I was hoping to get a sanity check on my set-up plans before I arrive in Tokyo in February 2024. We are planning to stay here for 5 years. Would appreciate any constructive feedback or correction of assumptions that I am making. Thank you in advance.
**Housing:**
The company will be paying for 90 % of housing, but I am learning that Japanese apartments are not as complete as we are accustomed to in the US. Some items that I am planning to purchase that I wasn’t expecting:
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* 3 Air Condition Units
* Light Fixtures
I have a relocation consultant assisting me with bridging the gap, but are there any other unexpected items I should be budgeting for beyond washing machine/refrigerator/toaster ovens?
**Banking:**
Foreign Remittances: After doing a lot of research on this subreddit, it looks like Sony Bank is a clear winner for remittances to the US at the magnitude I’m expecting to send. I’m thinking of having this be the main bank that my salary is deposited into and bills paid from here, where possible. I think it will straightfoward to achieve Silver S Club Status, but the opportunity costs for Gold and Platinum do not seem worth it.
US Bank Preparation: I’ve opened 2 US bank accounts that allege to not incur foreign wire fees for funds received, Capital One 360 Checking and Fidelity Cash Management. I’m debating on opening up some others if other bank accounts have favorable terms for receiving money to diversify my risk to policy changes. Would be happy if anyone shared positive experiences with US banks.
Local traditional bank: I’m still trying to find a more traditional Japanese bank for day to day expenses. Costs for bank transfers, maintenance fees, and ATM fees are our main consideration. So far I’ve narrowed it down to Japan Post Bank and SMBC.
Local Credit Cards: I’ve heard mixed experiences about applying for credit cards in Japan. Will I have to wait 6 months for this?
US Credit Cards: I plan to keep my US credit cards and will use them when I travel outside of Japan for work. My company will reimburse me in USD. I will not be running any personal expenses through these cards.
Transfers to my wife: I would like to open up a bank account or credit card for my wife so that she can pay day to day expenses where these payment platforms are supported. If it’s too much trouble, I was exploring using PayPay, Line Pay, or Rakuten Pay to give her spending money on our living expenses besides cash.
Relocation Bonus: I’m planning to move my relocation bonus to Charles Schwab. This will be tax grossed up in the US. I don’t know how wise this is but I was planning to withdrawing at ATMs and/or spending $1.5M yen from my debit card to furnish my apartment/fund my Japan bank account. The card has a daily ATM limit of $1,000 per day and a $15,000 daily purchase limit.
**Investments:**
Brokerage: Looking at all the drama with Interactive Brokers, I am planning to keep my existing big name brokerage accounts and maintain the US address at my parent’s house. Adjusting so that I only buy ETFs going forward.
Gift Tax Mitigation: Transferred a substantial portion of our wealth to my wife’s brokerage account before the move to simplify any perceived gift tax for my wife on the Japan end.
Funding Wife’s Roth IRA: I understand that my contributing money through a Roth Conversion on behalf of my wife in the US could be considered as taxable gift income in Japan for my wife. However, it is my understanding that this would only be incurred if she remitted money from her accounts from the US to Japan.
Cost Basis Reset: Wash sales on all my accounts to reset cost basis, in case there’s a death in the family and we somehow have to deal with exit/inheritance/gift taxes.
High Net Worth Reporting: I’ve adjusted my financial spreadsheet tracker to start tracking all contributions to investment accounts in JPY cost basis.
**Cell Phone:**
Keeping US phone number: Planning to use google voice to keep my US number that unlocks my banks/investment accounts. I will also have my parent’s phone number as a back up if VOIP becomes disabled in the future. We currently use Google FI unlimited and will use for 90-180 days while in Japan. My company will pay for a Japanese plan once I identify one, but there doesn’t seem to be a service I could find that is comparable to Google FI. Currently looking at NTT docomo 5G Gigaho Premia, Softbank Merihari Unlimited, or Rakuten UN-LIMIT VII plans.
**Taxes:**
Finding the Right Tax Advisor: I’m trying to avoid Big 4 accounting firms due to costs, but it is starting to look like that might be inevitable in the first year. I’ve spoken to a couple of Tax CPAs in Japan and they won’t take me on due to significant assets in the US. The US assets are substantial, but they are extremely simple. (Index funds/ETFs, standard retirement accounts/brokerage accounts, etc.) Has anyone had luck finding a reasonable Tax CPA with significant, but simple assets?
Remittances Complexity: For the company I work for, I have certain expenses (Professional License Fee, Productivity software, Business Flights/etc.) that are in USD. The company has stated that they will continue to reimburse me for these in USD in my US accounts. Since these are business expenses, I do not think they would constitute a potential taxable remittance event. They want JPY business expenses to run through the Japanese entity. Has anyone else had similar arrangements with their company?
Furasato Nozei: Just want to confirm that I will not be able to take advantage of this my first year.
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by yokan
