User:Sakana-San

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The Sakana-San

The Lore of the Sakana-San

Yuji and Sakana-San


Long ago, in the Magical land of Nippon, a great eruption of ash and fire spewed forth from the jaws of Mt. Kanpuzan. With it came the manifestation of the Namahage, Foul creatures from the bowels of hell whose mere presence struck fear in the loving and compassionate peoples of Akita. Consumed by darkness and hunger, the Namahage swept across the land, wreaking havoc amongst villages and stealing children to feast upon within the fiery chasms of Kanpuzan. For 100 years, the Namahages' reign of terror gripped the land, and the people began to lose hope. However, even in the darkest of times, the light had not faded as a young boy named Yuji, filled with vengeance in his heart at the loss of his younger sister, sought to destroy the Namahage. Clad in a small liquor barrel, wielding a wooden pot lid and a bamboo stick, he journeyed to Kanpuzan to vanquish the fiery ogres and restore peace and prosperity to the Akitan people. The young Yuji cried out for revenge at the Gate of the fiery mountain basin, summoning the great Namahage Prince Kurochi. The young Yuji attacked without words but was blown out to sea by the Towering Kurochi's powerful breath.

The young Yuji awoke with sand in his mouth, dried-out hair, and skin to find himself on a small island. Gazing out to sea, the Young Yuji saw the smoking mountain from where he had been dispatched. Determined to return, he began to swim toward the Namahages' kingdom. However, the waves were too much for the young warrior, becoming consumed by the mighty sea. Yuji awoke once again underwater, surrounded by a group of Shōjō. Frightened by their presence, Yuji lay still until one Shōjō spoke. "Your skin smells of liquor, but you do not look or feel like liquor. What are you?" queried the Shōjō. Yuji opened his eyes and looked at the puzzled Shōjō. "I am a Warrior." stated Yuji, "a warrior with a purpose to bring harmony to my people and their lands!" The Shōjō squinted and tilted their heads. "A warrior with a purpose, you say. We Shōjō have not seen a warrior for quite some time." The Shōjō sat down, surrounding the young boy. "Tell us more about this purpose." Yuji shared his quest with the curious Shōjō. The Shōjō took an interest in the young boy's courage and beholden quest. "You have taken on a great task." said the Shōjō. "We shall take you to see the great Ume-Hime; share your tale with her, and she will bless you with good fortune." Both Yuji and the Shōjō traveled to an underwater shrine to meet Ume-Hime. Yuji was mesmerized by Ume-Hime. Her shell was prismatic, and her eyes sparkled with rays of soft light. "Oh great, Ume-Hime!" said the Lead Shōjō. "Hear this young boy's story and grant him a favor so he can bring peace to his lands," Yuji spoke, and Ume-Hime listened. Without speaking, Ume-Hime moved her flippers in various motions and conjured a great fish of red and gold scales with blueish-green fins and a translucent tail. "Go forth, young Yuji, ride this great fish back to the land and complete your quest." cried the Shōjō. "For Ume-Hime has placed favor in you." Yuji and the great fish departed.

Back on the shores of the mainland, Yuji dismounted the fish, who transformed into a humanoid being and spoke, much to the surprise of the young warrior. "I have delivered you to the shores of Nippon, but my duty charted by the Great Ume-Hime has not been fulfilled. I shall journey with thee to the Namahage lands and help you complete your quest for harmony." said the once great fish, now humanoid. Yuji looked surprised yet elated. "Oh, great fish...or man, what shall I call you?" "Call me Sakana-San," said Sakana-San. "I am here to serve until my purpose has been fulfilled."Sakana-San then shed his scales to create a breastplate for the boy and a shield to carry. "Wear my scales well, and it shall protect you from the magics cast upon you by the Namahage, for my scales are vibrant and true; nothing shall pass through them unto you." Yuji dawned the gleaming breastplate and shield. "Use my shield to show the Namahage what they truly are. They will become paralyzed with fear and move no more. With a shield in hand, Yuji began to walk towards the mountain of fire only to turn back and see that Sakana-San had seemingly disappeared. "Thank you Sakana-San. I hope we can meet again."

Once again, standing at the gates of Kanpuzan, Yuji called forth into the shadowy realm. "I have returned blessed by the sea to bring an end to despair. Face me, Namahage!" From the soot rose Kurochi, towering over Yuji, "Did you not learn your lesson, boy?" Growled the prince. "this time, you will not survive." The Ogre Prince drew breath and conjured a whirlwind around Yuji. As the wind closed in, Yuji felt the cold grip on his body, expecting to be lifted into the air. However, to his surprise, he did not budge, and the scale armor muted the wind's advance. Kurochi was stunned and prepared to bellow an even bigger hail. Yet, once again, to no avail.

Then, the writer had a sudden case of writer's block but vowed to complete the story one day.

Websites with good tools and info for editing the wiki

color correcting tools

https://onlinepngtools.com/change-png-color

skiing

https://www.snowjapan.com/japan-ski-resorts/prefecture/akita


test area

Pages to edit

Template

Sakana-San
Contact Information & Current PAs
International Affairs Division CIR/PA
Name:Alex Hennen
CO:Akita Prefectural Office: International Affairs Division
Tel:018-860-1218
Fax:018-960-1225
Email:arhennenpa@gmail.com
Prefectural Education Center / Senior High School ALT/ PA
Name:Stephen Fischer
CO:Akita Prefectural Education Center
Tel:0188-73-7203 ext. 428
Fax:0188-73-7201
Email:stephen-fischer@e-akita.ed.jp
ALT/Block PA (North)
Name:Julia Wheelehan
CO:Akita Prefectural Board of Education
Tel:080-1856-3258
Email:julia-wheelehan@e-akita.ed.jp
ALT/Block PA (Capital)
Name:Mikalia Morris
CO:Katagami Board of Education
Email:mikabrittmorris@outlook.com
ALT/Block PA (Yuri)
Name:Alyssa Elliott
CO:Nikaho Board of Education
Email:alyssa.elliott535@gmail.com
ALT/Block PA (South)
Name:Charles (Charlie) VanBourgondien
CO:Akita Prefectural Board of Education
Email:cmvanbourgondien@gmail.com

taxes 2-5th years 2023

This is a continuation of the famous Unofficial Kumamoto Tax guide for US citizens and residents. We wish to thank all the former PAs who worked on this guide and put in all the time and effort to allow others to file their taxes properly and on time.

Getting Started

In this guide, we have provided explanations and sample forms to assist second to fifth-year American JETs with the tax filing process. For complete details, consult Publication 54 (Tax Guide for U.S. Citizens and Resident Aliens Abroad), which can be accessed by the link provided at the end of this guide or online at the IRS website (www.irs.gov) by searching for Publication 54.

You can choose to file your taxes on paper or electronically. Unless otherwise noted, all forms covered in this guide can be electronically filed. If you are interested, please see the E-Filing section later in the guide.

If you choose to paper file, the IRS address you will mail your forms to depends on whether you have to make a payment or not:

  • If you are not making a payment, send all tax forms (except Forms 8822 and 2350, see further

instructions for those forms) to the following address: Department of the Treasury Internal Revenue Service Center Austin, TX 73301-0215 USA

  • If you are filing a form with any payments (e.g. Form 4868, etc.), send them to the following

Address: Internal Revenue Service P.O. Box 1303 Charlotte, NC 28201-1303 USA

The IRS website (www.irs.gov) lists a lot of information to help citizens living abroad with the tax-filing process. Go to “File” in the upper left corner and then “International Taxpayers” on the left sidebar. Youcan find most of the general questions about tax law answered there and at the following address: https://www.irs.gov/individuals/international-taxpayers/us-citizens-and-resident-aliens-abroad

You can also contact the Philadelphia International Taxpayer Service Call Center by phone (1-267-941- 1000, not toll-free) or fax (1-267-941-1055). They are operational M-F from 6:00 am to 11:00 pm Eastern Time. You can also mail questions to the IRS at the following address: Internal Revenue Service, Philadelphia, PA 19255-0725

Depending on which state you lived in before moving to Japan, there may be extra steps to take for your individual state taxes. State taxes will not be covered in this guide, as ESID (every state is different). We recommend you check with your state tax agency - make sure to do so as soon as possible, before April 18. Generally speaking, you should confirm the following information:

  • Residency rules (if you are treated as a resident/non-resident / part-year resident etc.)
  • If your state requires you to file a separate state extension form
  • If your state accepts the federal Foreign Earned Income Exclusion
  • If you are filing Form 4868, whether you are required to file a separate state extension form

Tax Documents

IRS Tax Forms You Will Need to File

IRS Form Number Form Name Filing Deadline
Informational / Extension Forms – Informational Forms – File separately from Form 1040
* FinCEN 114△

ONLY if you had over $10,000 USD worth of currency in your foreign bank account(s) at any point in the year

Report of Foreign Bank and

Financial Accounts (FBAR)

By April 18
Income Tax Return – File the below forms all together
*Form 1040 U.S. Individual Income Tax Return With payments: by April 18

Without payments: by June 15

*Form 1040 – Schedule 1 Additional Income and

Adjustments to Income

File with Form 1040
*Form 1040 – Schedule B Interests and Ordinary

Dividends

File with Form 1040
*Form 2555 Foreign Earned Income File with Form 1040

Your individual tax situation may require you to file more forms than those listed above; this is merely a list of those relevant to filing with foreign income. We have listed some potential additional situations under “Notes & Resources,” but please do your own research as needed.

Support for Form 1040

You get these from someone else to reference for preparing Form 1040 and send a copy to the IRS as proof. If you e-file, just keep them for your records in case the IRS asks for a copy in the future.

  • If your address in Japan has changed since you filed last year, you should file another Form 8822 as

well (see tax guide for first-year JETs) and send it to the appropriate IRS location.

  • It is unnecessary to request an extension to file, but you can if you so choose by filing Form 4868 (see tax guide for first-year JETs). Doing so gives you until October 16 to send in your tax forms, but not any payments.

E-Filing

Don’t want to deal with the post office? Neither does the IRS. E-filing is often more convenient, leaves less room for error, and gets your tax return processed faster.

The Form 4868 extension can be e-filed for free using any of the sites below, regardless of how you choose to file your Form 1040 later. If you owe money to the IRS, follow the instructions for how to pay on the e-filing site you use, and be sure to do so by April 18.

Your Form 1040 tax return now requires a bit more legwork to find sites that will let you file the additional forms you need to include while working abroad. For example, e-filing Form 2555 for your foreign earned income exclusion is often not supported on “free” versions of well-known tax filing sites like T*rboT*x and HR Bl*ck. If you wish to use these sites, you may be charged $50 or more just to file Form 2555.

The IRS itself provides two services to try to help Americans e-file for free: https://www.irs.gov/filing/freefile-do-your-federal-taxes-for-free.

The Free File Program provides free e-filing on a guided tax filing site akin to those mentioned earlier, as long as you meet their age and income requirements. Input your details in their Online Lookup Tool with your home address as Japan, and you will be given a list of sites that support your situation. The results should indicate that “The same criteria apply when filing with a foreign address.” You must create your account via the IRS official Free File site as instructed in the link, or you may end up getting charged. The page should specifically indicate “IRS Free File Program” somewhere.

NOTE: These services often support state filing but are not obligated to offer it for free. If/which states are free will be stated on the site and can be checked before making an account.

Alternatively, you can try out the Free File Fillable Forms service available to all U.S. filers regardless of age/income/etc, which is guaranteed free to file all included forms. These forms are filled out the same as you would a paper form, as explained in this guide, just submitted electronically. There are basic calculations pre-set in the forms (you must manually press the “Do the math” button located at the bottom of the screen), but there are no guided steps like on the sites mentioned earlier. See the IRS guide on restrictions for foreign filers using this service.

NOTE: This service does not support state taxes.

As of the publication of this guide, all forms we have listed as attachments to Form 1040, including Form 2555, appear to be supported for free if you qualify for these sites. This guide cannot attest to their continued support or support for any other aspect of your individual tax situation. Please review the guidelines on the IRS Free File site and the list of supported forms on the site you choose, as they may be subject to change.

These resources were not designed with expats in mind so the experience may not be the smoothest, but we hope that you may be able to use them to e-file for free successfully. We cannot guarantee what will work for you, and we cannot field questions regarding e-filing. If you were able to use any of these sites to complete your return, great! Before you officially submit your forms, review the tax return generated and make sure all the forms mentioned in this guide are included with the appropriate lines populated. Remember to print/save a copy of your return when finished – you will need it to e-file again next year.

Now, let’s get into the fun part!


Foreign Earned Income Statement

The Japanese equivalent of the W-2 is called the 源泉徴収票 (gensen choushuu hyou) in Japanese, or your statement of earnings. This will act as a W-2 equivalent for the income you earned in Japan. Photocopy the form your school or BOE gave you showing how much money you made in 2023. If you have not received it yet, ask the accountant in your school or BOE office. Indicate your name and gross income on the photocopy and write “Foreign Earned Income Statement” across the top of the copy. You will file this copy with Form 1040 (if e-filing, keep it for your records).

NOTE: You will use the amount in ③ later in Form 2555, and you will need to include another annotation at the bottom of the copy, so have this copy readily available.

See the following page for an example with Japanese to English translations (taken from the JET Programme GIH):

NOTE: Your Statement of Earnings should have “令和 5 年分” at the top.

Japanese statement of earning.jpg

Form 2555 – Foreign Earned Income

Form 2555 is used to exempt you from paying U.S. income taxes on the money you earned in Japan.

NOTE: There are limitations on certain credits and deductions you can claim when electing the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion (FEIE) through Form 2555. For more information on choosing exclusions before beginning this section, please check page 2 of Instructions for Form 2555.

Part I – First, enter your name and social security number. Fill in your address and employment information; enter “N/A” for the Employer's U.S. address. Your employer is "other" – put something like "foreign local government office." Follow the instructions until you get to the part that asks what your tax homes were during the tax year. In this blank, enter ALL cities in which you were taxed during the last year, including home, college, Japan, etc., and the dates you lived there. Make sure the whole year is covered. Month to month is enough – you do not need to specify the exact day you moved.

(For 2 Your occupation, enter either “Assistant Language Teacher” or “Coordinator for International Relations.”)

2555 part 1 2-5 years 2023.jpg

Almost everyone will fail the Bona Fide Residence Test, so skip Part II by entering “N/A” in Line 10.

Part III* – To meet the requirements of the Physical Presence Test, you must be present in a foreign country for at least 330 full days during any 12-month period that begins or ends in 2023. You must pass this test to allow your foreign-earned income to be excludable on Form 1040.

The dates you enter on Line 16 will depend on when you arrived in Japan and whether you returned to the U.S. in 2023. In the following image, you can see what your Part III should look like if you did not return to the U.S. at all during 2023.

2555 part 3 2-5 years 2023.jpg

NOTE: If you returned to the U.S. in 2023, please check the annotations at the end of this section.

Part IV—Calculate your 2023 Foreign Earned Income by converting the amount ③ listed on your Foreign Earned Income Statement to USD and entering that figure on Line 19. The Internal Revenue Service has no official exchange rate and will accept “any posted exchange rate that is used consistently.” You can see the Notes & Resources section for a list of sources. This guide will use the Federal Reserve Bank’s 2023 average Yen/USD exchange rate of $1 = ¥140.50.

For example: 

                                ¥3,500,000 ÷ ¥140.50 = $24,911.03
2555 part 4 2-5 years 2023.jpg

NOTE: These are made-up numbers! Yours will be different. Check Instructions for Form 2555 for more info.

If you are paper filing your tax return, you can draw an asterisk and write, "See foreign earned income statement" at the bottom of page 2. Then, write a statement along the lines of “I used the 2023 average/USD exchange rate as reported by [whatever source you used, e.g., the Federal Reserve Bank] to calculate the amount reported on Line 19. That rate was $1 = ¥140.50." on the foreign earned income statement at the bottom of the page. Sign your name by the note.

Part V – Since JET salaries are substantially below the maximum foreign-earned income exclusion ($120,000), there is no need to claim the housing exclusion or housing deduction. Check “No.” and go to Part VII.

2555 part 5 2-5 years 2023.jpg

NOTE: These are made-up numbers! Yours will be different.

Part VII—Calculate your Foreign Earned Income Exclusion. Use the 12-month period from Part III, Line 16, to calculate the number of days in your qualifying period that fall within the calendar year 2023 and enter the number on Line 38. Count full days (24-hour period) spent in a foreign country/foreign countries.

2555 part 7 2-5 years 2023.jpg

NOTE: These are made-up numbers! Yours will be different.

Part VIII —Enter the total you calculated for Line 42 on Line 43 . For Line 44, read the Instructions for Form 2555 (page 5) and Publication 54 (page 22) to determine if you have any deductions that are allocable to the excluded income. For many JETs, this will be “0.”

2555 part 8 2-5 years 2023.jpg

NOTE: These are made-up numbers! Yours will be different.

Congratulations! You have completed filling out Form 2555! Save it and keep it open for future reference for Form 1040. You will file Form 2555 with Form 1040.

ANNOTATION: The previous examples, namely Part III and Part VII, were filled out to show what a JET who did not return to the U.S. during 2022 would look like. If you returned to the U.S. any time during 2023, you must state those dates on Part III, Line 18. See the example below.

2555 part 3 2023 country visits input 2-5th years.jpg

NOTE: These are made-up numbers! Yours will be different.

  • If you were in the U.S. for less than 35 days total in 2023, your dates for Part III, Line 16 will still be January 1, 2022 through December 31, 2023. Part VII, Line 38 will still be “365.”
  • If you were in the U.S. for more than 35 days total in 2023, you must also adjust the 12-month period on Part III, Line 16 accordingly to ensure the period includes 330 days outside of the U.S. (See our FAQ for an example.) This adjustment will change the number of days you report for Part VII, Line 38, and the related calculations. See the guide for first-year JETs for an example of how Part VII is reported when Part III, Line 16 is not January 1 through December 31.

Form 1040 – U.S. Individual Income Tax Return

Form 1040 is used to report your total income in 2023. You will then determine whether you get a refund or owe Uncle Sam even more money. When in doubt, consult a certified tax preparer and/or the official IRS instructions (online) to ensure you do not miss anything. You can also call the IRS.

Depending on your situation, you may need to submit additional tax forms with Form 1040. What is explained in this guide focuses on the specific parts related to living and working overseas, which requires Schedule B and Schedule 1. Be sure to take a look at the Instructions for Form 1040, then start at the top and work your way through, line by line, completing and attaching any relevant Schedules as necessary. Some more common schedules are Schedule A for itemized deductions (if you expect the items listed to total more than the standard deduction: $13,850 for 2023), Schedule C for self-employment income, and Schedule D for capital gains/losses (e.g., sales of stocks/crypto). See this IRS list for more Schedules not covered here that you may potentially need to file.

Schedule B – Interests and Ordinary Dividends

Schedule B is used to report any money you may have received from a brokerage firm, in which case you would have received a 1099-INT, 1099-OID, 1099-DIV, or a substitute statement from the firm. If you received taxable interest of $10 or more, your bank or financial institution will send you a 1099-INT or 1099-OID that states the amount of taxable interest you will need to report to the IRS in Part I. Likewise,if you received taxable dividends, you will have received a Form 1099-DIV to report in Part II. Enter anyinterest or dividends you have received, otherwise enter “0”s for Schedule B Lines 1-6.

NOTE: Even if you did not receive a 1099-INT, you are still required to report any interest earned and credited to your account during the tax year.

The main purpose of including this form in the tax guide is Part III Foreign Accounts and Trusts. As a JET participant, you must have a bank account in Japan to receive your salary. Your Japanese bank account is a foreign account, so you will answer “yes” to Part III 7a. To finish Part III, check yes, no, no as shown.

Schedule B 1040 part 3 2023.jpg

NOTE for Part III 7b: Though unlikely for first-year JETs, if your foreign bank account(s) exceeded $10,000 at any time during 2023, you are required to file FinCEN 114 (the FBAR), which will change your answer. A more detailed guide to the FBAR can be found in the tax guide for 2nd-5th year JETs.

Save Schedule B and file it together with Form 1040.

Schedule 1 – Additional Income and Adjustments to Income

Schedule 1 is used to report your foreign earned income exclusion that you calculated in Form 2555 and any other additional income you may have received during the 2022 tax year. Whereas most of the items listed in Schedule 1 Part I add to your total income, your foreign-earned income will be deducted from your total income.

For Schedule 1 Line 8d, enter your 2023 foreign earned income total from Form 2555 Line 26. Schedule 1 Line 8d is in parentheses to indicate to the IRS that this value will be deducted in Form 1040. As for the other lines in Schedule 1 Part I, enter any values applicable to you.

Schedule 1 1040 part 1 2-5 year 2023.jpg

If you paid student loan interest in 2023, continue to Schedule 1 - Part II. Unless you earned more than $70,000, you can just enter the amount of student loan interest you paid (up to $2,500) on Line 21. Otherwise, calculate your eligible student loan interest deduction from the worksheet on page 37 ofPublication 970. Finish following the instructions for the rest of Schedule 1. Everything else will be “0”s for many JETs.

NOTE: You cannot claim this deduction if you were claimed as a dependent on your parents’ taxes this year

Schedule 1 1040 part 2 2-5 year 2023.jpg

NOTE: These are made-up numbers! Yours will be different.

Many student loan institutions report the amount of student loan interest you have paid by sending you (either by mail or electronically) Form 1098-E. If you make payments online, check there first to see if the student loan interest has already been calculated for you through an electronic file of Form 1098-E.

Save Schedule 1 and keep it open to reference for Form 1040.

Form 1040 – U.S. Individual Income Tax Return

Finally, we can start on Form 1040 without interruptions. Enter your name and social security number, and check the box for your filing status. For the purposes of this basic guide, our example is filing single with no dependents, but this will vary according to your personal situation (e.g., if you have a spouse and/or children.) Then, fill out your Japanese address information. If you dealt with digital assets (e.g.cryptocurrency, NFTs) in the 2023 tax year, or wish to contribute to the Presidential Election Campaign, then check the appropriate boxes.

1040 section 1 2023.jpg

NOTE: Some recent college graduates are claimed as dependents by their parents. If you have confirmed that this is your case, check the box labeled “Someone can claim you as a dependent” on the standard deduction section. This is important, as it will change the deduction you claim later on Line 12a, and can mess up your parents’ taxes if you miss it

On Form 1040 Line 1a, enter any 2023 U.S. W-2 income. On Line 1h, enter your income from Japan (Form 2555 Line 26). Add together Lines 1a-1i and enter the total on Line 1z.

If you had any interest or dividends to report from Schedule B, then enter them into the respective Form 1040 Line 2a-b and Form 1040 Line 3a-b. For many people, everything else is zeroes until you get to Line 8. For this, you will need to go to Schedule 1.

Enter the number you got from Schedule 1 Line 10 on Form 1040 Line 8. Make sure to put parentheses around the number again so that the IRS understands you are subtracting this number. Then, add together Form 1040 Lines 1z-8. Enter this new number on Line 9. This total is your Total Income for 2023.

Next, if you continue to Part II Line 26 on Schedule 1, enter the number from that line on Form 1040 Line 10 and subtract Form 1040 Line 10 from Form 1040 Line 9. Enter the result on Form 1040 Line 11.

(If negative, use parentheses.) This is your Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) for 2023.

Afterward, enter either your standard deduction or itemized deduction on Form 1040 Line 12 (most people will claim the standard deduction: $13,850 for 2023). If you checked that someone can claim you as a dependent in the Standard Deduction section, check the instructions for this year’s limit.

Line 13 deals mostly with self-employment deductions, which for many JETs will be “0.” Add ' Lines 12 and 13 and enter the result on ' Line 14. Finally, subtract Line 14 from Line 11 and then enter the result on Line 15 (If negative, enter “0”). This is your Taxable Income for 2023.

At this point, your Form 1040 should look something like this:

1040 income section 2-5 2023.jpg

NOTE: These are made-up numbers! Yours will be different.

By the time you get here, you will have dealt with most of the foreign income-related stuff and weeded it out. Everything from here should be straightforward (tedious but straightforward).

If Line 15 is zero, Line 16 will also be zero. That was easy!

1040 tax and credits section 2-5 2023.jpg

But if Line 15 is not zero, you have a little more math to do. Calculate your Tax for Line 16 using the Foreign Earned Income Tax Worksheet as shown on the next page (from page 35 of the Instructions for Form 1040). For worksheet Lines 4 and 5, you will have to consult the 2023 Tax Table (page 63 of the Instructions for Form 1040). Make sure to enter the number from worksheet Line 6 on Form 1040, Line 16, and then calculate Line 24 for your Total Tax. Your Total Tax is the amount you owe to the IRS and must be paid by April 18 or else interest will accrue from the following day.

1040 line 16 2023.jpg


In the Payments section, enter any withholding reported on your U.S. tax forms on Lines 25a-d, and any payments you made with your Form 4868 or Form 2350 extension on Line 26.

1040 payments and refunds section 2-5 2023.jpg

If you have filled in your personal information from Lines 25-32 and found that you have an amount on Line 34 that is not “0,” congratulations! This number is the refund due to you from the IRS. Fill in Lines 34-35a for a direct deposit into your American bank account. If you have to pay taxes, refer to the Instructions for Form 1040 on payment methods and where to send your payment.

After all that (or if neither situation above is the case), remember to sign and date in the box. Save a copy of all your tax forms and set a reminder for your 330 days when you can send your taxes to the IRS. Be sure to confirm that you are sending each form to the appropriate IRS address! (｡•̀ᴗ-)✧ おつかれ！

NOTE: You do not need to designate a third-party to discuss the return. Also, if the amount on Line 34 is less than $1, then you must explicitly request it to be refunded to you or they will not send it to you.

If you are living abroad when the official deadline to file taxes is due, you are automatically granted a two-month extension from April 18 until June 15. However, If, for some reason, you need additional time to prepare your tax forms, you can request an extension to file your taxes up until October 15 by filing Form 4868 (see tax guide for first-year JETs). However, any payments to the IRS you need to make must still be sent by April 18.

Once you have been in Japan for 330 days, you can then file your return. Sign and date the forms and mail them all to the IRS office in Austin, TX. Your tax return will include at least Form 1040, Schedule 1, Schedule B, Form 2555, and the Foreign Earned Income Statement.

FinCEN Form 114 – Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBAR)

The FBAR is an informational form that must be filed only by anyone who had over $10,000 USD in their foreign bank account(s) at any point during the calendar year – not at the end of the year, not averaged, but on any singular day. The FBAR is filed separately from your Form 1040 and must be e-filed, regardless of how you file your tax return. You do not have to calculate any taxes or pay any money, but there can still be penalties for late filing or failure to file. The deadline to file the FBAR is April 18

By “foreign bank accounts,” they mean just that: any non-American bank accounts, so not including any money you have sitting back home. However, if you have bank accounts in foreign countries other than Japan, or multiple Japanese bank accounts, the $10,000 limit will apply to all of them in aggregate. For example, if you have $5,000 in one foreign account and $5,001 in another, you must file the FBAR.

The FBAR uses the Treasury Reporting Rates of Exchange for the last calendar day of the year. For December 31, 2023, this was $1 = ¥140.50. Thus, if you had over ¥1,400,500 in your Japanese bank account(s) at any point during the year, you must file the FBAR.

NOTE: The exchange rate you use to convert from JPY to USD for the FBAR is different from the one you use on your tax return. Please do not confuse the two exchange rates.

The form will ask for bank information like the name and address of the bank, the name of the account holder, the account number, the type of account (e.g. checking or savings), and the maximum value in USD of the account during the year. If you qualify to file with multiple accounts, you will need the info from all of them, even if any of them are individually under $10,000.

You can file your FBAR for free at the website indicated by the IRS guidelines: https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/report-of-foreign-bank-and-financialaccounts-fbar For additional guidance, see Publication 5569 or the IRS guide to filing the FBAR.

Remember to fill out Schedule B as pictured below, answering “Yes” To Line 7b:

Schedule B 1040 part 3 2-5 2023.jpg

Links to Forms + Instructions

=Notes and Resources

Individual cases and circumstances will vary. Additional procedures will be necessary if one of the following statements are applicable to you:

    • You are married and/or have dependents of your own
    • Someone else will claim you as a dependent for the 2023 tax year
    • You earn income from stocks, bonds, real estate or other investments
    • The total value of your specified foreign assets is more than $200,000 on the last day of the tax

year or more than $300,000 at any time during the year (check out Form 8938)

    • Any number of other circumstances

This guide uses the Federal Reserve Bank average annual exchange rate figure of $1 = ¥140.50, which can be found at http://www.federalreserve.gov/Releases/g5a/Current/

  • This guide is in no way affiliated with the IRS or the U.S. Government.
    • The IRS - not this document - is the final authority on tax-related matters. This is just a rough,

unofficial guide. Be sure to check with instructions from the IRS to file your documents as correctly as possible. It is your responsibility to file your taxes correctly.

  • This packet is intended to familiarize first-year American JETs with the overseas tax-filing process. The process will be slightly different for second through fifth-year American JETs.
  • It is your responsibility to be aware of the tax filing deadlines and to submit the forms on time. We will not remind you of the deadlines as they come.
  • Please remember that if you owe taxes, you must make sure to pay by the federal deadline of April

18. The extensions mentioned in this guide are only for filing taxes. It is your responsibility to pay any and all taxes on time.

  • We have compiled a list of frequently asked questions (and answers!) regarding the tax-filing process. These can be viewed on the Kumamoto JET website here:

https://kumamotojet.com/reiwa/u-s-tax-guide/

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