Good things may be on the way…
The UK just raised ISA contribution limits to 15,000 GBP a year, confusingly calling the new accounts NISA: BBC story here.
After some speculation that this would have an effect on Japan (as the NISA is based on the UK model), including grumbles that savers in the UK could save two and a half times as much as people in Japan, there were reports that the government is now considering raising the limits for Japan ISAs to 3 million yen a year: story in Japanese here.
This is great news, but of course does not address the main problem with these accounts: that they are only tax-free for five years. Hopefully the government will also extend the tax-free duration of the accounts (as happened in the UK).
They seem to be becoming more popular, which will be a key factor in whether they are kept or improved.
I maxed out my NISA account for this year last week so that’s me done until January.
Anyone else using NISA at the moment?
Important to note for Americans: NISA accounts are not seen as tax exempt by the US government, so any capital gains have to be reported on your annual US tax returns.
For this reason, we have one NISA maxed out in the (Japanese) wife’s name, but my money is going elsewhere.
Thanks Doug! A good point for US citizens.
I really feel for you guys. You have all these extra hoops to jump through on the road to a safe retirement abroad…