Can a Japanese citizen giving up US green card keep their IRA

My wife (Japanese citizen with US green card) and I (US citizen) moved to Japan almost 4 years ago after my wife had lived in the US for 22 years. She is planning to give up her green card (as she has no interest in actually living in the US anymore, and I will likely stay in Japan as well (currently on 3 years Dependent Visa. We are lagging on sorting out some issues of migrating our business and finances over here.

One issue we are still working on is our IRAs through Chase (they are Traditional not Roth, as I recall). If she is giving up on green card and leaving the US for good, what will happen to her IRA? Can she keep it? Can she keep adding to it? If she has to give it up, is there a way to do it with less of a tax hit?

Also – as an expat with this IRA can I keep contributing to it, along with now contributing to NISA or Ideco (I have not set up either here yet, but plan to since I plan to stay here), and what could be the tax implications to contirbuting to retirement funds in both countries (for instance Japanese Tax authority doesn’t recognize IRAs)?

Any help – especially regarding what my wife would need to do with her IRA, is much appreciated.

by dan_kitchens

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