Background: As title states, current US citizen married to a dual citizen and planning to move to Japan for work. Both spouses are able to relocate with current companies. other relevant information, we currently own rental properties in the US.
There have been a lot of threads about this so I apologize but I can't seem to find clarity on a few unique aspects of my situations.
I have read about the non-permanent resident vs. permanent resident tax status but what is confusing to me is that it seems like my spouse will immediately be considered a permanent resident for tax purposes (i.e. taxed on worldwide income) as a Japanese national but that my tax status will depend on the route in which I relocate. This is one point I'd like to clarify. In other words, if I move on a spouse visa, I believe I will have the same tax status as my spouse but if I move with a work visa will I be considered a non-permanent resident for tax purposes (and thus avoid the foreign-earned income tax for 5 years?)
Above has implications for structuring our real estate holdings back in the US. If we will both be need to pay taxes on worldwide income, a consideration would be putting those investments into a corporation and keep the proceeds within that corporation so as to avoid the foreign sourced income tax. Please help validate this thinking.
Last consideration, should we be moving anything around prior to relocating such as selling stocks where we may need the funds or moving capital to my spouses accounts to avoid gift tax between spouses?
by greeegsays