From sale to settlement statement — what gets deducted
See on one screen how each fee and tax is taken from a sale before the remainder appears on your monthly settlement statement. Every number below is produced by the same single calculation rule OPUS uses internally.
Assumptions
OPUS settles your payouts as a mediator (媒介者) between you and the buyer. The platform fee on a primary release is 25.00% (PG, certificate issuance, and Chronicle costs are all included), and OPUS does not withhold on your payouts (you file your own annual return). Custody transfer events carry a 20.00% transfer fee, split into 10.00% returned to the original artist as a perpetual royalty and 10.00% as the OPUS facilitation fee.
Releases — your work goes public for the first time
Only the platform fee is deducted from the consumer payment; the remainder is credited in full to your payout balance (mediator model — no withholding).
- Consumer payment — ¥35,000
- OPUS platform fee (25.00%, PG / certificate / Chronicle included) — −¥8,750
- Artist payout basis — ¥26,250
- Withholding — none (mediator model)
- Credited to your balance — ¥26,250
- Artist credit on statement — ¥{credited}
Cycle & minimum
Settlement ledger entries are aggregated monthly and issued as monthly settlement statements from the operator console. Amounts below ¥10,000 can still be carried and reviewed on statement records.
Payment handling
The OPUS service console does not execute bank remittance. Operators issue monthly statements for sales, fees, and artist credits; actual payment handling follows a separate operating procedure after statement issuance.
Tax handling — you file your own return
Under the mediator model OPUS does not withhold on your payouts. Please report your income on your own annual return (確定申告, filed Feb 16 – Mar 15 each year). The filing threshold is ¥950,000 of total income for full-time creators and ¥200,000 of side income for salaried filers (per Japan's National Tax Agency).
For 適格請求書 (invoice) registered artists
If you are a registered qualified-invoice issuer (適格請求書発行事業者), you can store your registration number (T + 13 digits) on your OPUS payout profile. From then on, OPUS issues qualified invoices in OPUS' own name and registration number under 媒介者交付特例; your registration number is never exposed to the buyer. Registration is optional and does not change your payout amount.
OPUS Payout Guide (v1.0)
This guide summarizes the payout policy that applies to artists who register works on OPUS. Every figure on this page comes from the same source of truth as the OPUS system (apps/web/src/lib/payouts/config.ts).
1. OPUS' role — mediator (媒介者)
OPUS calculates settlement details and issues statements as a mediator (媒介者) between the artist and the buyer. We process payment, issue the certificate, anchor the record into The Chronicle, and issue the settlement statement, but OPUS does not execute artist bank remittance inside the service console. The underlying transaction is between the artist and the buyer.
For consumer-protection purposes the 特定商取引法 disclosure lists OPUS as the 通信販売業者 for the Releases channel; this is a separate disclosure layer and does not conflict with mediator status for consumption-tax / income-tax purposes.
2. Fee structure
2-1. Releases — primary publication by the artist
| Item | Rate | Example, ¥35,000 sale |
|---|---|---|
| Consumer payment (税込, tax-inclusive) | 100% | ¥35,000 |
| OPUS platform fee (PG, certificate, Chronicle costs all included) | 25% | −¥8,750 |
| Withholding | 0% | ¥0 |
| Credited to your payout balance | 75% | ¥26,250 |
| Artist credit on statement | 75% | ¥26,250 |
2-2. Provenance — an existing edition moves to its next custodian
The transfer event carries a 20 % transfer fee on the transfer price, split as follows.
| Item | Rate | Example, ¥50,000 transfer |
|---|---|---|
| Transfer price (税込) | 100% | ¥50,000 |
| Custody transfer fee, total | 20% | −¥10,000 |
| ├ Artist perpetual royalty (returned to the original artist) | 10% | ¥5,000 |
| └ OPUS facilitation fee | 10% | ¥5,000 |
| Previous custodian's proceeds | 80% | ¥40,000 |
The original artist is credited the 10 % perpetual royalty automatically every time their work is transferred. No separate billing is required.
3. Tax handling — no withholding; you file your own return
Under the mediator model OPUS does not withhold on your payouts. Please report your income on your own annual return.
- Filing window (Japan): February 16 – March 15 each year
- Filing threshold (per Japan's National Tax Agency):
- Full-time creator: total annual income above ¥950,000
- Side-income filer (salaried with a creator side activity): more than ¥200,000 of side income
- Income classification: your income on OPUS is classified as a royalty (著作権使用料) for tax purposes.
For your specific tax situation we recommend consulting your local 税務署 or a licensed tax professional (税理士).
4. For 適格請求書 (qualified-invoice) registered artists
The Japanese qualified-invoice system (インボイス制度) has been in effect since October 2023. If you are registered as a 適格請求書発行事業者 (qualified-invoice-issuing business), the following option is available.
- You can store your invoice registration number (T + 13 digits) on your OPUS payout profile.
- Going forward, OPUS issues qualified invoices under OPUS' own name and registration number via the 媒介者交付特例 (mediator delivery exception).
- Your registration number is never disclosed to buyers.
- Registration is optional and does not change your payout amount.
If you are a 免税事業者 (exempt business), you can continue exactly as before — your payout amount is unchanged.
5. Cycle & statement issuance
| Item | Policy |
|---|---|
| Cadence | Monthly (close at month end → issue a settlement statement the following month) |
| Hold-back | 14 days from the originating payment (refund / dispute guard) |
| Minimum basis | ¥10,000 operating reference; smaller amounts can still be carried and reviewed by statement |
| Payment handling | The OPUS service console does not execute bank remittance |
| Evidence | Monthly settlement statement (HTML / printable) |
6. End-to-end flow
- The work is paid for → a settlement row is created in PENDING_CLEAR.
- 14 days (hold-back) elapse → the row transitions to AVAILABLE.
- The cycle closes at month end → per-artist AVAILABLE entries are aggregated.
- The operator reviews the entries → a monthly settlement statement is issued.
- Actual payment handling follows a separate operating procedure after statement issuance.
7. Policy changes
This policy may be revised alongside OPUS' operating policy; we will notify artists of any material change in advance. This document stays in sync with the single source of truth in apps/web/src/lib/payouts/config.ts.
Document version: v1.0.0 · Last updated: 2026-06-05 · Next review: when the invoice-system transitional measures change or OPUS policy is revised.