The Boundary for Hiring a Tax Accountant is 500,000 Yen: Complex Crypto Taxation and Investors' Risk Management Awareness

Clabo Inc. (Headquarters: Minato-ku, Tokyo; CEO: Ikuma Ueno) conducted a 'Survey on the Reality of Tax Accountant Requests' among 305 individuals with experience in cryptocurrency investment who considered hiring a tax accountant for their final tax returns.

The survey revealed that a high percentage of those who specifically considered hiring a tax accountant actually proceeded to outsource the work, regardless of their investment amount.

Over 70% of those who requested professional help cited 'complexity of transactions' and 'anxiety about self-filing' as reasons, highlighting a stance of relying on professionals to avoid the risk of additional taxation.

On the other hand, 75.5% of those who forewent hiring a professional cited 'high costs' as a barrier. Meanwhile, in the non-request segment with investments between 100,000 and under 500,000 yen, 30.0% faced a lack of information, stating they 'did not know which tax accountant to ask.'

The report provides data for sound investment activities, along with the latest trend of younger demographics in their 20s considering professionals even for small amounts due to their emphasis on time performance.

■ Survey Content

An investment of 500,000 yen is the threshold for requests, with higher-tier investors relying more on professionals.

The request rate for 500,000 yen and above is 100%, rising in proportion to asset size.

By cross-tabulating the scale of investment with the status of tax accountant requests, it was confirmed that the request rate rises significantly as the investment amount increases.

In particular, when the investment reaches 500,000 yen or more, the proportion of those choosing to make a request surges compared to those below that tier, highlighting this as a practical threshold.

While low-amount investors tend to explore filing on their own, once they cross the 500,000 yen mark, the need to rely on professionals outweighs self-filing due to the impact of the tax amount and the complexity of calculations.

* Since this question (Q6) was answered only by those who have considered and evaluated hiring a tax accountant, the data structure naturally shows that 100% of the 'considered' group ended up 'requesting' the service.

It is a natural consequence that as asset size grows, more investors take the risk of additional taxation due to potential filing omissions or calculation errors seriously.

It can be inferred that a shift in consciousness—redefining tax accountant fees not as a cost but as an 'investment to buy peace of mind'—occurs around this 500,000 yen mark once a certain investment amount is exceeded.

Those in their 20s show a clear stance of prioritizing time performance, considering requests even for small amounts.

Looking at data by age group, it unexpectedly became clear that the younger demographic in their 20s is proactively considering hiring tax accountants from a relatively small investment stage.

Compared to older generations, this reflects a value system that prioritizes time performance—outsourcing to experts for efficiency rather than wasting time navigating an unknown domain on their own.

Among those in their 20s, the rate of considering a request at the stage of 100,000 to under 500,000 yen is high at 33.3%, confirming a movement to establish contact with professionals early on.

In addition to their high sensitivity to information, this can be interpreted as a manifestation of the solid risk management awareness unique to the digital native generation, aiming to avoid the complex tax risks specific to crypto assets early on.

It also reveals their intention to create an environment where they can focus on their primary business or investment analysis by leaving tax matters to professionals, even for small amounts.

While the 10,000 to under 100,000 yen range is the most substantial volume zone across all generations, a characteristic point is that younger people show a stronger tendency than middle-aged and older people to demand accuracy regardless of the amount.

High-income earners make swift request decisions in proportion to their investment scale.

In the analysis by household income, the high-income tier with an annual income exceeding 8 million yen showed a more pronounced tendency to unhesitatingly switch to hiring a tax accountant as their investment scale grew.

Because those with surplus funds estimate the cost of calculating taxes themselves to be higher when considering their own hourly wage, the switch to making a request alongside an increase in investment amount is done very rationally.

Particularly in the tier with an annual income of 12 million yen or more, no one considers a request for a negligible amount under 10,000 yen; they have a clear judgment criterion to hand it all over to a professional once a certain volume is reached.

They strongly view investment not merely as a hobby but as an asset management portfolio, and their structural tolerance for professional fees as necessary expenses supports the high request rate linked to investment scale.

On the other hand, in the tier with an annual income under 4 million yen, 30.0% consider a request even for a small investment of under 10,000 yen. It is also an interesting point that the trigger for starting to consider a request differs depending on the income bracket.

High-income earners focus on practical efficiency, while low-income earners focus on the fear of unknown losses.