r/JapanFinance

Long story short, I've did my 確定申告 in Feb, paid my insane income tax bill (enough to buy a house), and I'm now waiting for the city/residence-tax bill to come in Mid-June.

I want to pay it and get a receipt. I'm applying for PR and would like the receipt, essentially.

I know the payment slip comes and you can pay it at the Conveni. But this is for amounts under 0.3m yen. So that's out of the question.

I know I can pay the slip at the ATMs, but is there a limit? I usually pay at SMBC ATM but I am not sure if the ATM would even let me do a transaction for >15M in one slip.

I know I can do automatic-debiting at the city hall but that doesn't produce a receipt. Ideally, I would like one.

Thank you

I am receiving an inheritance of $1,000,000 yen from a Japanese bank. My aunt is asking me if I want it sent as yen or dollars to Capital One bank. I’m really not sure and don’t understand what the difference would be. Which would be better?

Hi everyone, I have already 50kyen deposited in my account however IBSJ tells me i dont have yet trading permission for seicho NISA. I have requested and 4 days have passed. Do you know how can I have permission? Also do you know any mutual funds allowed to buy currently? Thank you

My spouse (Japanese national) and I (on visa) are planning to leave Japan by end of year, right before the 5 year residency mark for worldwide tax and exit tax avoidance reasons (we’re in the highest tax bracket with significant worldwide assets).

Before we go, we’re trying to lock in a few more properties while our loan eligibility is strong, and sort out the existing ones.

Current situation:

- Spouse holds a few rental properties on an investment loan (used as a tax reduction vehicle). We’ll try to sell these.

- I hold one Tokyo property, a home we love, on a primary residence loan — planning to ask the bank to convert it to an investment loan before we leave, renting it out on a 5 year fixed term, so we can keep it and live here in the future.

- Planning on buying a Minpaku-approved ikkodate in a major city (investment loan).

- Maybe another small mansion in Sapporo. Loan TBD.

The goal is to build out our Japan property portfolio before leaving, then return in roughly 5-7 years in a semi-retirement capacity once we hit our financial goals earning higher salary abroad.

Questions:

1. Has anyone successfully converted a primary residence loan to an investment loan before moving abroad? Or do banks generally allow you to keep it as-is if you plan to return within a few years?

2. In your experiences, are Japanese banks typically okay maintaining investment loans for borrowers who relocate overseas? Anything needing to prove future income to qualify?

3. Does having a Japanese spouse meaningfully help with bank negotiations around intent to return? We will try to purchase any new property under her name since we assume Japanese banks will be more flexible with a Japanese national.

On residency: we’re planning a clean exit and won’t be maintaining Japan residency — not looking to pay another year of Juminzei for a partial year.

Any experiences or advice appreciated.

Hi, all. I have a friend who is a Japanese citizen with permanent residency in the US. She has resided here for multiple decades. She has investments in US dollars in Japan that she wants to liquidate and bring to the US, particularly since finding out about a supposed new Fbar enforcement.

She said that maybe she might just bring it in cash when traveling at under 10K increments. She is retired and wants to plan for inheritance for her adult children as well. Unfortunately, she’s old school and is more comfortable holding cash and does not have much knowledge around this subject. Ive never had to deal with foreign assets, but I don’t think this approach is ideal. I recommended she consult a tax attorney or well-versed accountant, but I really am out of my depth here. Can anyone provide some insight on the situation at hand and what she should ideally do in handling this effectively?

Has anyone here used SumiTrust Club Card for online shopping, eg booking onsen, buying flights?

The 3D Secure authorization system often doesn't work. I phone customer service to double-check the card isn't locked. I clear the cache on my browser and try using another browser. I try turning off ad blockers etc. in case they are blocking the pop-up prompt for the one-time password. Nothing solves the problem.

I don't have this issue with other credit cards. The code-generator app looks like something out of the 90s.

Just wondering if others are having issues shopping online with this card.

Thanks to a reminder email from the NTA, I realised that I may need to file the Overseas Asset Report for the first time. For those who have done so in the past, I have a few questions:

1. Where is the form on e-tax? I can't find it the browser or smartphone version, so do I need to download the program? I read e-tax is a struggle and it is easier to print it out and mail it anyway, would you agree? Reference: https://www.nta.go.jp/taxes/tetsuzuki/shinsei/annai/hotei/2506.htm

2. Do "locked" amounts in superannuation or pension funds have to be included?

3. Is crypto stored in cold wallets considered an "overseas asset"?

4. Have you ever been contacted or audited after filing the report? I do 確定申告 every year and have paid all my taxes on realised gains/dividends.

Hi everyone, having some doubts about what I should do regarding my Japanese pension, so would like some insight.

I’ve worked in Japan for almost 7 years.

I will be returning to the UK for the foreseeable future (at least a few years, but there is a chance I’ll never come back) at the end of this month.

I’m debating whether I should get a lump sum which will erase the records of the money I’ve paid into the pension system so far, or not take the lump same in case I decide to work in Japan again in the future.

I’m aware that if I were to work 10 years in total I’d be entitled to the national pension once I retire.

Since the UK has a social security agreement with Japan, I think I can also work in the UK for those remaining years and still apply for Japanese national pension down the line.

However, I’m still in my early 30s and the retirement age keeps going up, so maybe I’m looking too far into the future? Not going to lie, that extra cash would be great right now as I prepare for the move, but the exchange rate is absolutely abysmal at the moment, so I’d be losing over half of the money I get anyway..

If anyone has any experience with this I’d love to hear what you did and why.

Thanks!

I'm a student writing a paper on Okinawa, and was wondering if anyone could help point me toward economic data (e.g. average household income, poverty rate, etc.) at the prefecture level. I don't speak Japanese, and am having a hard time maneuvering through e-Stat and other government websites.

Sorry if this isn't allowed, I'm just really struggling and this felt like a place people would know the answer. Thank you!!

Kind of in a predicament here.

I'm a student here, and like many other students, I had my go at doing a baito for a brief period last year, which I quit in June 2025. I'm second guessing myself right now though so I'd appreciate some clarification from someone more knowledgable than me here. Basically, I filed my tax refund (還付申告) in January this year (2026) as I had overpaid in taxes, and I received the refund to my bank account around 10 days later. I honestly thought that since I filed once, there would be no need to file either the national tax return (確定申告) or the residence tax (住民税).

However, Today I got a letter in the mail from the ward office asking me to fill in my income details for the past year so that they can calculate my health insurance amount for this year, which got me thinking if I accidently f'ed up by not filing the other two tax returns, thinking only the first one would be enough. I also have another point I'm curious about as I got married after I quit the baito, and my spouse is on a dependant visa living with me in Japan now (since December 2025), but naturally this isn't reflected on the 源泉徴収票.

It's well beyond tax filing time now. So I'm not sure how to proceed to be honest. Any advice would be appreciated!

P.S. my income on the 源泉徴収票 was well below any taxable amount in Japan (around 300kyen as it wasn't a long stint).

I'm planning to go to language school in Japan for a year, but have no intention of staying long term beyond that. In my home country I invested in several accumulating ETFs. If I don't buy or sell any shares during that year, do I have to pay taxes on my investments in Japan? If possible I would like to avoid selling my shares before moving to Japan.

Moved the post here as this is probably a more appropriate subreddit than r/movingtojapan (sorry for those who saw this post over there).

Throwaway account for privacy.

I’m trying to sanity check whether it’s realistically enough to retire to Yokohama around age 40 with my wife (35f).

I do have a koseki-tohon, and my mother also has her koseki, so I’m not really asking about visa feasibility. I'm going to work with a lawyer to figure out my residency process if I feel comfortable with my finances. I've lived in Japan as a kid before and we have visited numerous times over the last 10 years. But as we know, "visiting" doesn't equate to actually living in Japan. I’m mostly trying to understand the actual cost-of-living side. As for whether we would get bored "retiring" this early, we intend to volunteer, take care of my aging family in Japan, and etc.

For housing, the likely path would be renting first, then deciding later whether to buy. For schools, at this point I’m assuming Japanese school as the default, not international school.

Financially, my rough numbers right now are:

• Annual before tax: about ¥12M in perpetuity (based on a 4% withdrawal rate)
• Annual after tax: roughly ¥7.8M to ¥8.6M
• Monthly after tax: roughly ¥650K to ¥720K

That after-tax range is after trying to account for Japanese taxes and required social costs (healthcare, nenkin, etc.) that my will be taken from my investments when withdrawn.

For context, our current lifestyle in the U.S. is probably what I call a fairly normal MCOL suburban lifestyle, not especially frugal but not luxury either. We’re comfortable, can eat out, travel sometimes, and generally don’t feel squeezed, but we’re not living some ultra-high-end lifestyle.

What I’m trying to understand is whether ¥650K to ¥720K a month after tax, or about ¥7.8M to ¥8.6M a year after tax, feels like in Yokohama or the Tokyo area for that kind of life. Does that translate into a comfortable day-to-day life for a family? Or does it end up feeling tighter than it sounds once you factor in rent, groceries, transportation, healthcare, and normal family spending?

On paper, ¥12M before tax sounds pretty strong to me, especially when compared to average income in Japan. But the after-tax number feels lower than I expected, and I’m trying to figure out whether I’m just anchored too much to U.S. thinking or whether that instinct is actually right.

I’d really appreciate input from people who live in Yokohama or the Tokyo area and have a feel for what that spending level actually looks like in practice.

I was so confident that I had everything right filing online (with TaxAct which is what I used back when I had a single employer), but now that I'm self-employed I guess I goofed somewhere.

Letter says I have 30 days from date of letter (which will be... Saturday) to fax information "that supports $○○○○○ on line 20a of Form 2555" (which is where I put my gross income for the FEIE) with all required supporting forms/schedules.

I think the issue is that I didn't file the J/USA 6 form (discussed in this thread) saying that I'm exempt from self-employment tax.

I understand it will take 2-3 weeks to get this form (once I figure out where I can get it from - city office's pension desk?) but that leaves me in a bit of a spot.

In the meantime what should I be sending them...?

hi everyone, first time posting. I’m a us citizen that is moving to japan at the end of the year. after doing my research, if I stay under 5 years I do. not pay an exit tax. I own a house and rent it out in the states and I have about 400k in investments between taxable and roth. I do not plan on never selling it. If I stay longer than 5 years, they can tax my capital gains on it even if I do not sell it? Anyone experience living as a Japanese citizen with us investments?

Background:

I have been living in Japan for over 10 years as a seishain and own a rental property in my home country (SEA).

For years, the rental income (approx. 30k JPY/month) was not remitted to Japan; it was used to cover part of the mortgage payments. Because the mortgage installment is higher than the rent, the property has consistently operated at a net loss. Consequently, I have not declared this as income in Japan. The property has been vacant since 2022, but I have a potential tenant interested for this year.

As I am currently preparing my application for naturalization, I want to ensure my tax records are perfectly compliant.

Questions:

1. Tax Obligation: Am I required to declare this rental income in Japan, even if the property results in a net loss overall?

2. Procedure: If I need to rectify this, what is the proper process for declaring past income or amending my tax status?

3. Naturalization Impact: How might this history of undeclared (albeit loss-making) income impact my naturalization application? Is this considered a significant "red flag"?

I would appreciate any advice or guidance on how to handle this correctly before submitting my documents.

Hi all,

I’m a Japanese permanent resident who has been living and working in the U.S. for the past few years on an F-1/OPT. Since 2020, I’ve not been officially residing in Japan. During that time, I removed my jūminhyō and my understanding is that I have been a non-resident for Japan tax purposes. My number is most likely expired as well and I will have to renew it when I move back.

I’m planning to move back to Japan soon and want to transfer around couple hundred thousand dollars of savings (earned in the U.S.) to my Japanese bank account.

I had a few questions:

1.	Will transferring this money trigger any taxes in Japan, assuming it’s savings from prior years? What documentation should I prepare from my end?

2.	If I become a tax resident again after moving back to Japan for work, does the timing of the transfer matter?

3.	Has anyone transferred a similar amount to a Japanese bank such as SMBC. Did they ask for documentation (source of funds, etc.)?

4.	Any recommendations on best way to transfer (wire vs Wise, etc.) from a cost and compliance perspective?

Would appreciate any insights or experiences.

I've been trying to move some money from my JP Post account to my PayPay account but the verification thinks that the katakana of my name doesn't match my name on my MyNumber card.

I even got a Japanese friend to write my name in as I thought I was typing it wrong, but it still came back as not a match.

I'm now thinking that it's due to my name not being in English. The pronunciation of the katakana doesn't match the pronunciation of the roman spelling, my non English name, which obviously doesn't follow English phonetics.

For example, if my name was spelled Méadhbh on the MyNumber card, the katakana pronunciation would be メーブ. (Not my real name but same language). But this wouldn't match the pronunciation in English.

I'm not certain that's the reason, but it's the only reason I can think of as of right now.

Are there any other foreigners with non English names who managed to get verified on PayPay? Should I change the katakana to the incorrect version of my name? How do I know what PayPay considers the correct pronunciation?

I'd really appreciate any help, as I really need online banking and PayPay seemed like the easiest option.

My tax advisor told me to keep my investments in a foreign account if possible, because for the first five years as a resident, foreign income is not taxed unless it is brought into Japan.

If I open an account at IBKR Japan and move my investments there, will this account count as a foreign investment account (e.g. a "normal" IBKR account), or is that actually an account within Japan?

If it is actually a domestic account: If I understood it correctly, that would not be a good idea because any capital gains on there will have to be taxed within Japan, even within my first five years as a resident here. Is that correct?

I have asked some questions here before but have a different set that I genuinely can’t figure out myself and need some help. Hopefully someone knows.

I am moving to Japan soon on a working visa and want to know how to cleanly handle the transition in terms of tax and liabilities. I have a decent share portfolio overseas that will generate some dividends that I can’t easily avoid so please keep it in mind.

With that in mind I have a few questions:

- Is it possible to remit money before I arrive to avoid the international tax?

- Should I convert my savings before arriving as to reduce complications with foreign currency taxes and associated gains?

- Is it difficult to handle if I do need to pull money from my savings in a foreign currency?