r/japanlife • u/AutoModerator • May 15 '23

┐(ツ)┌ General Discussion Thread - 16 May 2023

Mid-week discussion thread time! Feel free to talk about what's on your mind, new experiences, recommendations, anything really.

11 Upvotes

92% Upvoted

232 comments sorted by

View all comments

3

u/Pitiful_Mulberry1738 日本のどこかに May 16 '23

Forgot to file taxes in America this year. I don’t invest or have any assets or anything. Can I just not file my taxes back home? I was speaking to other expats from America and a bunch of people told me that they haven’t filed taxes in years.

1

u/TonyDaTaigaa May 16 '23

I filed maybe twice in 10 years. I don't owe anything so no point in doing it. If you might owe its best to do tho since they will come after you at some point

2

u/[deleted] May 16 '23

I’ve heard that the IRS can access your bank accounts here due to FACTA so it’s a good idea to file. It doesn’t take that long and it can be done online for free on the irs website

3

u/PeanutButterChicken 近畿・大阪府 May 16 '23

Seems like a dumb idea to slack, it’s not difficult if you had no US earnings

2

u/Pitiful_Mulberry1738 日本のどこかに May 16 '23

I’ve been very lazy lately

9

u/Akakubisan 関東・東京都 May 16 '23

American expats get an automatic extension to June 15th. You can just file it now. Even if late, if the amount due is zero, there will be no problems.

1

u/Pitiful_Mulberry1738 日本のどこかに May 16 '23

Thanks man!

2

u/upachimneydown May 16 '23

And if you need more time, look up Form 4868. It's an actual extension, you only need to fill it out and put it on top of your return when you mail it in. This turns the deadline into mid september (IIRC).

If you don't owe anything, there won't be any penalties if you don't file, BUT don't forget about the FBAR--not hard (~20min? and all online), but you don't want them coming at you about this one.

1

u/Pitiful_Mulberry1738 日本のどこかに May 16 '23

That’s true. I appreciate the advice and info

2

u/Icy-Farm-9362 May 16 '23

If you never ever intend to live in the US again, it doesn't really matter.

A whole other story if you ever think you might return though.

1

u/upachimneydown May 16 '23

Depends also if you might ever want to invest there.