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ColorsKat28 · Joined: 12 Oct 2008 Posts: 15

Hello,

I'm looking for information regarding the taxes I've been paying in Japan for the last year. I'm still a 'resident' of the US (have only been in Japan for a year) and am about to go back home to America.

Apparently I'm still liable to pay US taxes for the year I've been gone, but I thought there was a law protecting me from paying taxes in 2 countries at once. IF this is the case, how do I go about getting a tax refund from Japan? I've asked my employer who seems to know nothing about it.

Any help is appreciated. Thanks!

mc · Joined: 20 Jan 2003 Posts: 90 Location: Aichi, Japan

It's the other way around. You pay taxes in Japan (where the money was earned) and are exempt in the U.S. for income up to US$80,000. You still have to file your U.S. taxes, but you won't owe anything unless you made more than $80,000.

ColorsKat28 · Joined: 12 Oct 2008 Posts: 15

Thanks, I'm reading the irs.gov website trying to make sense of it all. Since I get paid by my employer in cash my only other question would then be how to prove my foreign income is less than that amount... gotta love shady Eikaiwas.

Glenski · Joined: 15 Jan 2003 Posts: 12844 Location: Hokkaido, JAPAN

It's up to you to decide whether you want to prove anything. If you don't get a receipt, use a bank statement. Or ask your employer for something to records your earnings.

Essentially, you write the total twice on your IRS forms -- once to show how much you made, and once in parentheses to subtract it.