Moving back to the US from Japan: the reverse checklist most guides skip
The short version. Almost every leaving-Japan guide stops at the airport. The money problems start after. Before you go, appoint a Japanese tax agent (納税管理人) so your final residence-tax bill can be received and paid, file your final-year return, and decide on the pension lump-sum — a decision that permanently erases Japan years you might want for US Social Security totalization. Closing your Japanese bank account is close to irreversible, so choose deliberately. Then the US side: your return year prorates the FEIE by days abroad (2026 cap $132,900 × days ÷ 365 — needs verification), and it’s the single most common year to overpay. Handle credit and currency timing before you land, not after.
I researched this before my own move between the US and Japan, and the thing that surprised me most is how much of the money side has hard deadlines that outlast your physical presence. You can be sitting in your US apartment and still owe a Japanese tax office something you can no longer file from where you are. This is the checklist I wish existed in one place.
Start with the Japan-side exit sequence — it has deadlines you can’t beat later
The order matters — here’s the sequence and what each step costs you if you skip it.
| Step | Where | Why it costs money if skipped |
|---|---|---|
| 海外転出届 (overseas move-out notice) | Ward/city office, up to ~2 weeks before departure | Removes you from the resident register; without it your tax-resident status and NHI never close |
| Deregister National Health Insurance | Same counter, same visit | You keep getting billed for coverage you can’t use |
| Appoint a tax agent (納税管理人) | Your local tax office | Without one you must file a quasi-final return and settle everything before you leave |
| Final-year 確定申告 | Filed by your agent Feb 16–Mar 15 next year | Partial-year withholding refunds go unclaimed |
| Residence tax (住民税) arrangement | Handled by your agent | The bill still comes — and it’s assessed on last year’s income |
The residence-tax trap is the one that catches people. Residence tax is assessed on the prior calendar year’s income and billed around June–July. If you leave in, say, March, that bill has not been issued yet — but you still owe it, and it will be mailed to a Japanese address you no longer occupy. It cannot be prepaid before it’s issued. The standard fix is the tax agent: any individual residing in Japan (or a Japanese company) can serve — it does not have to be an accountant. You file a Notification of Tax Agent with the tax office covering your domicile, and that person receives and pays the bill on your behalf.
Decision rule: If you can appoint a trusted tax agent → do it, and file the normal return next spring (you also recover partial-year withholding this way). If you genuinely can’t → you must file the quasi-final return and pay everything before departure, which usually means a rushed, more expensive settlement.
The pension lump-sum: don’t take it on reflex
If you’re a non-Japanese national with at least 6 months of contributions, you can claim a lump-sum withdrawal (脱退一時金) within a strict 2-year deadline from the date you lose your resident registration. The payout scales with months paid — the Employees’ Pension coefficient runs from 0.5 (6–11 months) up to 5.5 (60+ months). On a ¥200,000 average standard remuneration at 60 months, that’s roughly ¥1,100,000 gross. Employees’ Pension payouts have 20.42% withheld at source, which a tax representative can largely recover.
Here’s the part the calculators don’t show you: the US and Japan have a full totalization agreement. Taking the lump-sum permanently erases those Japan contribution years — you can’t reinstate them. If you’re close to the 10-year mark for US Social Security, keeping the Japan years may be worth far more than the one-time cash. I go deeper on how totalization interacts with your US record in claiming Social Security from Japan.
Decision rule: Short time in Japan and no realistic Social Security overlap → take the lump-sum before the 2-year window closes. Meaningful Japan years plus a US Social Security record you’re building → run the totalization math first; erasing years for a small payout can cost you more in retirement.
(One flag: a 2025 reform may raise the 60-month cap to 96 months and bar claims for those leaving with a valid re-entry permit — effective dates weren’t set as of mid-2026. Confirm the current rule before you file.)
Your Japanese bank account: closing is nearly a one-way door
Reopening a Japanese account from abroad is, in practice, extremely difficult — the major banks want a residence card (在留カード) and a registered Japanese address, and non-residents aren’t eligible for standard personal accounts. The non-resident yen accounts that exist are crippled: no overseas remittances, no bill-pay setup, often no cash card. The honest trade-off:
| Option | Upside | Downside |
|---|---|---|
| Close it | Clean break, no dormancy issues | Close to irreversible — you likely can’t reopen one later |
| Keep it | A yen landing spot if you return | Loses card/investment/online upgrades; policy varies by bank, some force closure anyway |
Decision rule: If there’s any real chance you return to Japan → keep one account open, notify the bank of your address change (required in most terms), and move money out with a service like Wise rather than a wire. If you’re certain you’re done with Japan → closing is fine, just know it’s essentially permanent.
US credit on re-entry: fine if you kept your cards, a project if you didn’t
If you kept your US credit cards active while abroad, your FICO score should be intact and there’s nothing to rebuild — this is exactly why I bang on about not closing them in keeping US credit cards after you move.
If you let everything lapse, the rebuild is real work: a secured card ($200–$500 deposit) reporting to all three bureaus, roughly 12 months of on-time payments to graduate to unsecured, and a minimum of 6 months of reported history before a score even generates. Becoming an authorized user on a family member’s established account is the fastest boost. A conventional mortgage typically wants 620+ FICO and two years of history (needs verification) — so from a standing start, plan on 24–36 months before a mortgage application is viable.
Decision rule: Kept your cards → skip this section. Started from zero → open a secured card and get added as an authorized user on day one, and don’t schedule a home purchase for at least two years.
While we’re on infrastructure: keep your US phone number too, because your US banks and brokerages authenticate to it. That’s the whole argument in keeping a US number for 2FA — the same logic applies in reverse when you’re re-entering.
The US tax year of return: the mirror of the departure year, and where people overpay
The return year works exactly like the departure year in reverse. The Foreign Earned Income Exclusion isn’t all-or-nothing — it’s prorated by qualifying days abroad:
2026 FEIE cap $132,900 × (qualifying days abroad ÷ 365)
So 180 qualifying days before you moved back gives roughly $65,500 of exclusion — not zero. The overpayment happens because people assume that once they’re back on US soil, the FEIE is gone entirely, and they hand the IRS tax on income they could have excluded for the months they were still abroad. The mechanics mirror the departure year I walk through in your first tax year after leaving the US.
One caution if you’re weighing the Foreign Tax Credit instead: revoking the FEIE locks you out of it for five years, so don’t switch methods casually in the return year. This is genuinely a “confirm with a professional” situation — I keep my US brokerage and account paperwork in order for exactly these years, which I cover in keeping your US brokerage when you move.
Currency timing: converting yen is an FX decision, not a transfer
Bringing yen savings back into dollars isn’t a neutral transfer — it’s a bet on the rate, and it has a tax dimension. While you are still a Japanese tax resident, gains on converting yen to USD are treated as miscellaneous income (雑所得) and taxed at your marginal rate — as of my research, at least. Large yen positions built up during the weak-yen years can carry embedded gains. Converting after you’ve filed the 海外転出届 and deregistered removes Japan’s taxing jurisdiction (US tax on the gain still applies).
I’ve done a large one-shot conversion myself — 500万円 at about ¥145, all at once, because I decided holding cash was the bigger risk. It was frightening and I’d still do it. But the timing relative to your deregistration date is what changes the tax, not just the rate. Keep this short and get it right: the conversion should follow the deregistration date, not precede it. Beyond that, hand it to a professional.
FAQ
Do I really need a tax agent if I’m leaving before June?
Yes — that’s precisely when you need one most. Your residence tax is assessed on last year’s income and billed mid-year, so a spring departure means the bill lands after you’re gone. Without an agent to receive and pay it, it goes unpaid and stays legally owed.
Should I take the pension lump-sum or leave the years in place?
It depends on your US Social Security picture. If you have little Japan history and no realistic path to Social Security overlap, take the lump-sum within the 2-year window. If you’re building a US record and have meaningful Japan years, the totalization value of keeping those years can beat the one-time payout — run the numbers before you claim.
Is the FEIE completely gone in the year I move back?
No. It’s prorated by the days you qualified as abroad. For 2026 that’s $132,900 × (qualifying days ÷ 365), so a partial year still gives you a partial exclusion. Assuming it’s zero is the most common way people overpay in the return year.
The Japan side takes longer to close than the US side takes to open. Plan for a full calendar year before the last bill is paid, the last refund received, the last form stamped — that’s not pessimism, it’s just the actual timeline.
This is my own research and lived experience, not tax or investment advice. Japanese and US rules change and effective dates shift — confirm everything against the official NTA and IRS pages and a qualified professional before you act.