RetireJapan

Hi all,

Have been sending money for several years to Canada to fund the purchase of a house there, but priced out of the market sadly and want to bring the money back to Japan to put towards Japanese mortgage.

Have found some information regarding large sums being transferred into Japan on previous threads and posts, though not read anything specific to bringing savings that originated in Japan back from Canada.

Am I correct in understanding that these kind of personal savings transferred from and then back to Japan are not subject to Japan tax? If this is the case, are there any limitations on how much can be brought back annually? At one time?

As well, any recommendations for financial institutions best suited to transferring large sums at one time would be welcome.

Appreciate any advice should you be able to help and many thanks in advance.

You have a couple of things to think about.

Did you receive any interest or make any other gain on the funds while they were in Canada in CAD?

What was the Average Exchange Rate you achieved?
Total of all Original Yen Values divided by Total CAD value

When you send back to Japan, what will be the Exchange Rate?
Final Yen Value divided by Total CAD value

If the Final Yen Value is greater than the Total of all Original Yen Values, then you will have to pay tax on the difference as Forex Gain.

As the Yen has weakened significantly over the last year, I suspect you may have made a considerable taxable gain.

Also the tax rate on any forex gain (assuming you did convert between JPY and CAD) will also be at the graduated income tax rates as well, not a flat rate.

If you made money thanks to the exchange rate, then you should come out ahead even after paying taxes on any forex gains. But it would demand filing a tax return, assuming it was a gain in excess of 200,000 yen.

A bank like SMBC Trust Prestia (formerly Citibank in Japan) would likely be an option. I hear Sony Bank mentioned these days too, but never used them for that purpose myself.

If you want to get the best exchange rate possible when converting foreign currency to JPY there are ways to do that outside of banks, but it involves more hassle, so it becomes a competition between your money and your time as to whether it’s worth it.