Taxes · 税金 · zeikin
Taxes for employees in Japan
An employee in Japan pays two taxes on income: income tax (所得税, shotokuzei) and resident tax (住民税, jūminzei). On top of them, pension and health insurance premiums are deducted from your salary. Your employer does most of the work: it withholds the taxes every month and recalculates them at the end of the year. Who pays what, what you do yourself, and the whole tax year month by month.
Checked against the National Tax Agency, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and city office websites on October 7, 2026 · Income tax · Resident tax · Family and dependents
In short
Which taxes foreigners pay in Japan
All taxes and premiums in one table
| Tax or premium | Who pays | Amount | How it is paid |
|---|---|---|---|
| Income tax (所得税) | everyone with income | 5–45% by bracket + a 2.1% surtax on the tax | withheld from salary, recalculated in December; otherwise a tax return |
| Resident tax (住民税) | everyone with an address in Japan on January 1 and income last year | about 10% + a fixed per-capita part (¥5,000 a year in Tokyo’s 23 wards, incl. ¥1,000 forest environment tax) | from salary from June, or with payment slips |
| Consumption tax (消費税) | every buyer | 10%; 8% on food and takeout (not alcohol) | included in prices |
| Pension (年金) | every resident aged 20–59 | employees 9.15% of the standard monthly remuneration; others ¥17,920 a month (FY2026) | from salary or with payment slips |
| Health insurance (健康保険 / 国民健康保険) | every resident | employees in Tokyo 4.925% (plus 0.81% for long-term care at ages 40–64) and 0.115% child and childcare support contribution; others by income and city | from salary or with payment slips |
| Employment Insurance (雇用保険) | employees working 20+ hours a week | 0.5% of pay | from salary |
Premium rates are the employee’s share: the employer pays the same or more on top. The health insurance rate depends on the insurer and the prefecture. Health insurance usually covers 70% of the cost of treatment; you pay 30%. If you leave Japan for good, you can get part of your pension contributions back (up to 60 months) — Lump-sum Withdrawal Payment (the pension refund). All about premiums: Social insurance.
Who pays
Your tax status decides which income is taxed
| Status | Who | Income taxed |
|---|---|---|
| Resident (居住者, kyojūsha) | has a domicile (the center of life) in Japan, or has lived here continuously for a year or more | all income worldwide: Japanese citizens and foreigners who have lived in Japan more than 5 years in the last 10 |
| Non-permanent resident (非永住者, hieijūsha) | a resident without Japanese nationality who has lived in Japan 5 years or less in the last 10 | Japanese income, and foreign income only if it is paid in Japan or sent to Japan |
| Non-resident (非居住者, hikyojūsha) | everyone else | Japanese income only; 20.42% is withheld from salary with no deductions |
The 183-day rule you may know from other countries does not decide residence here. If you come to Japan for a job that normally lasts a year or more, you are a resident from the day you arrive. Domicile is judged by facts: home, job, assets, family. Salary for work done in Japan is Japanese income even when a foreign company pays it abroad. More: Income tax.
Tax treaties. Japan has tax treaties with many countries. A treaty decides where you are resident if two countries both claim you, and can exempt some income. Some treaties exempt part-time wages of students (for example with China, Indonesia, the Philippines and Sri Lanka); others, such as those with India, Vietnam, the US and the UK, only exempt money sent to a student from abroad — check yours. More: income from abroad.
Employer and you
What the company does, and what you do yourself
If you work for a Japanese company, you usually have very little tax paperwork to do yourself.
When you need a tax return. If you run a business, are paid by a foreign company from abroad, or your other income (after expenses, including a second job) is over ¥200,000 a year, you file a final tax return (確定申告, kakutei shinkoku) between February 16 and March 15 of the next year. Details: Tax return.
The tax year
Every deadline of the year on one timeline
Income tax is calculated for the calendar year. Resident tax is charged on last year’s income and paid from June to the following May. This is what happens month by month:
- JanuaryYour employer gives you the withholding record for last year and sends the data to the city office. Your address on January 1 decides which city charges your resident tax.
- February – MarchFinal tax return for last year — February 16 to March 15. If you file no tax return but must report your income to the city, file an income declaration there (住民税申告) — mid-February to March 15.
- June – MayThe city sends your resident tax amount. Your employer deducts it from 12 salaries; everyone else pays with payment slips in 4 installments.
- AutumnYour employer collects the forms for the year-end adjustment: family, insurance, spouse. The employer sets the deadline.
- DecemberThe year-end adjustment — usually with the December salary. The employer refunds any overpayment; when exactly depends on the company. In December 2026 the new, larger basic exemption is applied.
Deadlines, and what happens if you miss them
| What | When | If you miss it |
|---|---|---|
| Withholding record (源泉徴収票) | by January 31; when you leave a job, within a month | ask your employer: you need it for a tax return and at your next job |
| Tax return for 2025 | February 16 – March 16, 2026 | a penalty of 5% or more of the tax (無申告加算税) and delinquency tax (延滞税): 2.8% a year for the first 2 months, then 9.1% |
| Tax return for 2026 | normally February 16 – March 15, 2027; exact dates not announced yet | the same |
| Tax return to get a refund | 5 years from January 1 of the next year (for 2025 — until December 31, 2030) | you lose the right to the refund |
| Resident tax with payment slips | June 30, August 31, October 31, January 31 | late payment charges (延滞金); a debt can stop your visa extension |
| Year-end adjustment forms | the employer sets the date | you can claim the deductions only through a tax return |
All taxes
Each tax in detail
Changes 2025–2027
What has changed and what is coming
Japanese taxes change every year. The main points for employees:
| What | From when | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Deduction for employment income and basic exemption raised | 2025 income | no income tax on a salary up to ¥1,600,000 (until 2024 — up to ¥1,030,000) |
| Raised again | 2026 income (the law applies from December 1, 2026) | no tax on a salary up to ¥1,780,000; the difference is refunded at the December 2026 year-end adjustment |
| New withholding tables and the defense surtax | salary from January 2027 | the 2.1% surtax = 1.1% reconstruction + 1% new defense surtax (防衛特別所得税); the total stays the same |
| Resident tax: minimum deduction for employment income ¥740,000 | the 2027 resident tax (on 2026 income) | no resident tax up to a salary of ¥1,190,000 — announced by Nagoya; Tokyo’s Bureau of Taxation confirmed the ¥740,000 minimum |
| iDeCo limits, NISA for children | December 2026, January 2027 | see Deductions |
| New deduction amounts | income from 2028 | deduction for employment income at least ¥690,000, basic exemption ¥620,000 (¥990,000 if income after the employment deduction is up to ¥1,320,000); then reviewed every 2 years in line with prices |
What you take home
Salaries in job ads are before taxes and premiums
Example: a full-time employee in Tokyo, under 40, no dependents, first year in Japan — so no resident tax yet.
| Step | Amount |
|---|---|
| Monthly salary | ¥300,000 |
| − Health Insurance, 4.925% | ¥14,775 |
| − Child and childcare support contribution, 0.115% | ¥345 |
| − Pension, 9.15% | ¥27,450 |
| − Employment Insurance, 0.5% | ¥1,500 |
| − Income tax (NTA formula for 2026) | about ¥6,300 |
| Take-home | about ¥249,600 |
Premiums are calculated on your standard monthly remuneration (標準報酬月額), income tax on salary minus premiums. From your second year resident tax is deducted too, and you take home less. Work out your own case with the take-home pay calculator, and check each line of your payslip with how to read a payslip.
Taxes for students with a part-time job
On a student visa you may work up to 28 hours a week, and up to 8 hours a day during your school’s long vacations, once you have part-time work permission (資格外活動許可). The minimum wage in Tokyo is ¥1,280 an hour from October 1, 2026. At that wage, 20 hours a week comes to about ¥110,000 a month — about ¥1,330,000 a year (our calculation). On that income:
Details: Student taxes and insurance.
Glossary
Key words in Japanese
| Term | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 所得税 | shotokuzei | income tax |
| 住民税 | jūminzei | resident tax (local tax) |
| 消費税 | shōhizei | consumption tax, included in prices |
| 源泉徴収票 | gensen chōshūhyō | withholding record: your income and the tax withheld for the year |
| 年末調整 | nenmatsu chōsei | year-end adjustment at your employer |
| 確定申告 | kakutei shinkoku | final tax return: February 16 – March 15 |
| 厚生年金 | kōsei nenkin | Employees’ Pension Insurance |
| 国民年金 | kokumin nenkin | National Pension, for everyone else |
| 社会保険 | shakai hoken | social insurance of employees: pension and health insurance |
| 国民健康保険 | kokumin kenkō hoken | National Health Insurance |
| 手取り | tedori | take-home pay after taxes and premiums |
All 151 terms with audio: Japanese work glossary.
If you have a family
Spouse, children, parents: what changes
A dependent for tax and a dependent for health insurance are two different things with different income limits. All the rules for families: Family and dependents.
Taxes and your visa
Tax debts can stop a visa extension and permanent residency
Linked to your visa.
- When you extend a work status of residence, employees of companies in categories 3 and 4 submit resident tax certificates (課税・納税証明書) from the city where they were registered on January 1.
- For permanent residency you need resident tax certificates for 5 years (3 years for spouses of Japanese nationals or permanent residents), proof that you paid on time, and a certificate from the tax office that you owe no national taxes (納税証明書（その３）). Pension and health insurance premiums are checked for 2 years.
- A late payment counts against permanent residency even if the debt is paid by the day you apply. Unpaid resident tax can lead to a refused extension.
Taxes and your visa · Extending your period of stay · Permanent residency
What next
Your next step
FAQ
Questions about taxes in Japan
Can’t find your question? Write to us — a real person replies.
Study → Find a job → Work → Taxes → PR or leave
From student to working in Japan — and where you are on the way
Sources
Where this information comes from
Rates, limits and deadlines on this page were checked against the official websites of the National Tax Agency, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, city offices, Kyōkai Kenpo, the Japan Pension Service and the Immigration Services Agency on October 7, 2026. Amounts are in Japanese yen. When a rule changes we update the page and the date above.
- National Tax Agency — Information about Income Tax (English)
- National Tax Agency — 2025 Income Tax Guide (English)
- National Tax Agency — income tax rates (No.2260)
- National Tax Agency — residents and non-permanent residents (No.2010)
- National Tax Agency — the 2026 tax reform and withholding (令和8年度改正)
- National Tax Agency — Final tax return (English, No.12011)
- National Tax Agency — Wage earners who must file a final tax return (English, No.12018)
- National Tax Agency — Filing returns for a refund (English, No.12009)
- National Tax Agency — consumption tax rates (No.6303)
- Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications — individual inhabitant tax (English)
- Tokyo Metropolitan Government Bureau of Taxation — individual resident tax (個人住民税)
- Arakawa City — resident tax payment deadlines (普通徴収)
- Nagoya City — changes from FY2027 (employment income deduction ¥740,000)
- Kyōkai Kenpo — health insurance premium tables FY2026
- Immigration Services Agency — permanent residence: documents (永住許可申請)
This page is general information, not tax advice. Your city office and the tax office decide your actual tax. For a complex case — income from abroad, a business, leaving Japan — talk to a licensed tax accountant (税理士, zeirishi).
