RetireJapan

Thanks Beaglehound! Really helpful insights. I'm looking into this but in discussions with a US tax lawyer, one option is to do a quitclaim deed which updates the title prior to sale making me sole owner. It's an option to simplify the whole process and my spouse and I are on good terms and trust each other

I'm also just considering to delay any transfer of funds until the beginning of next year. That also seems like a good option for this situation.

I realize this thread is quite dated, but it has some interesting questions that never appear to have been resolved. I'm just curious about the outcome and have a few related questions.

1. If the seller is a tax resident of the US how can Japan tax the remittance? Article 16 of the treaty appears pretty clear on this topic. Additionally, if the spouse is Japanese - is she automatically a tax resident of Japan upon return to Japan, or does the five year equation apply to nationals as well? In the case that she is a tax resident of Japan how does Japan split ownership - will it be according to how title was taken in the US?

2. If the seller does indeed remove his wife from title, wouldn't that trigger gift tax on the Japan side?