Supports Cross Border LifeStyle If your family members or friends who live overseas want to give you a gift, and you are a U.S. resident, there are a few things that you must keep in your mind. The purpose of this article is to explain these key points. In this...

Supports Cross Border LifeStyle When a U.S. resident leaves appreciated assets to his heir, the heir will not pay taxes in most cases. A U.S. resident can take advantage of his unified credit ($12.06 million for 2022), and the heir can take advantage of the step-up...

Supports Cross Border LifeStyle What are the tax differences between a U.S. citizen and a green card holder? This question is one of the frequently asked questions. I want to shed some light on this article's seemingly simple but complex and profound question. Income...

Supports Cross Border LifeStyle This time, I would like to introduce three points that I would like you to do before returning to Japan permanently or that you should seriously consider implementing. Changing the authentication system U.S. financial institutions...

By Koh Fujimoto Cross Border Individual Tax Practice Per the Bank Secrecy Act, you must report certain foreign financial accounts every year by filing a Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBAR) on Form 114. There are numerous unique financial accounts in...

ITASCA, IL (January 1, 2022) — CDH, P.C. (CDH), a leading international accounting and advisory firm, has united with Pier & Associates, Ltd. (Pier), an Illinois-based full-service accounting firm. Strategic growth is a primary initiative for both CDH and Pier....

By Koh Fujimoto Support cross-border life In this article, I will discuss how the IRS will treat your foreign defined benefit plan under its exit tax regulations. I will also discuss briefly the treatment of a defined contribution plan.  This article is helpful if you...

By Koh Fujimoto Support cross-border life When U.S. green card holders and U.S. citizens open bank accounts in Japan, they face increasing difficulties. In this article, I describe the types of issues, reasoning why they face such issues, and how to cope with them....

By Koh Fujimoto Support cross-border life If you are a US citizen who owns a Japanese company, you are subject to the very complex U.S. tax rules. Without going through the details of the rules, I focus on the danger of not consulting with appropriated tax...

Support cross-border life If IRS finds that you willfully did not report your foreign financial accounts in FBAR, under the 31 U.S.C. 532(a)(5)(c), the maximum penalty you face is higher of $129,210 or 50% of the amount in 2021. [i] This is a very serious penalty...

Support cross-border life From May 2022, if your Japanese spouse participates in Japan’s National Pension, he or she becomes eligible to participate in iDeCo. [i] (I am going to use “she”.) iDeCo’s name came from an Individual-type Defined Contribution pension plan....

Support cross-border life This chart is on the website of the Japan Pension Service. [i] In this article, I want t to explain why the WEP provision of the Social Security system should not reduce your U. S. Social Security benefits simply because you are receiving the...

Further COVID-19 Relief for Businesses Illinois Governor JB Pritzker released an overall economic recovery strategy, including a $250 million Back to Business (B2B) grant initiative. The recovery plan aims to assist small businesses that experienced significant...

  The pandemic has put extreme pressures on many businesses, and protecting profitability is of vital concern. The jury is still out on long-term inflation, but for now, we must deal with escalating material costs and shortages as well.   Lumber, steel,...

By Koh Fujimoto Support cross-border life   1, Income Tax Rates: I made this chart using the exchange rate of $1 equals 100 JPY. This is the tax rate table for the Japanese income tax rates. There is another important tax that you cannot forget besides the income...

By Koh Fujimoto Support cross-border life   Do you plan to move to Japan for your retirement with your Japanese spouse?  There are, in fact, many couples who want to move to Japan. Many think of high-quality medical service and low-cost medical and long-term care...

    Although the lease standards have been delayed multiple times, the new effective date is coming up quick. Nonpublic entities should apply the new standard for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2021, and interim periods within fiscal years...

Annual tax returns. How are you filing them? Do you purchase tax preparation software, use filing agency services, or use an accounting firm?

If your Japanese spouse is receiving the pension payment from Japan, you may be able to receive the survivor’s benefits when your spouse passes away. The essential function of the system is very similar to the U.S. social security’s survivor’s benefits. A surviving spouse can receive a pension in the U.S. or Japan. There is no discrimination based on the nationalities of the spouse. Here is the writing by the Japan Pension Service:

I will explain three indispensable pension knowledge of Japan and the United States that I would like you to know when obtaining U.S. citizenship from permanent residency status. In the U.S., not knowing certain critical information can quickly put you in a very disadvantageous position.