RetireJapan

I am a US citizen with permanent visa (eijuken) and Japanese wife. If I move back to the US for a few years and abandon the apartment I live in but keep a apartment I have but is being rented out and has been for more than 10 years and my wife keeps an apartment that she owns but is vacant (or I should say she doesn't live there), do I have to pay income tax to Japan on income I earn in the US, for example if the income were $150,000/year? Our current residence is not in either of the two apartments we own but rather associated with an apartment that is provided to me by my current (Japanese university) employer in a different prefecture.

1. You Need a real Re-Entry Permit / Multiple Re-Entry Perm,it from Immigration - Valid for 5 years and can be extended under extenuating circumstances. Don't rely on the 1 Year Special Re-Entry Permit on the Departure Card. So many PRs got burned during COVID...

2. You have to go to the Ward Office and issue the Notification of Moving Out, and specify that you are moving overseas. You also need to nominate a Tax Representative to deal with your taxes while you are out of the country.

3. If you have a property, but it is rented out, it is not available for you or your family during your time overseas, you will be deemed to be not resident in Japan during that time. On the other hand, if you were to keep the property vacant for immediate occupancy any time you returned, or for some family members to remain in Japan, then they may deem you to still be resident in Japan during that time. It may be better if your wife's property was not immediately available...

4. You will probably be liable for some National Tax on your 2023 income, though you may be eligible for a refund at the end of the year if too much tax has been withheld from payroll. Youx Tax Representative should deal with your Kakutei Shinkoku in March 2024 for any refund. In any case there will be Japanese taxes due to the Rental Property(ies).

5. You will be liable for Residents' Taxes on 2022 Income.
Residents' Taxes are levied in arrears.
Residents' Taxes on 2021 Income depended on where you were registered on 1 Jan 2022, and payable from July 2022 to June 2023, either in monthly deductions from payroll, or directly by furikomi, either in one payment in July 2022, or four quarterly payments in July and October 2022, and January and April 2023.
Residents' Taxes on 2022 Income depended on where you were registered on 1 Jan 2023, and will be payable from July 2023 to June 2024, either in monthly deductions from payroll, or directly by furikomi, either in one payment in July 2023, or four quarterly payments in July and October 2023, and January and April 2024. You or your Tax Representative will need to pay those for you.
If you are not registered as living anywhere in Japan on 1 Jan 2024, you will not be charged Residents' Taxes on 2023 Income.

6. While you are overseas, you will not be entitled to contribute to your Japanese Pension, but your wife will, and it would be recommended that she pays Overseas Contributions to her pension while abroad.
https://www.nenkin.go.jp/service/scenebetsu/kaigai.html

7. You will want to be careful about when and how to transfer funds to Japan when you return, in order to reduce tax liability. It would probably best to remit funds to Japan in the year before the year in which you actually return to Japan, but you should consult a professional.

8. I know Prestia will allow PRs to keep a bank account open whilst living temporarily overseas, with some restrictions on activities, but the big banks seem to have a policy where all activities are blocked if you tell then that you are moving overseas. Prestia Global Pass Card works overseas as both a Debit and ATM Card. Others may have other suggestions.

Those are the things that immediately spring to mind. If I think of anything else, I'll update.

Tkydon wrote: ↑Thu May 18, 2023 3:50 pm 1. ...

8.

Those are the things that immediately spring to mind. If I think of anything else, I'll update.

@Tkydon, do you know if we are allowed to maintain Japan-domiciled bank and brokerage accounts open while out of the country with PR status and still avoid being subject to Japan income taxes on foreign activities? The points 1-8 you mentioned also match what I have heard about this subject but I am having trouble finding out for sure about being able to keep some Japanese financial accounts open while away.

Your PR status is essentially irrelevant to your tax-residence status as far as income tax goes. Submitting notice to the municipality that you are leaving the country means you have no domicile here after the specified date, so you would not be responsible for tax on foreign-sourced income beginning with that date, and banks and other financial institutions are justified in requiring you to close any accounts you have before then. You have to check the policy in place at the financial institution where you have your account(s), but the basic principle for those planning to be out of the country for over a year is that accounts must be closed (NISA accounts in particular), although company employees being transferred overseas may receive special treatment.

Wise offers a convenient roundup of policies at a large number of banks, including those that allow accounts for long-term overseas residents. These normally place restrictions on the kinds of transactions that can be conducted, may require a representative to be designated, and may also come with monthly fees. Securities firms are probably stricter with their policies. Here, for example, is the policy of Rakuten Securities, which allows those with the intention to return within a five-year period to maintain a restricted-use account as long as they assign a representative in Japan to help handle the account (they even offer to provide an introduction to such a representative, for a fee). Those moving overseas for an indefinite period aren't allowed to apply for this so-called 出国口座, and NISA accounts must be closed unless the reason for moving overseas is a company transfer. Monex is even stricter, in principle requiring the account to be closed, although they will permit a "dormant account" to be maintained IF the circumstances warrant it. In any case, you will certainly not be able to use a securities account as you would while resident in Japan.

ClearAsMud wrote: ↑Sun May 21, 2023 11:11 pm ...

Thank you for that information, especially for the links on bank policies and Rakuten's policy.