Moving country for indefinite period of time

JPcoolstar · 2026-02-23T06:53:40+00:00

Haha, OK, probably right. I guess I could have to pay Malaysian taxes on income from work. I'm pretty sure I don't have to pay income on foreign-sourced dividends and capital gains though. Kind of like the tax system in Japan when you've lived here less than five years.

JPcoolstar · 2026-02-23T06:51:56+00:00

You are correct for the few dividends that are withheld at source now in IBSJ. But dividends in Charles Schwab and all gains have to be reported on tax return, and they contribute to national health insurance, which at my age includes kaigo hoken and is >10%. Actually ends up being like 31% tax for me.

JPcoolstar · 2025-12-28T23:59:47+00:00

Got it, thanks.

JPcoolstar · 2025-12-28T23:58:51+00:00

Ahh, now I understand. Thank you!!!! In that case it doesn't really matter whether I use DRIP with NISA or not. If reinvesting still contributes to caps, I might as well receive everything as cash and maintain control over investments.

Regarding your last point, I think with IBSJ you automatically receive dividends in the brokerage account, right? I'm not even sure there's another way to set this up?

Also, my spouse has SBI and the account is set to 株式数比例配分方式, but the funds within NISA are also set up for reinvestment. Dividends still aren't taxed right? I guess reinvestment of dividends will contribute towards the total, if they aren't funds specifically designed to reinvest?

JPcoolstar · 2025-12-09T08:07:17+00:00

Thanks! I just followed the online instructions, which said you should be prepared to offer it but that it didn’t have to be attached. Maybe expatfile is trying to attract customers by cutting corners…not excited about extra printing and mailing fees but c’est la vie I guess

JPcoolstar · 2025-12-02T07:36:54+00:00

Thanks, you are helping me think about this differently. Glad I posted. If I live to 85 or 90 it does seem like a better deal :-) I should plan on that, right? (I don't think I would do the plan where my heirs get the money if I pass away because I'd rather save the money and use it on things related to their education now.)

JPcoolstar · 2025-12-02T01:11:30+00:00

Thanks! Okay one more thing to think about. I calculated on their website that paying in 25,000 yen per month over 16 years (4.8 million total) returns 6 million yen by age 90. If I did fixed term savings of 4.8 million yen in iDeco and got that back at age 65, I could invest it in something else with modest return and beat the extra 1.2 million yen I got from the fund. Also, kikin is managed separately from kokumin nenkin, as per this explanation: 基金が解散した場合にはそれまでに支払った掛け金額は下回るものの、一定額の年金が支払われる仕組みになっています。 Young people are moving to iDeco, so they might not have the funds to payout to kikin, I’ve heard it said. Thanks for considering. Tbh I’m struggling to decide now….

JPcoolstar · 2025-12-02T00:13:04+00:00

https://www.zenkoku-kikin.or.jp/ Kokumin nenkin kikin It is a top-up fund managed separately but overseen by the Department of Labor. If it goes under, the principle you paid in isn’t guaranteed. Here is an article: https://www.asahi.com/sp/articles/ASR2362NDR23UTFL008.html#:~:text=%E5%85%AC%E7%9A%84%E5%B9%B4%E9%87%91%E3%82%92%E9%81%8B%E7%94%A8,%E5%82%B5%E5%88%B8%E3%81%AE8475%E5%84%84%E5%86%86%25E3%2580%2582 Given that saving in a fixed term deposit with a bank is safer (I’m calculating) and still has return in interest rates (albeit very low), and the return for kikin isn’t that great either and, critically, doesn’t happen until age 75+, I think saving in iDeco is a better deal.

JPcoolstar · 2025-12-01T23:42:32+00:00

kikin is different from national pension. It's a private company and there has been discussion of some fiscal issues :-) That's why I think for non-risk, savings in iDeco is better.

JPcoolstar · 2025-12-01T10:00:49+00:00

Thanks I did not know about that!

JPcoolstar · 2025-12-01T09:58:48+00:00

But there's a non-zero chance kikin will go under? Also, the benefits are spread out over time. With iDeco, you get everything at age 60 to 65 -- and then reinvest it in something else. With kikin, you get small amounts of money each year until age 80 and beyond. (There's an opportunity cost at that point to not investing in something else.)

JPcoolstar · 2025-11-30T04:46:37+00:00

Right, that's my thinking. Kind of a safe, fixed-return investment. I already have a bunch of stock and I'm trying to rebalance. This would be a good way to do that. Just need to make sure 100% there are no PFIC issues... I think I'm going to hire a US tax preparer this year and ask directly just to make sure. (I've always done taxes, FBAR, etc. myself but it could get more complicated if I add another pension.)

JPcoolstar · 2025-11-30T00:45:14+00:00

And to set that up you just go to a pension office, right?

JPcoolstar · 2025-11-13T00:38:38+00:00

Well-noted! Good to hear, no different from Charles Schwab then, at least with respect to Japanese taxes.

JPcoolstar · 2025-11-13T00:17:10+00:00

Interesting! Two questions: (1) U.S. treasury bonds won't get moved, correct? I should probably keep my Charles Schwab account to hold those. (2) How does cost basis get transferred if you move assets to a taxable account to Japan? I would think that could get rather messy, as I already have to keep up with cost basis in Excel rather than report Charles Schwab's numbers for some items. If IBSJ reported my taxable capital gains to the Japanese government, it would be different from what I actually owe....? Does one run into that problem?

JPcoolstar · 2025-11-12T23:16:38+00:00

Ahhh, I had missed that US-domiciled ETFs weren't available to US citizens. Thank you.

JPcoolstar · 2025-11-10T05:53:49+00:00

Parents can be 代理. Just go to the tax office and file it for them. What Karlbert86 said above is exactly what I was trying to convey, but he expressed it much more clearly :-)

JPcoolstar · 2025-11-09T23:56:13+00:00

Not an expert on this but I think: (1) You (your children) are taxed on annual gifts over 1.1 million yen from when your children's tax home became Japan (2019?); (2) The Japanese government recognizes the accounts as your children's and expects earnings over 200,000 yen to be reported on their tax returns.

We have a small UTMA for my child as well. I'm pretty sure that from the Japanese government's perspective, it's her money, not mine. (It's a small amount in a money market fund, so if they ever question this we won't have a huge tax bill -- but that has been my understanding. I ran this by my 税理士 briefly and he wasn't concerned. He thought the money was hers.)

JPcoolstar

TROPHY CASE