What happens if US citizens don’t file their IRS tax return?

A small chance of a disastrous outcome (this blog post is for entertainment purposes only. I am not a tax professional, nor a lawyer, nor an IRS employee. I don’t know you. I am not even American! You are completely responsible for your choices and decisions) I often talk to Americans about personal finance, and […]

Discussing Inheritance

For the first time ever, my wife and I discussed future finances with her parents, such as inheritance, estate planning and their will.

Overseas Inheritances in Japan

Not as bad as I thought We’ve talked about inheritance tax in Japan before. The TL;DR is that they are not as onerous as people think and most people are not really going to be affected by them. This week I learned that Japanese inheritance tax on overseas inheritances is much more favourable than I […]

iDeCo and Taxes

You have to pay the piper when the music stops We’ve had a few questions about iDeCo and taxes, so here’s a post summarising some of the main points. For most people who pay income tax, using an iDeCo account to invest is an excellent idea. There are several advantages: You pay into the account […]

Japanese Inheritance Tax: A Beginner’s Guide

Photo of the sign on a Japan tax office building, saying "Tax Office" in Japanese.

The Japanese inheritance tax system is less forgiving than in some Western countries, but for most people should not be too onerous. Get some help with this guide to inheritance tax in Japan.

Death Tax and Wealth Tax in Japan

Be afraid, be very afraid I was looking for the breakdown of inheritance tax rates in Japan the other day, and stumbled on an interesting news story from 2016.​Basically it’s a rumour that the government was considering a couple of new taxes: a ‘death tax’ and a ‘savings tax’. ​The death tax (死亡消費税) would be […]

Tax Status in Japan

Clear as mud A couple of weeks ago we ran a post on the new inheritance tax rules. In that post I was not clear about the tax rules in Japan (in my defense, they are pretty convoluted and it seems few people understand and communicate them well).Based on some excellent comments and feedback from […]

Tax Residence and Inheritance Tax

Oh, my. The section dealing with inheritance tax reform (linked document also talks about the new NISA and changes to dependents, etc.)Back in April we mentioned the changes to inheritance tax laws in passing. Since then people have brought it up a few times on Facebook and in conversation, so I think it’s worth looking […]