Japan · 2026 (Reiwa 8)
Japan Salary calculator
Work out your take-home pay in Japan for the 2026 tax year (Reiwa 8). Enter your gross salary and this calculator deducts employee social insurance, national income tax with the reconstruction surtax, and resident tax, then shows what reaches your bank account. It models a representative case: an employee in Tokyo, under 40, single, paid monthly with no bonus, insured through Kyokai Kenpo. Health premiums and a few resident-tax details vary a little by prefecture and municipality, so treat the result as a close estimate rather than a payslip.
| Gross salary | ￥6,000,000 |
| Income taxNational, 5% to 45% plus the 2.1% reconstruction surtax | -￥186,100 |
| Resident tax10% income levy plus 5,000 yen per head, Tokyo standard amounts | -￥307,300 |
| Health insuranceKyokai Kenpo Tokyo branch, employee half of 9.85%, under 40 | -￥295,500 |
| Child-rearing supportNew from April 2026, employee half of the 0.23% contribution | -￥6,900 |
| Employees’ pensionEmployee half of 18.3%, pay above 650,000 a month not levied | -￥549,000 |
| Employment insuranceWorker share 0.5%, general business | -￥30,000 |
| Take-home pay | ￥4,625,200 |
How it works
- Social insurance comes off first: health insurance at 4.925% (your half of the Kyokai Kenpo Tokyo rate), the new child and child-rearing support contribution at 0.115% (your half of 0.23%), employees’ pension at 9.15% (your half of 18.3%), and employment insurance at 0.5%. Pay above 1,390,000 a month carries no extra health or support premium, and pay above 650,000 a month no extra pension premium.
- Your salary is then converted to employment income through the statutory deduction, which is 650,000 yen at minimum and grows with pay until it caps at 1,950,000 yen for salaries above 8.5 million.
- For national tax, the taxable base is employment income minus your social insurance premiums minus the basic deduction, which in 2026 ranges from 950,000 yen for low incomes down to 580,000 yen for most full-time earners. The base is rounded down to the nearest 1,000 yen.
- National income tax applies in brackets from 5% to 45%, and the 2.1% reconstruction surtax is added on top of the result. The total is rounded down to the nearest 100 yen.
- Resident tax is worked out on its own base, with a smaller 430,000 yen basic deduction, at a flat 10%. A 2,500 yen adjustment credit comes off, and a 5,000 yen per-capita charge (including the 1,000 yen forest environment tax) goes on.
- Take-home pay is what remains after all five deductions. Divide by 12 for the monthly figure.
Take-home = gross - social insurance - national income tax - resident tax
Social insurance is a near-flat 14.69% of pay until the health and pension caps. Income taxes then work on salary after the employment income deduction: the national side subtracts premiums and a basic deduction of up to 950,000 yen, taxes the rest in brackets from 5% to 45% and adds 2.1% on top for reconstruction; the resident side subtracts premiums and 430,000 yen, charges a flat 10% and adds the per-capita amounts. Subtract all of it from gross salary for the figure that lands in your account.
- 14.69%
- employee social insurance: health 4.925% (Tokyo), child-rearing support 0.115%, pension 9.15%, employment 0.5%
- 650,000 to 1,950,000
- employment income deduction, by salary, table in force from 2025
- 5 to 45% + 2.1%
- national brackets plus the reconstruction surtax, to 2037
- 10% + 5,000
- resident tax income levy and per-capita charge, Tokyo standard
Where a salary sits in Japan
| Tokyo minimum wage, full time | ≈ ¥2,450,000 | ¥1,226 an hour from October 2025 |
| Average private-sector salary | ¥4,780,000 | NTA survey of 2024 pay |
| 20% national bracket starts | ¥3,300,000 | of taxable income |
| Pension premiums stop growing | ¥7,800,000 | standard pay of 650,000 a month |
Worked example
A ¥5,000,000 salary in Tokyo, 2026 leaves ¥3,904,100 a year, about ¥325,000 a month, after ¥734,500 social insurance, ¥119,400 national income tax and ¥242,000 resident tax. Total deductions come to roughly 21.9% of gross pay.
Key facts
- For most earners social insurance, not income tax, is the largest deduction: 14.69% of pay up to the caps.
- After the 2025 reform, national income tax only starts at about 1.6 million yen of salary, up from 1.03 million.
- Resident tax runs a year behind, so first-year employees pay none and people who leave Japan still owe the final bill.
- The 2.1% reconstruction surtax has applied to national income tax since 2013 and runs to 2037.
- Pension premiums are identical nationwide; health premiums depend on your prefecture and insurer.
Tips
- iDeCo pension contributions are deductible in full, trimming both national and resident tax at your marginal rate.
- Furusato nozei donations convert most of next year’s resident tax into regional gifts for a flat 2,000 yen cost, within an income-based ceiling.
- Hand in the deduction declarations before the December year-end adjustment; missed life insurance or dependant claims otherwise need a tax return to recover.
- When comparing job offers, ask which health insurer the company uses. Kenpo union rates often undercut Kyokai Kenpo, which is worth real money at higher salaries.
Frequently asked questions
Why are there two income taxes on my pay?+
Japan taxes salary twice over: national income tax, withheld from each payslip during the year, and resident tax, billed by your municipality at a flat 10% plus a small per-capita charge. Resident tax is charged on the previous year’s income, so it starts in June of your second working year. This calculator shows both against the same year’s salary, which matches reality once your pay is steady.
Which health insurer does this assume?+
Kyokai Kenpo, the national association scheme for small and mid-sized employers, at its Tokyo branch rate of 9.85% for FY2026, split evenly with your employer. Each prefecture sets its own rate close to 10%, and large companies often run their own kenpo unions with lower rates, so your premium can differ by a few thousand yen a month.
Does it include the long-term care premium?+
No. Employees aged 40 to 64 pay an extra care insurance premium, 1.62% of standard pay in FY2026 shared with the employer, so about 0.8% from your half. This calculator assumes you are under 40. If you are 40 or older, expect take-home pay a little lower than shown.
Does this reflect the 2025 tax reform and the 1.03 million yen wall?+
Yes. The 2025 reform lifted the minimum employment income deduction to 650,000 yen and raised the basic deduction to between 580,000 and 950,000 yen depending on income, so national income tax now starts at roughly 1.6 million yen of salary. Both carry into 2026, but the middle-band amounts of 880,000, 680,000 and 630,000 yen end after this year.
What about bonuses?+
The model assumes your salary arrives in twelve equal monthly payments. Bonuses carry the same premium rates but with separate caps (1.5 million yen per payment for pension, 5.73 million yen a year for health), and withholding on a bonus is worked out from your previous month’s pay. Year-end adjustment trues the income tax up, but a heavily bonus-weighted package can shift the social insurance total.
Why does my payslip show a different income tax figure?+
Employers withhold national tax from each payslip using monthly tables, then settle the exact annual amount in the December year-end adjustment (nenmatsu chosei). The figure here is that settled annual amount. Premiums on real payslips also come from standard-remuneration grades, bands of pay rather than exact pay, which moves each premium slightly in either direction.
Things to watch
- This is an estimate for planning, not financial or tax advice. Confirm your own position with the National Tax Agency, your municipality, or a licensed tax accountant (zeirishi).
- Aged 40 to 64 you also pay long-term care insurance, about 0.8% of pay on your half, which is not included here.
- Rates move at fiscal year boundaries: the child and child-rearing support contribution is scheduled to climb from 0.23% toward roughly 0.4% by FY2028, and the pension salary cap rises from 650,000 to 680,000 yen a month in September 2027.
- The 880,000, 680,000 and 630,000 yen basic deduction amounts are temporary for 2025 and 2026; middle incomes revert to 580,000 yen from 2027.
Sources
- No.2260 Income tax rates · National Tax Agency
- No.1410 Employment income deduction · National Tax Agency
- Revision of the basic deduction under the 2025 tax reform · National Tax Agency
- No.1199 Basic deduction · National Tax Agency
- Premium table from March 2026, Tokyo branch · Kyokai Kenpo
- FY2026 (Reiwa 8) premium rate notice · Kyokai Kenpo
- Employment insurance premium rates, FY2026 · Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare
- Employees’ pension insurance premiums · Japan Pension Service
- Personal inhabitant tax · Tokyo Bureau of Taxation
Last updated: 2026-01-01 · Applies to 2026 (Reiwa 8)
This is an estimate for general guidance, not financial, tax, legal or medical advice. Figures can change and individual circumstances vary. Always confirm with the official sources listed before making decisions.
- Representative basis: Tokyo. Health insurance uses the Kyokai Kenpo Tokyo branch rate of 9.85% (employee half 4.925%, from March 2026); each prefecture sets its own rate near 10%. Resident tax uses the standard 10% levy and 5,000 yen per-capita charge that Tokyo applies; a few prefectures add small supplements.
- Assumes an employee under 40 (no long-term care premium), single with no dependants, enrolled all year, paid in twelve equal monthly instalments with no bonus.
- The child and child-rearing support contribution starts with April 2026 premiums at 0.23% of standard pay (employee half 0.115%), collected with health insurance on the same base and caps; this model applies it across the full year, as it does the FY2026 health and employment rates.
- Premiums are applied to actual pay with annual caps (16.68 million yen for health and the support contribution, 7.8 million yen for pension). Real payslips use standard-remuneration grades, so each premium can drift from this by around one percent.
- Resident tax is billed from June of the following year; it is shown here against the same year’s salary on the assumption of a steady income.
- Excludes dependant and spouse deductions, the income adjustment deduction, iDeCo and life insurance deductions, and non-resident flat-rate withholding.
Reviewed by Vikas Dulgunde.