I’m a non-US person currently living in Japan on a work visa. I’ve been here about 18 months and my contract runs for another year. I might stay longer if things work out, but there’s also a decent chance I’ll return to my home country when the contract ends.
Right now I have some savings just sitting in a bank account earning nothing. I’m thinking about opening a NISA account and investing in index funds like eMaxis Slim.
The tax-free growth sounds great, but I’m worried about what happens if I leave Japan in a year or two. If the market happens to be down when I need to sell and move the money home, I’d basically be locking in losses.
I’m also a bit unclear about the tax side if I withdraw from NISA and then leave Japan.
So I’m wondering: Does it even make sense to open a NISA if I might leave in 1-2 years? Would it be safer to just use a regular taxable brokerage account instead? If I leave Japan, what actually happens to the NISA account, can I keep it or do I have to close it? Would really appreciate hearing from anyone who has been in a similar situation.
by Ill-Nobody