{"id":299,"date":"2025-07-31T19:48:43","date_gmt":"2025-07-31T10:48:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/japantaxsupport.com\/taxation\/retirement\/"},"modified":"2026-03-31T17:54:33","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T08:54:33","slug":"retirement","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/japantaxsupport.com\/en\/taxation\/retirement\/","title":{"rendered":"Retirement & Accounts"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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\n What Happens to U.S. Retirement Benefits and Financial Accounts?\n <\/p>\n

\n This section explains in simple terms when and how U.S. retirement accounts, bank accounts, and investment accounts may be subject to tax.\n <\/p>\n <\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n

\n

\n About U.S. Retirement Benefits\n <\/h3>\n

\n U.S. retirement benefits (such as Social Security, IRA, 401(k), etc.) are, in principle, taxed only in the country where you reside<\/span>under the Japan\u2013U.S. Tax Treaty. However, U.S. citizens and U.S. permanent residents are required to file U.S. tax returns for their retirement benefits even if they live in Japan. In such cases, taxes paid in Japan can be credited against U.S. taxes. \nThe tax treatment for each type of retirement benefit is as follows:\n <\/p>\n\n

Social Security<\/h4>\n\n\n

\n In Japan, it is reported as “miscellaneous income (public pensions, etc.).”\n <\/p>\n\n

Other retirement plans (IRA, 401(k), etc.)<\/h4>\n\n

\n When taking distributions from retirement accounts, only the portion representing investment gains (i.e., the amount that exceeds the total contributions made by you and your employer) is subject to taxation in Japan.\n <\/p>\n\n

\n

If you take distributions gradually<\/h4>\n

\n It is reported as “other miscellaneous income.\n <\/p>\n\n

If you take a lump-sum distribution of the full amount<\/h4>\n

\n It is reported as “occasional income.” In many cases, a lump-sum distribution results in a lower tax liability.\n <\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n\n

\n

Point<\/h4>\n

\n To report IRA or 401(k) distributions favorably in Japan, it is essential to clearly identify your original contributions. We recommend obtaining and organizing your past contribution records before returning to Japan.<\/span> Furthermore, while Roth IRA distributions are tax-free in the U.S., the investment gains are subject to taxation in Japan. Therefore, from a tax perspective, it is often advantageous to close your Roth IRA before returning to Japan.\n <\/p>\n <\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n

\n

\n About U.S. bank accounts and investment accounts\n <\/h3>\n

\n Even after returning to Japan, if you continue to hold U.S. bank accounts and financial products such as stocks and mutual funds, income from these assets may be subject to tax in Japan<\/span> as follows:. \n <\/p>\n\n

Interest from U.S. Bank Deposits<\/h4>\n

\n You must convert the received interest into Japanese yen using the TTM (Telegraphic Transfer Middle Rate) on the interest payment date and report it as interest income (subject to comprehensive taxation).\n <\/p>\n\n

Dividends from U.S. Stocks and ETFs<\/h4>\n

\n You may convert the received dividends into Japanese yen using the TTM on the dividend date and report them as either dividend income (subject to comprehensive taxation) or dividends from listed shares (subject to separate taxation), choosing the more advantageous option.\n <\/p>\n\n

Capital gains<\/h4>\n

\n You must convert the sale proceeds into Japanese yen using the TTB (Telegraphic Transfer Buying Rate) on the sale date and the acquisition cost using the TTS (Telegraphic Transfer Selling Rate) on the purchase date. The difference is reported as capital gains on securities (subject to separate taxation). If you incur a loss (capital loss), it can only be offset against capital gains realized in the same year. It cannot be carried forward to subsequent years or offset against dividend income.\n <\/p>\n\n\n

\n

Point<\/h4>\n

\n When reporting capital gains in Japan, you must also take into account exchange rate fluctuations between the acquisition date and the sale date in the calculation.<\/span> Therefore, it is important to retain acquisition information (acquisition date and acquisition cost). Please note that U.S. brokerage statements at the time of sale often do not include this acquisition information, so you will need to prepare these records yourself.\n <\/p>\n <\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n

\n Previous<\/a>\nNext<\/a>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"What Happens to U.S. Retirement Benefits and Financial Accounts? This section explains in simple terms when and how U.S. retirement accounts, bank accounts, and investment accounts may be subject to tax. About U.S. Retirement Benefits U.S. retirement benefits (such as Social Security, IRA, 401(k), etc.) are, in principle, taxed only in the country where you resideunder the Japan\u2013U.S. Tax Treaty. However, U.S. citizens and U.S. permanent residents are required to file U.S. tax returns for their retirement benefits even if they live in Japan. In such cases, taxes paid in Japan can be credited against U.S. taxes. The tax treatment for each type of retirement benefit is as follows: Social […]","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":106,"menu_order":3,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"page-taxation.php","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-299","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/japantaxsupport.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/299","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/japantaxsupport.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/japantaxsupport.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/japantaxsupport.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/japantaxsupport.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=299"}],"version-history":[{"count":25,"href":"https:\/\/japantaxsupport.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/299\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":807,"href":"https:\/\/japantaxsupport.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/299\/revisions\/807"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/japantaxsupport.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/106"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/japantaxsupport.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=299"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}