Chester Tax Corporation

What Chester Tax Corporation does

Chester Tax Corporation (税理士法人チェスター) is a privately held Japanese tax accounting firm founded in 2008 that specializes exclusively in inheritance tax (estate tax) filing, pre-mortem planning, and adjacent succession services. As of July 2026 the firm employs 518 staff, including more than 100 certified estate tax CPAs (財産税専門税理士), and operates 20 offices across Japan (14 East Japan + 6 West Japan, with the West Japan headquarters in Osaka). The firm handled 3,076 estate tax filings in FY2025 (Reiwa 7), described as industry top-class, and has served more than 20,000 cumulative clients since founding.

The firm's core service is estate tax filing for high-net-worth individuals, with publicly disclosed tiered pricing ranging from ¥220,000 to ¥2,200,000 (incl. tax) for estates up to ¥500M in assets, plus add-on fees for land use classifications, unlisted shares, and additional heirs, and a 20-50% surcharge for engagements within three months of the filing deadline. Vertical specializations include international/cross-border inheritance, business succession and M&A support for owners, agricultural land owners, doctors/medical practitioners, and unlisted company owners; pre-mortem planning volumes are reported at over 30 new engagements per month. The firm is differentiated by an internal 審査部 (Examination/Review Department) staffed by former National Tax Agency (国税庁) officials, including a department head with prior tax署長 credentials, which is described as an industry rarity and is used to review filings and manage tax investigations.

The go-to-market is inbound-dominant: direct field sales via 20 offices and a free first consultation, backed by content marketing (the 相続大辞典 encyclopedia, blog column, チェスター相続実務研究所), free online tax and fee calculators, peer-professional referral channels (via the 相続実務アカデミー B2B academy for CPAs, lawyers, and judicial scriveners), and media presence including an active TV commercial and 20+ published books. The broader Chester Group adds one-stop capability through wholly-owned subsidiaries providing judicial scrivener, administrative scrivener, law office, and real estate services. The firm reports a 96.6% customer satisfaction score (4.93/5, n=3,142) and a 1% tax investigation rate, and has no disclosed AI/ML technology, funding rounds, or M&A transactions.

Name

Chester Tax Corporation

Website

https://chester-tax.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2008

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

501–1,000 employees

Short description

Chester Tax Corporation is a Japanese tax accounting firm specializing exclusively in inheritance tax filing and pre-mortem estate planning, with 100+ certified estate tax CPAs, 518 staff, 20 nationwide offices, and 3,076 FY2025 filings serving high-net-worth individuals, business owners, and cross-border clients.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Estate Tax Services

NAICS

Tax Preparation Services (541213), Accounting, Tax Preparation, Bookkeeping, and Payroll Services (5412), Trusts, Estates, and Agency Accounts (525920), Other Accounting Services (541219)

SIC

Services-Legal Services (8111), Investment Advice (6282)

akta.pro primary industry

Trust & Estate Tax Planning & Compliance (FSAEAKAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

Estate Planning, Trust Structuring & Governance (FSAAADAF), Estate Administration & Probate Services (FSAAANAE), Tax Law (BPAHAAAG)

Keywords

• Estate tax services
• Inheritance tax filing
• Tax accounting services
• Business succession planning
• Estate planning consulting

Headquarters

HQ city

Tokio

HQ country

Japan

HQ region

Asia

Offices20 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. 房产税申告报酬 (Estate Tax Filing Fees): Professional service fees for estate tax filing. Priced tiered by total estate value (遺産総額). Base fees cover property valuation (財産評価), inheritance partition document drafting (遺産分割協議書作成), estate tax filing (房产税申告), and written attachment (書面添付). Additional fees apply for multiple land use classifications and unlisted shares. Surcharge of 20–50% of total compensation applies if filing deadline is within 3 months of engagement.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Chester Tax Corporation (税理士法人チェスター) is a Japanese professional services firm specializing exclusively in inheritance/estate tax filing and related advisory. The firm provides end-to-end estate tax services including property valuation, inheritance partition document drafting, estate tax return filing, written attachment submissions, and tax investigation defense. Beyond filing, it offers pre-mortem wealth planning, will creation, international/cross-border inheritance, business succession, M&A support, and tax refund services across 20 nationwide offices with 100+ certified estate tax CPAs.

Product overview

税理士法人チェスターは、年全国20拠点で年間3,000件超の申告実績を持つ相続専門税理士事務所。遺言書作成サポート、生前・相続対策プラン、国際遺言書・国際相続対応，事业継承対策・M&A支援，土地活用・生命保険の活用・家族信託等の生前対策，農地・非上場株式の納税猶予，小規模宅地等の特例等の税務特例活用，書面添付制度による税務調査対策等を提供。遺言書作成サービスと生前対策を二本柱とし，死亡後 процедурとしての相続手続きパック，遺産分割協議書作成，会計事務所・弁護士向けの相続実務Academyを運営。チェスターグループとして税理士法人・司法書士法人・弁護士事務所・不動産会社が連携し，相続関連業務をワンストップで対応可能。

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• CHESTER GROUP: The broader group of companies including tax accounting, judicial scrivener, administrative scrivener, law firm, and real estate services

Products and services

• Estate Tax Filing Plan (相続税申告プラン) Core inheritance tax return filing service covering property valuation, inheritance partition document drafting, estate tax filing, and written attachment. Tiered pricing by total estate value from up to ¥100M (variable, ¥200,000–¥550,000 base) up to ¥400M–¥500M (¥2,000,000), with custom quotes above ¥500M. Includes a 20–50% surcharge if the filing deadline is within 3 months of engagement.
• Pre-Mortem and Inheritance Planning Plan (生前・相続対策プラン) Pre-death estate planning service that proposes and supports optimal measures for tax funds and inheritance partition in a fair and neutral manner. Generates over 30 new engagements per month. Includes use of life insurance, real estate structuring, family trusts, agricultural land deferral, second-inheritance planning, and small residential land exemptions.
• Will Creation Support (遺言書作成サポート) Service supporting the creation of wills, including notarial wills (公正証書遺言) and self-written wills (自筆証書遺言), with utilization of the Ministry of Justice will custody system. Includes English-language international will creation support.
• International Inheritance Cases (国際相続案件) Service for clients with overseas assets, foreign bank deposits with foreign-currency-denominated inheritances, or international inheritance scenarios requiring treaty and cross-border treatment. English-language support available. Covers both pre-mortem planning for overseas-asset holders and post-death filing.
• Business Succession Planning (事業承継対策) Succession planning service for SME and unlisted company owners. Includes M&A advisory (会社売却) support, share transfer structuring, unlisted company share valuation, and use of the non-listed stock succession tax deferral system.
• M&A (Company Sale) Support (M&A（会社売却）支援) Advisory support for owners exploring the sale of their company, integrated with estate and inheritance tax planning around the transaction proceeds.
• Tax Investigation Support and Attendance (税務調査立会) Defense and on-site representation during National Tax Agency investigations, leveraging the proprietary Internal Examination/Review Department staffed by former NTA officials. Service is delivered by retired NTA tax auditors.
• Estate Tax Refund (相続税還付) Service for clients whose prior estate tax filings have already been completed, focused on identifying overpayments and claiming refunds where eligible (typically within the 5-year statute).
• Inheritance Procedure Support Pack (相続手続きサポートパック / 相続手続きまるっとおまかせサービス) One-stop support pack covering inheritance partition document drafting, deposit contract resolution, name changes, and related procedures, completed entirely within the Chester Group (judicial scrivener, administrative scrivener, law firm, real estate).
• Second Opinion Service (セカンドオピニオンサービス) Independent expert review and revaluation of estate tax returns or tax-authority assessments prepared by another firm. Used by clients who doubt prior tax advice or face penalty risk from prior filings.

Quantifiable outcome

• 3,076 estate tax filings handled in FY2025 (industry top class)
• +3 more outcomes

Segments9 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• 太陽税理士法人 (Taiyo Tax Corporation): Mid-sized Japanese tax firm offering inheritance tax filing and succession planning; competes with Chester in the standard and large-case estate filing market, particularly in regional Japanese cities.
• ベリーベスト税理士法人 (Best Best Tax Corporation): Japanese tax-accounting firm within the broader Best Best legal/tax group offering estate tax filing and related succession services; overlaps with Chester on individual estate filings and pre-mortem planning.
• 辻・本郷税理士法人 (Tsuji & Hongo Tax Corporation): Large Japanese tax-accounting firm with a dedicated inheritance tax practice and strong corporate-tax heritage; directly competes for HNW estate tax work, business succession engagements, and large-case filings across multiple offices in Japan.
• アクティブシニア税理士法人 (Active Senior Tax Corporation): Japanese tax firm specializing in inheritance tax and senior-focused tax services; overlaps with Chester's HNWI estate tax practice and pre-mortem planning offerings.
• 税理士法人TOTAL: Japan-based tax-accounting firm with a focused inheritance/estate tax practice and multi-office presence; competes with Chester on standard estate tax filings, pre-mortem planning, and large-case engagements for HNW clients.
• 税理士法人レガシィ (Legacy Tax Corporation): One of Japan's largest dedicated inheritance tax specialist tax-accounting firms; directly competes with Chester in the estate tax filing market with comparable CPA depth, multi-office coverage, and similar large-case and international service offerings.

Broad incumbents

• TKC税理士法人 (TKC Tax Corporation): Major Japanese accounting and tax-services network with broad SME and corporate tax coverage including some estate tax services; competes with Chester for the lower end of estate filings and as an alternative for clients seeking a multi-service firm, though not specialist in inheritance tax.
• PwC税理士法人 (PwC Japan Tax): Large international professional services firm offering inheritance and wealth tax advisory in Japan as part of a broader tax and consulting portfolio; competes for ultra-high-net-worth estate planning, international/cross-border inheritance, and family-office mandates, but does not specialize in mass-market estate tax filings.

Emerging players

• freee (freee K.K.): Japanese cloud accounting and tax software company whose DIY platform competes at the low end of tax preparation; represents an indirect threat to mass-market estate filings rather than Chester's HNWI core, but signals the direction of software-led disruption in Japanese tax services.

Others

• アフラック (Aflac Japan) / 大手生保 inheritance planning services: Major Japanese life insurers that offer inheritance- and life-insurance-based tax planning products as part of broader protection policies; not a direct tax-filing competitor but a complementary and sometimes competing provider of pre-mortem estate strategies that can substitute for Chester's advisory work.

Market position

Strengths1 record

Weaknesses1 record

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Subsidiaries4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Chester Tax Corporation