I'm a US citizen working remotely full time for a US company. I plan to move to Japan soon on a spouse visa. I work for a small business as a W-2 employee, and the company has agreed to let me continue working after the move.
I've been reading this subreddit and researching, and it's been really helpful, but I still have some questions regarding taxes:
- Let's say that I arrive in Japan on January 1, 2026. At what point would I stop paying US social security and start paying Japanese pension? Would it be as soon as I enter the country, or 5 years later when I become a permanent resident?
- If I want to get Japanese national health insurance right away, what will be used as the basis for my income during the first 5 years?
- I used the calculator linked here and noticed that there is a category for employment insurance. Would that still be required for a company with no Japanese presence? If so, would I need to pay it, or would the company be responsible?
- My employer uses ADP, which automatically takes deductions from my paycheck. I know I can use Form 673 to stop the federal withholding, but does anyone have experience with getting ADP to stop withholding social security and Medicare? If my employer is not able to get them to stop withholding those, is there a way to get reimbursed?
by FinalBet2743