Home/Work/Part-time work for students/Taxes

Students · 国民健康保険 · 国民年金 · 住民税

Taxes and insurance for international students in Japan

Even with no income, a student in Japan has payments to make: National Health Insurance and — from age 20 — National Pension. Both can be cut sharply if you file the right papers in time. With a part-time job come taxes — but only above certain limits. What to file in your first year, how to get the pension Special Payment System for Students, how much you can earn tax-free, what tax treaties change for students and what immigration checks from 2027.

What to file with no income

Student visa

Checked against the websites of the Japan Pension Service, the National Tax Agency, the Immigration Services Agency and city offices on October 7, 2026 · Part-time work for students · Taxes for employees

A year of health insurance with no income, after the 70% reduction (Shinjuku, FY2026)≈¥20,120

National Pension a month if you don’t apply for the student system¥17,920

Salary for 2025 with no resident tax (Tokyo)¥1.1M

A week — all part-time work together, remote included28 hours

In short

What a student pays

  • National Health Insurance (国民健康保険, kokumin kenkō hoken) — for everyone who lives in Japan for more than 3 months and is not insured through a job, students included. You join at the city office within 14 days of registering your address.
  • National Pension (国民年金, kokumin nenkin) — for all residents aged 20 to 59 outside a company pension, whatever their nationality. Students can postpone payment with the Special Payment System for Students.
  • Taxes — income tax and resident tax (住民税, jūminzei) — only on part-time income, and only above the limits.
  • Every year: an income declaration to the city office (mid-February to March 15) — even with no income — and the application for the student pension system.
  • Part-time work needs permission to engage in an activity other than that permitted (資格外活動許可) and is limited to 28 hours a week. The rules and where to find work: part-time work for students and permission to work part-time.

Health insurance with no income

The 70% reduction — only after an income declaration

The National Health Insurance premium has two parts: a fixed part per person and a part based on last year’s income (income minus ¥430,000). With no income in Japan there is no second part, and the first is reduced — but only if the city knows your income.

Premium of a single student, Shinjuku, FY2026 A year
No reduction: medical part ¥47,600 + support for the elderly ¥17,600 + child and childcare support contribution ¥1,873 ¥67,073
70% reduction: household income last year up to ¥430,000, income declaration filed about ¥20,120 (≈ ¥1,677 a month)
  • File an income declaration (所得申告) with the city office, even with zero income — also in your first year, when you had no income in Japan yet. Without it there is no reduction.
  • Smaller reductions — 50% and 20% — apply at slightly higher incomes. Other cities have their own amounts, but the same procedure.
  • From April 2026 cities may ask newly arrived foreign residents to pay the first year’s premiums in advance. Each city decides — ask when you register. In Shinjuku, for example, if you did not live in Japan on January 1, that year’s premium is paid in one sum at the first due date.
  • Join late and premiums are charged from the month you should have joined (up to 2 years back; 3 years where the city levies it as a tax, 国民健康保険税), and you pay the full cost of treatment until you are registered.

How health insurance works and what you pay at the doctor: health insurance in Japan.

Pension

The Special Payment System for Students (学生納付特例) or an exemption

National Pension is ¥17,920 a month (April 2026 to March 2027) and ¥18,290 from April 2027. A student does not have to pay now: if your school is on the list, apply for the Special Payment System for Students; if not, apply for an exemption.

  • Who can use the student system: students of universities, junior colleges, specialized training colleges (専修学校) and miscellaneous schools (各種学校) with a course of 1 year or more, and since April 1, 2024 also students of Japanese language schools accredited by the Ministry of Education (認定日本語教育機関). A school that is neither does not qualify — apply for the exemption instead.
  • Income limit: income after the deduction for employment income (所得) up to ¥1,280,000, plus ¥380,000 per dependent and your social insurance premiums.
  • Every year again: the system runs from April to March. The months count toward the 10 years you need for a Japanese pension, but do not increase the amount.
  • Low-income exemption — if your school does not qualify for the student system (students of listed schools cannot use it): full, or ¾, ½ or ¼. Full exemption with income (所得) up to ¥670,000 for a single person. One application covers July to June; you can also apply for the past 2 years and 1 month.
  • When you leave Japan: the Lump-sum Withdrawal Payment (脱退一時金) covers only months you actually paid — at least 6. Months under the student system give nothing back. More: pension refund.

Is your school on the list? Check the Japan Pension Service list of eligible schools (学生納付特例対象校一覧). The application in English: Application for National Pension Contribution Special Payment System for Students. Choosing a language school? Ask us which of our partner schools are accredited — their students can use the student system.

Part-time work: income limits

How much you can earn without tax

The limits are for a single student whose only income is a salary. Income tax goes by the calendar year; resident tax by last year’s income.

What 2025 income 2026 income
Income tax (所得税): no tax on a salary up to ¥1,600,000 ¥1,780,000
Resident tax, Tokyo: no tax on a salary up to ¥1,100,000 (2026 tax, from June 2026) ¥1,190,000 by our calculation (Tokyo confirmed the ¥740,000 minimum deduction; Nagoya announced ¥1,190,000) (2027 tax)
Working student deduction (勤労学生控除): income (所得) up to ¥850,000 (salary up to ¥1,500,000) ¥890,000 (salary up to ¥1,630,000) — in income tax
70% health insurance reduction: last year’s income (所得) up to ¥430,000 (Shinjuku, FY2026) —
  • Up to 28 hours a week at typical hourly pay can add up to well over ¥1,100,000 a year — above the resident tax limit.
  • The working student deduction (勤労学生控除) is for students of universities and colleges, and of those 専修学校 and 各種学校 whose course teaches skills for a job and meets the legal requirements (you need a certificate from the school). Ask your school whether it qualifies — many language schools don’t.
  • Give your main employer the dependents form (扶養控除等申告書). Then no tax is withheld from monthly pay under ¥105,000 (after premiums; from 2027 under ¥111,000), and the year is adjusted at the end. At a second job 3.063% is withheld even from small amounts — you get it back with a tax return.
  • These rules are for tax residents of Japan: people whose life is centered here or who have lived here for a year or more. A non-resident has 20.42% withheld from salary.

Example

A student works 28 hours a week all through 2026

Simplified: all year at Tokyo’s minimum wage of ¥1,280 an hour (in force from October 1, 2026), health insurance with the reduction, pension under the student system.

Step Amount
Salary for 2026: 28 hours × 52 weeks × ¥1,280 ¥1,863,680
− Deduction for employment income (2026) ¥740,000
= Income (所得) ¥1,123,680
Income tax for 2026: − basic exemption ¥1,040,000 − premiums ≈ ¥20,000 → taxable ≈ ¥63,000 × 5% × 102.1% ≈ ¥3,200 for the year
Resident tax 2027 (Tokyo): − basic deduction ¥430,000 − premiums ≈ ¥20,000 → ≈ ¥673,000 × 10% − ¥2,500 + ¥5,000 ≈ ¥69,800 for the year, from June 2027
Health insurance for FY2027 no 70% reduction any more: income above ¥430,000

Income tax is almost nothing, but resident tax arrives in June 2027 — sometimes after you have finished school. Put it in your budget. At 20 hours a week (about ¥1,330,000 a year) there is no income tax, and resident tax comes to about ¥16,600 by calculation (about ¥5,000 if your school qualifies for the working student deduction). See what is left of a salary in the take-home pay calculator.

Tax treaties and students

Can a tax treaty exempt your part-time wages?

Japan has tax treaties with many countries, and most of them have an article on students. What it covers depends on the treaty — so check yours before you count on it.

  • Most student articles cover only money from abroad — what your family or a scholarship sends you for living and study. Wages from a part-time job in Japan are then taxed by the normal Japanese rules. The treaties with India, Vietnam, the United States and the United Kingdom work this way.
  • Some treaties also exempt part-time wages of students, within their conditions (who counts as a student, for how long, sometimes up to an amount). China, Indonesia, the Philippines and Sri Lanka have such articles.
  • How to claim it: before your first pay, give your employer the Application Form for Income Tax Convention (Form 8, 租税条約に関する届出書) with a certificate from your school; the employer files it with the tax office by the day before the payment. Then no income tax is withheld from the exempt wages.
  • Check the details: whether a language school counts as a school under your treaty, how long the exemption lasts and how your city treats it for resident tax — ask the tax office and the city office.

The forms in English: NTA — Application forms for income tax conventions. Money from abroad in general: income from abroad.

Remote work for a company abroad

The same 28 hours, and taxes in Japan

  • It is part-time work too. Any paid work outside your student status needs part-time work permission (資格外活動許可). All part-time work together, remote included, is up to 28 hours a week — up to 8 hours a day during your school’s long vacations — and only while you are enrolled.
  • Schools are required to monitor their students’ part-time work: the permission, the employer, the kind of work and the hours. The 28 hours must hold whichever day of the week you start counting from. Keep a contract with hourly pay and a record of your hours.
  • Tax is due in Japan. Salary for work you do while in Japan is income from a Japanese source, even if it is paid to a card abroad.
  • Tax return: if the company withholds no Japanese tax and tax is due for the year, a tax return is required. And you declare the income to the city for resident tax at any amount.

Extending your visa

What immigration checks from 2027

Linked to your visa.

  • Cities are due to share National Health Insurance payment data with immigration from June 2027 (planned), and immigration will use it when you apply to extend or change your status of residence.
  • Once this starts, with unpaid National Health Insurance, an extension or change of status will in principle be refused unless the debt is paid or there is a payment plan. This applies to students too.
  • Breaking the part-time rules (more than 28 hours a week, or work without permission) can lead to a refused extension.

Student visa · Extending your period of stay · Permission to work part-time · Taxes and your visa

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.

  • A language-school student cannot bring a spouse and children on the Dependent status. A student of a university or a specialized training college (専門課程) can.
  • Family health insurance: in National Health Insurance each person has their own premium, but the head of household pays for everyone. The reduction is based on the whole household’s income, so the city must know everyone’s income.
  • A spouse with Dependent status can also work only with part-time work permission (資格外活動許可) and up to 28 hours a week.
  • Parents working in Japan get a deduction for a student aged 19–22 — ¥630,000, or a special one if the student earns more than the limit. Details: children.

FAQ

Student tax questions

Can’t find your question? Write to us — a real person replies.

Ask us a question

Do international students have to pay health insurance in Japan?

Yes. Everyone who lives in Japan for more than 3 months and is not insured through a job must join National Health Insurance, students included. With no income the premium is reduced by 70% — about ¥20,120 a year in Shinjuku — but only after you file an income declaration with the city office.

Everyone aged 20 to 59 living in Japan is enrolled in National Pension. Students of eligible schools can postpone payment with the Special Payment System for Students; students of schools that are not eligible can apply for a low-income exemption. Apply every year.

Only students of Japanese language schools accredited by the Ministry of Education (認定日本語教育機関), since April 1, 2024. Check your school in the Japan Pension Service list; if it is not there, apply for the low-income exemption instead.

For a single student with only a salary: no income tax up to ¥1,780,000 for 2026 (¥1,600,000 for 2025), and in Tokyo no resident tax on a 2025 salary of up to ¥1,100,000. Working up to 28 hours a week at typical pay can easily go above the resident tax limit.

It depends on the treaty. Most student articles only exempt money sent from abroad for living and study; that is the case for India, Vietnam, the United States and the United Kingdom. Some, such as the treaties with China, Indonesia, the Philippines and Sri Lanka, can also exempt part-time wages. You claim it with Form 8 through your employer before the first pay.

Only with permission to work part-time, and it counts toward the same limit of up to 28 hours a week. The salary is taxed in Japan because you do the work here, and you may need to file a tax return if the company withholds no Japanese tax.

Cities are due to share National Health Insurance payment data with immigration from June 2027 (planned). Then, with unpaid premiums and no payment plan, an extension or change of status will in principle be refused — students included.

Study → Find a job → Work → Taxes → PR or leave

From student to working in Japan — and where you are on the way

  1. Studylanguage school · part-time up to 28 h a weekYou are here
  2. Find a jobresume, interviews, shūkatsu
  3. Workcontract, pay, your first 30 days
  4. Taxestaxes, insurance and pension
  5. PR or leavea clean record for PR — or the pension refund

Sources

Where this information comes from

Rates, limits and deadlines on this page were checked against the official websites of the Japan Pension Service, the National Tax Agency, the Immigration Services Agency, the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare and city offices on October 7, 2026. Amounts are in Japanese yen. When a rule changes we update the page and the date above.

Results and examples are estimates, not your employer’s payroll. The amounts on your payslip and in your resident tax notice are the ones that count. For a complex case, talk to a licensed tax accountant (税理士) or a Labor and Social Security Attorney (社会保険労務士, sharōshi).

Planning to study in Japan?

We help you choose a language school — including accredited schools where the pension Special Payment System for Students applies — and prepare your visa documents for free. The school pays us, not you.

Apply free
Students in yukata at a Japanese language school

Free for students