts it cannot see, from where the employee is resident to what their contract says.

How it counts. The stay is treated as one continuous stay of about 30 days a month, inside one counting period. Treaty lines are taken from each treaty's employment article; the residence lines come from the tax tracker. Checked 4 October 2026 against HMRC's and the IRS's treaty lists, the treaty texts, HMRC's NI38 guidance, gov.uk's guidance under the UK-EU trade agreement, and the SSA's list of agreements.

What it does not cover. Employment law, immigration (whether they may work there at all), and local payroll registration rules beyond those named. The OECD guidance on home offices comes from a summary of the November 2025 update; the OECD text itself could not be read for this page.