Temporarily Over 1.3 Million Yen: Employer's Certification

The short answer: a temporary rise lets you stay a dependent with an employer's certification, up to two consecutive times

Under the MHLW's Income Threshold Support Package, where annual income temporarily reaches 1.3 million yen or more because working hours were extended to cover a labour shortage, the employer certifies that fact and as a rule you can keep your dependent status for up to two consecutive times[MHLW]. The income check for health insurance dependents is normally done once a year, so in practice this covers up to two years in a row.

The decision rests with the health insurance provider of the spouse who claims you as a dependent (the Japan Health Insurance Association or a health insurance society). Even with a certificate, you can lose dependent status if the provider reads the content as describing something that is not temporary.

How to get the employer's certification: a signature from your manager on the form, then through your spouse's employer

1. Get hold of the form. The MHLW publishes a form titled "Employer's certificate concerning a temporary income fluctuation for the purpose of the income check of a dependent", and if the health insurance society or the Japan Health Insurance Association branch covering your spouse's workplace specifies its own form, use that one[MHLW].
2. Have your own workplace fill it in. The employer certifies the reason the income temporarily rose, such as overtime caused by a labour shortage, and that the rise is temporary.
3. Submit it to the insurer through your spouse's employer. You file it together with the proof of income at the income check (the annual dependent survey). The same applies when you are first certified as a dependent.

With the certificate you can stay a dependent even at 1.3 million yen or more, but going over again the following year for the same reason counts as the second time, and from the third time it cannot be used. "Two consecutive times" is counted by the number of annual income checks.

How much changes if you lose dependent status

Once you come off, you join the National Pension (17,920 yen a month in fiscal 2026) and National Health Insurance yourself. If your workplace is too small for you to join its social insurance, that cost comes straight out of your take-home pay.

For what the thresholds actually contain, and how this differs from joining your workplace's social insurance (the company pays half and your future pension grows), see the 1.06 million yen and 1.3 million yen thresholds; for the requirements to be a dependent for health insurance, see dependents under health insurance.

From October 2026: the 1.06 million yen threshold is gone and the order of the test has changed

In October 2026, the requirement of a monthly wage of 88,000 yen or more (1.06 million yen a year) was abolished from the conditions under which short-time workers join social insurance. What remains is 20 hours a week or more, an expected employment period of more than two months, not being a student, and an employer with more than 50 employees. As a result, the order in which you work out whether you can remain a dependent is now the following.

In other words, for someone working 20 hours a week or more at an employer with more than 50 employees, neither the 1.3 million yen threshold nor the employer's certification matters any more. Even on an annual income of 1 million yen you join social insurance, the premiums are split with the company, and your future employees' pension grows. The employer's certification still matters for people working at an employer with 50 employees or fewer, and people holding several jobs of under 20 hours a week each. For the October reform as a whole, see the double reform of the minimum wage and the 1.06 million yen threshold and the money changes from October 2026.

A separate matter from tax dependency

Everything above concerns dependency for health insurance and pension, that is, the social insurance thresholds. The spousal deduction and the special spousal deduction for tax use different criteria: salary income of 1.36 million yen or less for the spousal deduction, 1.69 million yen or less for the full special spousal deduction, tapering down until it disappears above 2.07 million yen. The employer's certification has nothing to do with the tax test. Even if you exceed 1.3 million yen temporarily and stay a dependent, once your salary is above 1.36 million yen the spousal deduction is out and the special spousal deduction takes over, so your spouse must enter an accurate estimate of your income in the year-end adjustment. For how the tax and social insurance thresholds line up, see the 1.06 million yen and 1.3 million yen thresholds.

Frequently asked questions

Summary

• Even if overtime or a busy season temporarily pushes annual income above 1.3 million yen, you can remain a dependent with a certificate from your employer.
• In principle, this can be used for up to two consecutive times. Permanent income increases — such as raises in hourly or base pay, or increased scheduled working hours — are not covered.
• Without the certificate, losing dependent status means an increased burden of roughly 300,000 yen a year in national pension and national health insurance premiums.
• From October 2026, working 20 hours or more a week at a company with more than 51 employees requires enrollment in the employer's social insurance regardless of annual income.
• The spousal deduction for tax purposes uses a separate standard. The employer's certificate has no bearing on the tax determination.

Reference links (sources)

This article is based on the materials below. Because insurers apply the dependency criteria differently, please also check with the health insurance contact at your spouse's workplace.

• MHLW, Income Threshold Support Package (smoother dependent certification through the employer's certification, up to two consecutive times, the certificate form)
• MHLW, Q&A on dependent certification based on the employer's certification
• Japan Pension Service, Expansion of health insurance and employees' pension coverage to short-time workers (the requirements from October 2026)
• National Tax Agency, No.1191 Spousal deduction

Note: this article is general information. The National Pension and National Health Insurance amounts are estimates and vary by municipality and age. For an individual decision, check with your spouse's health insurance provider or a pension office.