Understanding the Japanese pay slip (給与明細) in 2026: a visual guide for foreign residents

If you have just started working in Japan, opening your first 給与明細 (kyūyo meisai, pay slip) is a confusing experience. A column of kanji, another of numbers, deductions you do not recognize, and at the bottom a “net” figure that can be 25-30% lower than the gross salary you signed for. The question almost all of us ask is the same: what exactly is each one of these deductions?

This article walks through a Japanese pay slip concept by concept. To make it useful, we use a realistic example: 山田太郎-san (Yamada Tarō), a 30-year-old salaried worker in Tokyo earning around 7 million yen a year. The company is fictional (円&禅 株式会社, a nod to this site), but the concepts, rates, and calculations are real ones for fiscal year 2026.

If you want to check your own numbers as you read, keep the Japan net salary calculator open — it is the “do it yourself” version of what the company does on this slip every month.

The pay slip we are going to unpack

ILLUSTRATIVE EXAMPLE · 円&禅 Co., Ltd. — numbers are for educational purposes.

The pay slip is structured in four blocks that any Japanese company will use in some form:

• 支給 (shikyū) — the payments your employer pays you
• 控除 (kōjo) — the deductions taken
• 合計 (gōkei) — the final totals
• 備考 (bikō) — notes and remarks

Your actual pay slip may have more line items (some companies separate bonus into its own block, others add specific allowances) or fewer (if you work for a small company), but the logic is always the same: what they pay you, what they take away, and the result.

Let us go in order: first the five numbered concepts on the top row of payments.

The payments (支給)

1 — 基本給 (kihonkyū): Base salary — ¥500,000

The backbone of your paycheck: what the company pays you before any allowance. It is always present and almost always the largest figure on the slip.

Important details:

• Base salary affects almost everything else. Overtime is calculated as a multiple of it (with some allowances added). Bonus is usually expressed in “months of base salary,” not absolute yen amounts. Your pension contribution is based on a number very close to it.
• Japanese companies historically keep base salary low and make up the difference with allowances. This benefits the company (cheaper overtime and bonus) but hurts you if the company has a bad year and cuts allowances without touching the base.
• When you receive an offer, always ask about the base salary, not just the “total” simulated pay slip figure.

2 — 職能給 (shokunōkyū): Job-grade allowance — ¥30,000

Allowance for your “professional rank” or level of responsibility within the company. Not all companies use it; large traditional Japanese corporations do, but startups and foreign-owned companies often skip it and roll everything into the base salary.

If your company has it, it is worth knowing how you advance ranks: some companies have formal systems (after X years of seniority, after annual evaluation), while others let the 職能給 advance depend almost entirely on your direct manager.

3 — 資格手当 (shikaku teate): Qualifications allowance — ¥5,000

Some companies pay a monthly extra if you have certifications useful for your job. Common examples: JLPT level (Japanese), high TOEIC, technical certifications (AWS, CCNA), professional licenses (accounting, law, engineering).

If your company offers it and you have qualifying certifications, ask. Often HR does not tell you automatically — you have to request it. And if you are thinking about getting a certification, ask in advance whether the company will recognize it on the pay slip.

4 — 住宅手当 (jūtaku teate): Housing allowance — ¥15,000

Far more common in Japan than in many other countries. There are three usual formats:

• Flat cash allowance (as in this slip): a monthly extra regardless of where you live
• Subsidy on actual rent: the company pays a percentage of the rent you pay (requires you to show them your lease!)
• 社宅 (shataku): subsidized corporate housing

When an offer mentions “housing allowance ¥30,000,” it is usually a top-up to the base salary, not something “on top.” To compare two offers fairly, always sum base + housing + family allowances.

5 — 家族手当 (kazoku teate): Family allowance — ¥10,000

Allowance for dependents (spouse, children, sometimes parents). Typical amounts:

• ¥5,000 - ¥15,000 per spouse
• ¥3,000 - ¥10,000 per child (sometimes higher if they are in compulsory education)

Historically very common in traditional Japanese companies. Modern companies tend to remove it and increase the base salary instead — arguing that “it discriminates against single workers.” As with the housing allowance, with a new offer it is worth confirming whether it is included.

6 — 時間外手当 (jikangai teate): Overtime pay — ¥52,250

The line that surprises most newcomers. In this slip Yamada-san did 12.5 overtime hours in April, and that earned him ¥52,250 — an 8% boost on top of the basic payments.

The standard formula:

Overtime hours × (base salary + some allowances) ÷ standard monthly hours × 1.25

In the example: 12.5 × (500,000 + 30,000 + 5,000) ÷ 160 × 1.25 = 52,246, rounded to ¥52,250.

The 25% premium is the legal minimum for normal overtime. If you work more than 60 overtime hours in a month, hours above that threshold are paid at 50% instead of 25%. Holiday work and late-night work (between 22:00 and 5:00) carry additional premiums — which is why the pay slip has a separate line for 深夜手当.

Watch out for “fixed overtime” (みなし残業 or 固定残業代). Some companies bake 30-45 hours of “already paid” overtime into the base salary. If you do less, it is not refunded. If you do more, the extra is paid separately (in theory — in practice some companies “forget”). When you receive an offer, ask explicitly: “Is there fixed overtime baked in? How many hours?”

Other small boxes: 深夜, 休日出勤, その他

• 深夜手当 (¥850) — an additional 25% premium for hours worked between 22:00 and 5:00. Only the premium, not the hours themselves (those are already in 時間外手当).
• 休日出勤手当 (¥0) — pay for working on a holiday. 35% premium over your hourly salary.
• その他手当 (¥0) — a catch-all “other allowances” box that each company uses for one-off concepts (awards, travel, etc.).

7 — 通勤手当 (tsūkin teate): Commute allowance — ¥10,000

A very Japanese particularity: the company pays your commute between your home and the office. Usually a monthly train pass or reimbursement of the actual bus fare.

What matters for the pay slip:

• It is exempt from tax up to ¥150,000/month. That is why it appears among payments but is excluded from the taxable base for income tax and most social insurance calculations.
• The note “（通勤手当は非課税枠内で支給しています）” below the row makes it explicit: “the commute allowance is paid within the non-taxable limit.”

If you work fully from home, you normally do not receive this allowance. If you go hybrid, it depends on the company’s policy.

総支給額 (sōshikyū-gaku): Total gross — ¥623,100

The sum of all the previous boxes. This is what the company “pays you” in accounting terms. But it is not what reaches your bank — for that we need to subtract deductions, which is where we are going next.

The deductions (控除)

This is the part that takes the longest to swallow during your first year. ¥175,157 disappears from the gross before it reaches your account — 28% of the total. The good news is that every yen of that deduction has a concrete reason and, in many cases, an associated benefit.

Let us go one by one.

8 — 健康保険料 (kenkō hokenryō): Health insurance — ¥30,938

The Japanese equivalent of contributing to social security for health care. The company pays half and you pay the other half — on the slip you only see your share. The company is also paying another ¥30,938 to the system, even though you do not see it.

How it is calculated:

• There is a “standard monthly remuneration” (標準報酬月額, hyōjun hōshū gakugaku) that the company sets once a year (in May, based on your salary from April to June of the previous year). To simplify: for Yamada’s gross (~¥623k), his bracket is typically ¥620,000.
• On that base, in Tokyo (administered by 全国健康保険協会, the “kyōkai kenpo”), the total rate is 9.98% in 2026. Split between employee and employer.
• Your half: ¥620,000 × 9.98% / 2 = ¥30,938

In exchange for this monthly deduction, you receive:

• Health coverage: you only pay 30% of any consultation, test, or medication (with a monthly cap thanks to the 高額療養費 system)
• Sick leave subsidy (傷病手当金) if you cannot work due to illness
• Maternity subsidy (出産手当金)

It is one of the most efficient and affordable healthcare systems in the developed world. Many foreigners, comparing it with their home country, are grateful for what the monthly deduction buys.

9 — 介護保険料 (kaigo hokenryō): Long-term care insurance — ¥0

Yamada-san is 30 years old, so this shows ¥0. But it is important to know what it is:

From age 40, this insurance starts appearing on your pay slip. It covers the long-term care system (nursing homes, home care, special equipment) you will receive if you ever need help in later life. The rate is ~1.8% of gross, split between employee and employer.

If you turn 40 in April, you start paying it that same month. Your net salary drops ~¥5,000-6,000 a month “out of nowhere.” This is one of the “jumps” that catches people who reach 40 while working in Japan off guard.

10 — 厚生年金保険料 (kōsei nenkin hokenryō): Pension — ¥56,730

The largest deduction on the slip. The contribution to the Japanese pension system.

How it is calculated:

• Same “standard monthly remuneration” as health insurance
• Fixed rate of 18.30% in 2026, split 50/50 between employee and employer
• Your half: ¥620,000 × 18.30% / 2 = ¥56,730

In exchange:

• Public pension at retirement (usually from age 65)
• Disability pension if you become incapacitated earlier
• Survivor pension for your family if you die

For foreign residents who do not plan to retire in Japan, there is a specific option: the lump-sum withdrawal payment (脱退一時金). If you leave Japan before completing 10 years of contributions, you can claim back part of what you paid in. It is not 100% of what you contributed, but it is significant. If your country has a social security totalization agreement with Japan (United States, United Kingdom, Germany, Spain, France, and many others), you have an alternative: you can combine years contributed in Japan with those in your home country toward the pension calculation back home.

11 — 雇用保険料 (koyō hokenryō): Unemployment insurance — ¥3,679

Contribution to the unemployment subsidy system. The employee rate is 0.6% of taxable gross (excluding the commute allowance): ¥613,100 × 0.6% = ¥3,679.

In exchange: if you lose your job through no fault of your own, you can receive unemployment subsidy for 90-330 days based on your seniority and age. The company also contributes a larger share (~0.95%).

12 — 所得税 (shotokuzei): Income tax — ¥22,310

Japan’s income tax (national, not municipal). It is withheld monthly from your salary, and at the end of the year the company performs a tax adjustment (年末調整, nenmatsu chōsei) to refund you the excess or charge you the shortfall.

How it is calculated:

• Your taxable monthly base = taxable gross − social insurance = ¥613,100 − ¥30,938 − ¥56,730 − ¥3,679 = ¥521,753
• The company consults an official table called 月額表 (gengetsu-hyō) — with your taxable base and your number of dependents, it finds the amount to withhold
• For Yamada-san (no dependents, base ~¥521k): the table specifies ¥22,310

The figure may look oddly precise — that is because it comes directly from an official table, not from a rounded calculation.

13 — 住民税 (jūminzei): Resident tax — ¥31,500

Here is the surprise that catches most foreigners during their second year in Japan.

Resident tax is a local tax (prefecture + city) calculated on the previous year’s income. Your first year in Japan, since you had no Japanese income the previous year, you pay no resident tax. Your net salary is relatively high that first year.

From June of the second year, resident tax starts appearing on your pay slip. The monthly figure runs at about 10% of your annual income / 12 — for someone making ¥7M annually, that is around ¥30-35,000/month.

The change is dramatic: from one day to the next your net salary drops ¥30,000 a month. Many people think “they cut my salary” — no, the resident tax simply kicked in.

One more detail: resident tax is always paid with a one-year lag. The one you pay from June 2026 to May 2027 is for your 2025 income. This has an important implication for those leaving Japan: if you leave in April 2027, the 2026 income you earned in Japan will generate a resident tax liability that the company can no longer withhold from your salary — you will need to pay it as a lump sum before leaving (or appoint a 納税管理人 to handle it for you).

14 — 財形貯蓄 (zaikei chochiku): Workplace savings — ¥10,000

From here on we enter voluntary deductions: things deducted not because they are mandatory, but because you have specifically requested them.

財形貯蓄 is an automatic savings program: every month the company deducts a fixed amount and deposits it into a special savings account linked to a national program. There are three modalities (general, housing, retirement) with different tax advantages.

If this line appears on your slip, it is because you signed up (probably when joining the company). If you no longer want to save this way, you can cancel at any time.

15 — 社宅費 (shataku hi): Corporate housing rent — ¥20,000

If you live in subsidized company housing (社宅), your “rent” is deducted directly from your salary. The amount varies widely by company: some charge only 10-20% of market price, others 50-60%.

If your company has 社宅 and you are interested in saving money, it tends to be a substantial benefit: a similar apartment on the open market would cost you 3-5 times more. The catch is that availability is limited and you may be assigned housing in areas that are not your first choice.

控除合計額: Total deductions — ¥175,157

The sum of all deductions. This is what the company subtracts from gross before transferring the money to your bank.

For Yamada-san: ¥30,938 + ¥0 + ¥56,730 + ¥3,679 + ¥22,310 + ¥31,500 + ¥10,000 + ¥20,000 = ¥175,157.

The final block: 合計 (totals)

The four boxes on the bottom row close the account:

• 総支給額 ¥623,100 — the gross your employer pays
• 控除合計額 ¥175,157 — what is deducted
• 差引支給額 (手取り額) ¥447,943 — the “tedori” or actual take-home that arrives in your account. This is the number that matters, highlighted in red on the slip
• 銀行振込支給額 ¥447,943 — the amount actually transferred to your bank. Usually equal to the take-home, unless you have partial payments or advances

The key word here is 手取り (tedori): the money that actually reaches you. When two foreigners in Japan talk about salary, they usually compare tedori, not gross. If someone tells you “I make 450k a month,” they usually mean tedori.

For Yamada-san the net-to-gross ratio is 71.9%. That is typical for someone at his salary level in Tokyo with no dependents. Roughly:

• Low salaries (¥250-350k gross): the ratio can rise to 78-82% (less progressive tax, no resident tax in year one)
• Mid salaries (¥400-600k gross): the ratio runs at 72-76%
• High salaries (¥800k+): the ratio can drop to 65-70% because of upper income-tax brackets

Your own situation is calculated by the Japan net salary calculator — the numbers should match your actual pay slip pretty closely.

Why your take-home changes several times a year

Once you understand the pay slip, there are three moments in the year when it is normal for your net salary to change without your gross having changed:

June: resident tax starts or shifts

Each June the recalculated resident tax for the next period (June to May) is applied, based on the previous year’s income. If you had a good year (more bonus, more overtime, a raise) the previous year, your resident tax goes up in June and your net drops. And vice versa.

April (sometimes September): social insurance is recalculated

The “standard monthly remuneration” used by the company to calculate social insurance is set once a year, based on the salary of April, May, and June. The new amounts apply from September. If you had a lot of overtime in those three months, your standard remuneration goes up and social insurance deductions increase from September.

If you receive a substantial mid-year raise, an extraordinary recalculation may also apply (随時改定, zuiji kaitei).

40th and 65th birthdays

At age 40 you start paying long-term care insurance (~¥5-6k/month extra). At age 65 you stop paying it (because you transition from contributing to benefiting). In both cases the change in net salary is immediate.

Can your company make mistakes in the calculations?

Yes, although it is not very frequent. The most common errors we see:

Applying the wrong social insurance bracket. Especially in September when the standard remuneration is recalculated — if you got moved to the wrong bracket, your health and pension deductions will be off.

Failing to withhold resident tax when they should have started. Sometimes HR misses the year-change and starts charging it late, in which case they apply a “regularization” later.

Mishandling the year-end adjustment (年末調整). If you had family changes (marriage, child) and did not update the dependents form, the income tax withheld during the year may be higher than it should — you will get a refund in the December adjustment, but not if the company makes a mistake.

Forgetting your voluntary deductions (iDeCo, private insurance, One-Stop Furusato Nōzei donations) when preparing the annual adjustment.

The simplest way to detect errors is to compare your pay slip with the result from the net salary calculator. If the calculator gives you one net and your slip gives you a very different one (more than ~¥3-5k difference), it is worth reviewing carefully. The calculator does the same calculations as the company but from your declared situation — if they differ, either your real situation is different or there is an error.

The bonus (賞与): why does it not appear on this pay slip?

If you work for a typical Japanese company, in addition to the 12 monthly pay slips you receive two bonuses a year (賞与, shōyo): one in summer (June-July) and one in winter (December).

The bonus is a separate chapter because:

• It is not always guaranteed. Some companies promise “around X months of base salary” but the actual figure depends on the year’s results
• It is calculated differently. It has its own pay slip, its own deductions (it also carries social insurance and income tax), and its own line in the annual tax adjustment
• It can be a huge part of total salary. At traditional Japanese companies with “low base salary + high bonus,” the bonus can equal 4-6 months of salary per year

When comparing two offers, always confirm:

1. How many months of bonus are typically paid?
2. Is it guaranteed or results-based?
3. What counts as “annual salary”? Some offers say “annual ¥10M” including expected bonus, others say “annual ¥7M + bonus,” others just say “monthly ¥600k.” Always ask for the breakdown.

Things that surprise new arrivals

A few cultural details worth remembering:

Your first year your net is very high. With no resident tax, your net-to-gross ratio can be 78-80%. The second year it drops to 70-72%. Many people feel it as a “cut” but this is the normal pattern.

Overtime is a significant part of total pay at many companies. If you work somewhere where you do 20-40 overtime hours a month, overtime can represent 15-25% extra on top of your base salary. This is good (more money) but dangerous (depending on overtime to make ends meet).

Base salary is what counts for everything that matters. Bonus, pension, severance pay — everything is calculated on the base. An offer of ¥400k base + ¥100k allowances is worse than an offer of ¥500k base with no allowances, even if the “total” is the same.

Commute allowance is genuinely tax-exempt. It is not just an accounting trick — it really does not count as income up to ¥150,000/month.

You can recover part of your pension if you leave Japan before 10 years. Do not lose it through ignorance.

How to tackle your own pay slip

A small note before the practical advice: when we arrived in Japan 16 years ago, it was still normal to receive your pay slip on paper, inside an envelope, handed to you in person by the department head every 25th of the month. It was a monthly ritual with its own quiet weight. In the last few years that has disappeared at most companies — almost everyone now receives the slip as a PDF on an internal app or web portal. The change is practical (you cannot lose it) but also a bit impersonal. If your company still hands you the slip on paper, keep it carefully: in a few years it will be a rarity.

If you are receiving pay slips you do not fully understand, my suggestion:

1. Print your most recent pay slip (or open it large on screen). It is easier to review carefully.
2. Go through this article concept by concept and mark the ones that appear on yours. Probably most of them match.
3. Compare the numbers with the Japan net salary calculator. If everything matches within a reasonable margin, perfect.
4. If it does not match, identify what the difference is. It is usually one of three reasons: your standard remuneration is different from what you assumed, there is an allowance you are not factoring in, or there is a deduction you do not remember (iDeCo, corporate pension plan, private insurance).

Once you understand your slip, opening it each month stops being a black box. You know where each figure comes from, and if something changes (in June, in September, when you turn 40), you understand why.

Frequently asked

Why is the pension deduction so high? It seems excessive.

The combined 18.30% (9.15% employee + 9.15% company) is the largest of the social insurance contributions. It is high because the Japanese pension system is under demographic pressure — more retirees and fewer workers contributing. The contribution has risen gradually. The good news is that the system is reasonably generous to anyone who contributes the minimum (10 years to qualify for something), and international totalization agreements allow you to combine years of contribution.

Can my company refuse to give me a pay slip?

No. Japanese law (所得税法施行規則 art. 100) requires the company to issue you a pay slip. If you do not receive one, you can formally request it from HR.

Why is my net different some months even though I worked the same?

Three main reasons: change in overtime, social insurance recalculation (in September), resident tax recalculation (in June). If none of those apply, check voluntary deductions.

Does the bonus have the same deductions as the salary?

Yes, but with slightly different rates applied to the bonus base, not to the monthly one. The bonus income tax is calculated using a specific table (賞与に対する源泉徴収税額の算出率の表). In broad terms: you lose a similar amount (~28-30%) to social insurance + bonus income tax.

What happens to my pay slip if I leave Japan?

If you leave at the end of the fiscal year (after December 31), your declarations will close in order. If you leave mid-year, there are reconciliations to do: the year-end adjustment (年末調整) must be done before you leave, not at year end. For resident tax, the current-year figure is paid in advance or you appoint a 納税管理人 to pay it for you.

My company gives me the pay slip in an app. How do I save it?

Recommended: each month download the PDF and save it. If at some point you have to file 確定申告 (annual tax return) or check historical errors, the physical pay slips are essential. Apps sometimes only keep the last 12 or 24 months.

Can I refuse to pay 厚生年金 if I do not plan to retire in Japan?

No. The contribution is mandatory as long as you are a salaried worker in Japan. What you can do is apply for the lump-sum withdrawal payment when you leave (if you have less than 10 years of contributions) or use international agreements if your home country has one with Japan.

A note on this article

The tax data and percentages used (9.98% health in Tokyo, 18.30% pension, 0.6% unemployment, etc.) correspond to fiscal year 2026 verified with official sources (国税庁, 全国健康保険協会, 厚生労働省). The example pay slip numbers are consistent and verified, but your actual pay slip may have variations depending on your prefecture, your health insurance plan (some large companies have their own 健康保険組合 with different rates), your seniority, or your family circumstances. For your personal calculation, use the Japan net salary calculator. If your pay slip differs significantly from what you expect, the most sensible thing is to ask HR or consult a 税理士.