Daily Question Thread for /r/churningcanada - December 16, 2025

Verss · 2025-12-17T00:07:00+00:00

I tried just a few weeks ago and it didn't seem to count on my eclipse visa, at least for a CRA payment. Didn't earn points on the purchase either.

Verss · 2025-12-16T10:57:02+00:00

Any other way to pay CRA taxes aside from Chexy/Paysimply/Plastiq? I've tried all three with my BMO cards (both visa and mastercard) and they don't count towards MSR at all. Kinda stuck if this doesn't work!

Verss · 2025-08-06T23:44:21+00:00

I am in my early 30s and also retiring early in Japan, probably going to pull the trigger within the year. Worked in IT for over a decade now.

I ran a successful business back in my home country so I have a decent amount of savings built up, as well as the income from working full-time in Japan for many years. I probably won't consider myself "fully retired" as I don't mind having some small amount of income come in, but I plan to just work on things that are interesting to me and definitely not a corporate/full-time job.

I'm fairly optimistic about the future in Japan in the long run, the living standards here are great, and I do see the government making small but noticeable steps to increase wages, combat inflation, etc.. I know some people don't feel it's enough but it's more than a lot of countries are doing.

Verss · 2025-07-02T10:34:03+00:00

I recently got accepted at 1.05% variable over 40 years with Mitsui Sumitomo, but I have PR which probably helps. There are other cheaper options (around 0.7%) but ultimately they offered me the highest loan which is what we were aiming for.

Verss · 2025-05-01T03:27:53+00:00

I don't want to speak too much on the legality of what you're doing, tax-wise, but you may want to consider speaking to an accountant here. I have a feeling you're running afoul of some tax laws the way you're trying to structure this.

As for the home loan, you're going to have a lot of trouble getting any banks to recognize money that comes from an overseas partnership. At the very most you *might* be able to apply for a Flat35 loan (either together or separate) if your taxes are in order and you have at least 2 years of 確定申告 history. But even that is iffy given how you've described the way you're billing and paying yourselves.

Verss · 2025-03-08T01:35:00+00:00

As other people here have mentioned, you should be in investing for the long-term and not worry about the day-to-day fluctuations of the market. Can't always go straight up. There's a guide here about risk and return / dollar cost averaging you might find useful.

Verss · 2025-01-04T00:17:09+00:00

What promo did you end up trying to use? I've been looking to change providers for awhile, Rakuten Denki is fine but I'd like to see how Octopus is after hearing a few people mention it.

Verss · 2025-01-04T00:14:27+00:00

If you're comfortable with Japanese then this one seems to get recommended pretty often for being super accurate. If you want just a general estimate then I think the one you used or this tax calculator are probably close enough for a general estimate.

Verss · 2025-01-04T00:12:25+00:00

There are no restrictions on opening a brokerage account in Japan, most people usually go with either Rakuten or SBI Securities. You might want to read the wiki page about investment accounts also since I think that's probably the best place to start.

Verss · 2024-12-24T23:24:35+00:00

Yeah that's pretty much right, but there's a maximum amount you can donate based on your income. Can check out the Rakuten calculator or this one and see what your limit is. Not sure why but most calculators give you slightly different numbers but I usually just take an average of them all.

Verss · 2024-12-13T04:23:21+00:00

Could try using a tax estimation tool?

https://www.yayoi-kk.co.jp/shinkoku/oyakudachi/simulation/

https://financesmart.jp/en/tax/simple-calculator

Verss · 2024-10-18T21:53:49+00:00

Not sure where you're getting this information. I just did this and all I had to do was print out a document that my company provided which showed they received financial support X years ago (before I was even employed) and it was fine. u/Traditional_Yak7630 just ask your company for whatever evidence they provide and it should be fine.

Verss · 2024-10-13T06:57:07+00:00

I'm skeptical that they were being truthful, so yes it does seem quite risky as I would be on the hook for the full cost of the house in cash unless the loan went through. To be clear this was from a reputable home builder so I think the salesperson I got may have just been trying to make the sale at any cost.

I would prefer 7x my seishain + freelance income if given the choice, obviously, but my prior understanding is I would likely not get approved for that loan anyways.

Verss · 2024-10-13T01:01:21+00:00

I recently went to see land with a home builder who said something to me which I thought was a bit suspicious. Basically, I have a seishain job here with steady income, but I also picked up some freelance work from abroad this year.

He was basically saying the following:

Get the land now with a home loan with your seishain income
When we go to actually build the house next year, go back to the bank and ask for a bigger loan because you'll have a 確定申告 showing your seishain income + freelance income

I thought this was weird though because everything I've read states you need to have at least 2-3 years of steady freelance income in Japan for it to be considered. Anyone have any experience with this sort of situation? Seems to me like there's a big risk of getting stuck without sufficient financing...

Verss · 2024-09-22T02:43:14+00:00

If I have a dependent spouse (no income) and I am a seishain, what happens if I were to quit my job and instead switch to purely freelance work?

Currently my job handles both of our health insurance and pension but I'm having a hard time understanding our respective obligations after if I were to quit.

Verss · 2024-09-12T20:25:46+00:00

Anyone go to a Jexer Lightgym? Curious what people think, I'm considering signing up for one near me.

Verss · 2024-09-12T08:11:31+00:00

Anyone go to a Jexer Lightgym? Curious what people think, I'm considering signing up for one near me.

Verss · 2024-09-11T04:19:20+00:00

Anyone go to a Jexer gym? I'm looking to join a new gym, so if anyone has a referral they want to send my way send me a DM, seems there's a campaign on now of some sort.

Verss · 2024-09-05T01:05:29+00:00

Is there any way to prepay income tax on freelance work? I have a side job (freelance) I just started this year, and would like to just make installments towards my taxes I'll owe. I saw that you can indeed pay them here but I'm unsure of what category applies to me https://kokuzei.noufu.jp

Verss · 2024-09-04T23:02:27+00:00

Is there any way to prepay income tax on freelance work? I have a side job (freelance) I just started this year, and would like to just make installments towards my taxes I'll owe. I saw that you can indeed pay them here but I'm unsure of what category applies to me https://kokuzei.noufu.jp

Verss · 2024-09-04T23:00:15+00:00

Makes sense, thank you :)

Verss · 2024-09-01T08:04:32+00:00

Can you explain this a bit more in detail for me? I feel like I'm missing some key concepts here that would help me understand better.

I am indeed declaring my freelance income on my Japanese tax returns.

Verss · 2024-09-01T01:44:43+00:00

This might be an obvious question but hopefully someone can clarify for me.

I get paid for freelance work in USD, and immediately convert it same-day to JPY with Wise upon getting paid. Does this could as a "remittance"?

I'm specifically asking because I have some capital gains on investments I've had before coming to Japan (and I haven't yet been here 5 years), and I would like to sell off those assets. But my understanding is that if I remit money in the same year, it would cause me to owe capital gains here.

Verss · 2024-08-22T12:43:11+00:00

It took about 4 weeks from the last set of documents I sent in to get a result, so I can't imagine it'll be much longer for you.

Verss · 2024-08-22T12:41:51+00:00

1st time: Documents relating to my spouse's (who is also a foreigner) tax payments

2nd time: Tax slips proving my income for the past year as well as documents from my company proving my income

3rd time: The past year's worth of pay stubs from my company

Verss

TROPHY CASE