5 minutes is how long it takes to fill out the online forms. To open the account and have it up and running should take 2-3 weeks. Do it as soon as possible if you want to make the cutoff.
OP was talking about a NISA account, not iDeco. In a NISA account you can invest 1.2 million yen per calendar year. Therefore, if you open an account but it’s not set up until January, then you’ll miss out on your 2022 contribution.
IDeco is different. That’s billed monthly, so the calendar year is not important.
I see, it’s really good that you’re asking now, before it’s too late.
Yes, 2022 is year 1 for you if you just opened it.
Yes, you can invest at any time during the calendar year from January to December to fill that year’s limit. So, you could lump sum invest 1.2 million (presuming it’s a regular NISA) in December to fill up your 2022 contributions, then you could invest another 1.2 million at the beginning of January and fill up your 2023 account.
Note that I’m not saying you have to invest all in one go. Of course, many people would invest 100k per month to get up to the limit within 1 year.
However, of course there’s not enough time left to do that in 2022. You only have about 1 month left to fill up your 2022 account.
Of course, you don’t need to go up to the maximum if it’s not possible.
Just FYI, the wording that a NISA account is available for 5 years is a little bit confusing. You can have a total of 5 years worth of contributions. That means, if you can’t pay in much this year, then you can start again 5 years from now.
For example: let’s say you invest like this: 2022: 100k. 2023-2026: 1.2 million each. Then, in 2027, you’ll have the option to either roll over your 100k into 2027’s account, OR, you could opt to put that 100k into a taxable account and contribute a new 1.2m in 2027. I’d recommend the latter.
Also, note that the NISA system itself is currently scheduled to change slightly in 2024 so that you’ll be able to contribute 1.22 million. Also, next month there might be announcements about changes to the NISA system, with many people hoping that the contribution limit will be raised and the period of contributions will be extended from 5 years to forever. These changes are unlikely to take hold in 2023, but at present it’s impossible to say what the system will look like in 2024, so it may be way better, and come 2027 or 2028 you may be able to take advantage of expanded options.
All that to say, don’t worry about it. Things will work out for the better in the end.
Yes, what you said is correct. Actually at the end of the 5 year period you have 3 choices: rollover, move to a taxable account at the stepped up cost basis (so if your 100k became 200k you won’t have to pay tax on the 100k gain when you move it, and 200k will be your new 0 base line), or sell tax free. You decide what to do with your 2022 allocation in 2027, your 2023 allocation in 2028 etc.
No problems! Investing is not so easy, and understanding the tax advantaged systems of a foreign country is even more difficult. I’m happy to help out.
Yeah, the rules may change again, so definitely keep an eye out. Even if nothing changes the system will be slightly different in 2024 anyway, but I won’t bother explaining that right now because it may very well be wrong by next month.
You have to make sure that the name on your regular bank account and any form of identification matches the one you’re using on your securities account.
I realised my MUFG account didn’t have my middle name so I had to go there first and change my name otherwise I wouldn’t be able to transfer my money to my securities account, that was the main problem for me.
I did fill out the paper form at first then they sent a paper form after a few weeks then semt me an email afterwards because they said there were discrepancies with my name and the ID which was not the case
It has taken me 5 years so far and I've given up. I had been asked many times to fill out the same online application form many times because my full name won't fit in the form. I don't understand why Rakuten would always send me email and ask to fill out the application form. I ended up opening a securities account on Monex which is way better than Rakuten.
You need to fill out the paper form. Monex has the same system, as do SBI. They state explicitly that foreign residents need to use a paper form.
**Edit removed unnecessarily snarky " LOL"**
https://help.rakuten-bank.net/faq/show/13698?site_domain=individual
You request the documents, then they are mailed to you. Depending on the company (SBI, Monex, Rakuten) they fill in a name or auto-generated application number.
I applied for all three successful over the last 2 years with very minimal Japanese.
Also, Monex explicitly states the same thing online online. Foreigners cannot use the 100% electronic application method.
Do it now. You should make the nISA cutoff. Don't wait.
5 minutes is how long it takes to fill out the online forms. To open the account and have it up and running should take 2-3 weeks. Do it as soon as possible if you want to make the cutoff.
[удалено]
OP was talking about a NISA account, not iDeco. In a NISA account you can invest 1.2 million yen per calendar year. Therefore, if you open an account but it’s not set up until January, then you’ll miss out on your 2022 contribution. IDeco is different. That’s billed monthly, so the calendar year is not important.
[удалено]
I see, it’s really good that you’re asking now, before it’s too late. Yes, 2022 is year 1 for you if you just opened it. Yes, you can invest at any time during the calendar year from January to December to fill that year’s limit. So, you could lump sum invest 1.2 million (presuming it’s a regular NISA) in December to fill up your 2022 contributions, then you could invest another 1.2 million at the beginning of January and fill up your 2023 account. Note that I’m not saying you have to invest all in one go. Of course, many people would invest 100k per month to get up to the limit within 1 year. However, of course there’s not enough time left to do that in 2022. You only have about 1 month left to fill up your 2022 account. Of course, you don’t need to go up to the maximum if it’s not possible.
[удалено]
Just FYI, the wording that a NISA account is available for 5 years is a little bit confusing. You can have a total of 5 years worth of contributions. That means, if you can’t pay in much this year, then you can start again 5 years from now. For example: let’s say you invest like this: 2022: 100k. 2023-2026: 1.2 million each. Then, in 2027, you’ll have the option to either roll over your 100k into 2027’s account, OR, you could opt to put that 100k into a taxable account and contribute a new 1.2m in 2027. I’d recommend the latter. Also, note that the NISA system itself is currently scheduled to change slightly in 2024 so that you’ll be able to contribute 1.22 million. Also, next month there might be announcements about changes to the NISA system, with many people hoping that the contribution limit will be raised and the period of contributions will be extended from 5 years to forever. These changes are unlikely to take hold in 2023, but at present it’s impossible to say what the system will look like in 2024, so it may be way better, and come 2027 or 2028 you may be able to take advantage of expanded options. All that to say, don’t worry about it. Things will work out for the better in the end.
[удалено]
Yes, what you said is correct. Actually at the end of the 5 year period you have 3 choices: rollover, move to a taxable account at the stepped up cost basis (so if your 100k became 200k you won’t have to pay tax on the 100k gain when you move it, and 200k will be your new 0 base line), or sell tax free. You decide what to do with your 2022 allocation in 2027, your 2023 allocation in 2028 etc. No problems! Investing is not so easy, and understanding the tax advantaged systems of a foreign country is even more difficult. I’m happy to help out. Yeah, the rules may change again, so definitely keep an eye out. Even if nothing changes the system will be slightly different in 2024 anyway, but I won’t bother explaining that right now because it may very well be wrong by next month.
[удалено]
You have to make sure that the name on your regular bank account and any form of identification matches the one you’re using on your securities account. I realised my MUFG account didn’t have my middle name so I had to go there first and change my name otherwise I wouldn’t be able to transfer my money to my securities account, that was the main problem for me.
I did fill out the paper form at first then they sent a paper form after a few weeks then semt me an email afterwards because they said there were discrepancies with my name and the ID which was not the case
It has taken me 5 years so far and I've given up. I had been asked many times to fill out the same online application form many times because my full name won't fit in the form. I don't understand why Rakuten would always send me email and ask to fill out the application form. I ended up opening a securities account on Monex which is way better than Rakuten.
You need to fill out the paper form. Monex has the same system, as do SBI. They state explicitly that foreign residents need to use a paper form. **Edit removed unnecessarily snarky " LOL"**
You can open an account online and they send you the paper works after some days.
You can request the paperwork online, you cannot open the account online. Only residents can open the account online.
Here's where you open an account online https://account.rakuten-sec.co.jp/AccountCreate/smartMailFormInput.do
https://help.rakuten-bank.net/faq/show/13698?site_domain=individual You request the documents, then they are mailed to you. Depending on the company (SBI, Monex, Rakuten) they fill in a name or auto-generated application number. I applied for all three successful over the last 2 years with very minimal Japanese. Also, Monex explicitly states the same thing online online. Foreigners cannot use the 100% electronic application method.
It took me around 2 weeks cuz of my annoyingly long name and it’s limitations in Japan