Covid-19 Crisis: Government Expands Scope of 1M Yen Freelancer Subsidies

Good news!

From the 29th of June, the Japanese government has expanded the target scope of the freelancer subsidy program aimed to help small business owners affected by the COVID-19 crisis.

What is this freelancer subsidy program?

It is a program where freelancers in Japan can apply for up to 1 million yen in subsidies if their sales in a particular month this year dropped by more than 50 percent compared to last year.

The complete details about the eligibility criteria and application process regarding this subsidy can be found in this article that I’ve previously posted.

How was it expanded?

Originally, this subsidy is only available for freelancers and business owners who have filed their tax return and have declared their income as “sales“.

With the expansion, the government also started accepting applications from those who declared their income as “salary” or “miscellaneous income“.

Where in the tax form can I check if my income was declared under ‘sales’ or ‘salary’?

カ means “salary” and ク means “miscellaneous income”. If you’re income is listed in the green and red parts highlighted above, you are allowed to apply.

What are other criteria?

• You should NOT be under an employment contract (What is allowed are the following: service contract, a delegation contract or an outsourcing contract)

• You should NOT be someone’s dependent
• You have to have a kokumin kenko hoken (国民健康保険)
• The amount of カ or ク has to be the biggest income amount in your tax return form.

Do you still have questions?

If you have other questions or concerns, I may be able to help you so don’t hesitate to contact me. Please double check your email address when using the contact form to make sure I can reply to your inquiries.

Stay safe always!

AKIKO