This is a translation of the Japanese original. The Japanese version is authoritative; figures follow Japanese tax law.
Income tax starts coming out of a part-time wage at ¥105,000 a month. If the month's pay after social insurance premiums is ¥104,999 or less, nothing is withheld. The line was ¥88,000 through 2025, so it has risen by ¥17,000. The condition is that you have filed the Dependent Deduction Declaration (扶養控除等申告書) with your employer. Even if tax is taken, it all comes back in the December year-end adjustment when your annual pay is ¥1,780,000 or less.
The short answer: withholding starts once monthly pay after social insurance reaches ¥105,000
The National Tax Agency's withholding tax table (源泉徴収税額表) changed from January 2026. On the monthly table, Column A (甲欄) with no dependants, the ceiling for zero tax is under ¥105,000[NTA, 2026 monthly table].
What you look up in the table is the month's pay after social insurance premiums have been deducted. Commuting allowance is not included. An employer that has your declaration uses Column A; one that does not uses Column B (乙欄).
| Pay for the month (after social insurance) | Column A, 0 dependants | Column A, 1 dependant | Column B |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under ¥105,000 | ¥0 | ¥0 | 3.063% of pay |
| ¥105,000–¥107,000 | ¥170 | ¥0 | ¥3,800 |
| ¥119,000–¥121,000 | ¥890 | ¥0 | ¥4,300 |
| ¥129,000–¥131,000 | ¥1,400 | ¥0 | ¥5,300 |
| ¥135,000–¥137,000 | ¥1,710 | ¥0 (up to here) | ¥6,100 |
Source: NTA, monthly table for 2026. The table moves in steps of ¥2,000.
Where ¥105,000 comes from: an employment income deduction of ¥54,167 plus a basic deduction of ¥48,334
The basis is the "special rule for computerised calculation" (電算機計算の特例) attached to the tax table. For monthly pay up to ¥158,333, the employment income deduction is fixed at ¥54,167 and the basic deduction at ¥48,334[NTA, special rule for computerised calculation].
- ¥54,167 + ¥48,334 = ¥102,501 (the monthly pay at which the taxable part is still zero)
- On an annual basis: employment income deduction ¥650,000 + basic deduction ¥580,000 = ¥1,230,000 ÷ 12 = ¥102,500
- The table moves in steps of ¥2,000, so anything under ¥105,000 comes out at zero
Note: this is not an NTA worked example. This site applied the figures in the table.
For the same pay, up to ¥860 a month less than in 2025
Work the same hours and the withholding still fell from January 2026. At ¥100,000 a month it went from ¥720 to ¥0; at ¥120,000 from ¥1,750 to ¥890.
| Pay for the month | 2025 | 2026 | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| ¥90,000 | ¥230 | ¥0 | −¥230 |
| ¥100,000 | ¥720 | ¥0 | −¥720 |
| ¥120,000 | ¥1,750 | ¥890 | −¥860 |
| Ceiling for zero tax | Under ¥88,000 | Under ¥105,000 | +¥17,000 |
Source: NTA monthly table for 2026[NTA] and for 2025[NTA]. Column A, no dependants.
In 2026 the monthly and the year-end standards differ: ¥1,780,000 or less and it all comes back
This is what makes 2026 unusual. The NTA states plainly that "there is no change to withholding administration through November 2026"[NTA, outline of the amendments]. Monthly withholding still runs on a table built around ¥1,230,000 a year.
The December year-end adjustment, by contrast, is recalculated with the raised amounts. The minimum employment income deduction is ¥740,000 and the basic deduction ¥1,040,000, which together make ¥1,780,000. Annual pay at or below that leaves an annual tax of zero, and whatever was withheld comes back in the December pay.
- Monthly withholding ¥1,400 × 12 months = ¥16,800
- Annual pay ¥130,000 × 12 months = ¥1,560,000
- ¥1,560,000 − employment income deduction ¥740,000 = ¥820,000, and the basic deduction of ¥1,040,000 brings taxable income to zero
- Income tax for the year is ¥0, so the full ¥16,800 is refunded
Note: a calculation applying the deduction amounts in the outline of the amendments. The actual refund varies with the social insurance premium deduction and other items.
For anyone earning ¥1,780,000 or less a year, monthly withholding is only a loan that temporarily shrinks take-home pay.
No declaration means Column B: about ¥1,530 even on ¥50,000 a month
Column A or Column B is decided by one thing only: whether you filed the Dependent Deduction Declaration[NTA, No.2511]. Even with two or more jobs, the declaration can only go to one of them[NTA, filing the dependent declaration]. A second job is automatically Column B.
Column A (the one job with your declaration)
- Nothing withheld under ¥105,000 a month
- The zero ceiling rises with each dependant
- Work to the year end and December settles it up
Column B (an employer without your declaration)
- 3.063% of pay is taken even under ¥105,000
- Above that, the table's own amounts, higher than Column A
- No year-end adjustment; you settle up by filing a return
Here is how a second job looks.
- ¥50,000 × 3.063% = about ¥1,530 a month (¥0 under Column A)
- About ¥18,300 over a year. With no year-end adjustment, it comes back only if you file a return
Note: approximate, as we could not confirm how Column B rounds fractions.
File the declaration with whichever job pays more. How to fill it in is set out in how to write the Dependent Deduction Declaration.
Tick the working student box and the zero ceiling rises to ¥137,000
The instructions for the tax table say that if you are a person with a disability, a widow, a single parent or a working student, you add one to the number of dependants[NTA, how to use the tax table]. A student who enters the working student section on the declaration reads the Column A, one-dependant column.
The ceiling for zero tax then rises to under ¥137,000. At ¥130,000 a month, the ¥1,400 withheld each month disappears. It is one of the few cases where a single sheet of paper changes your take-home pay.
For 2026 the working student deduction (勤労学生控除) is available to those with employment income of ¥1,630,000 or less for the year[NTA, No.1175]. However, that increase takes effect on 1 December 2026.
Withholding administration from January to November runs on the pre-amendment standard (employment income of ¥1,500,000 or less). Anyone close to ¥1,630,000 may have the declaration refused.
Bonuses look at ¥82,000 the previous month, day work at ¥9,800 a day, and commuting allowance does not count
Other figures apply in other situations, separate from the ¥105,000 for monthly pay. Mixing them up is what makes people think "but it was supposed to be zero".
| Situation | Line for zero tax | Point to watch |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly pay (monthly table, Column A, 0 dependants) | Under ¥105,000 | Judged on pay after social insurance |
| Bonus or gratuity (Column A, 0 dependants) | 0.000% if the previous month's pay was under ¥82,000 | ¥82,000–¥94,000 gives 2.042% |
| Day work (daily table, Column C) | Under ¥9,800 a day | Unavailable beyond two months with the same employer |
| Commuting allowance | Tax-free up to ¥150,000 a month | Excluded from the tax table and from the annual income test |
Source: NTA, "2026 table of bonus withholding rates"[NTA], daily table[NTA][NTA, No.2582].
If you receive ¥110,000 a month including travel costs but ¥100,000 of it is hourly pay, the figure you look up is ¥100,000. Day work that suddenly starts being taxed at the end of the second month is the same story: Column C is no longer available.
Even with zero income tax, pay over ¥1,190,000 brings residence tax from June the next year
Residence tax runs on its own standard. Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications materials show the minimum employment income deduction reaching ¥740,000 only from fiscal 2027[MIC, fiscal 2026 local tax amendments]. The exemption line for a single person moves from ¥1,100,000 to ¥1,190,000.
Earn more than ¥1,190,000 in 2026 and residence tax arrives from June the following year[Tokyo Metropolitan Bureau of Taxation]. That is nearly ¥600,000 below the ¥1,780,000 line for income tax. A ¥130,000-a-month job gets all of its income tax back and still pays residence tax.
For fiscal 2026 (on 2025 income) the exemption line is ¥1,100,000 in grade 1 municipalities[City of Osaka] and ¥1,065,000 in grade 2 ones such as Kashiwa[City of Kashiwa]. Municipal guidance for fiscal 2027 is not out yet. How the bill arrives is explained in residence tax in your second year out of school.
Students claimed as a dependant by a parent face other ceilings too. The tax dependency line is ¥1,360,000, and the special deduction for specified relatives (特定親族特別控除) is paid in full up to ¥1,590,000 for university-age children. The details are in student part-time work and a parent's dependency claim.
Three ways to get the tax back: December, the day you leave, or a refund claim within five years
Withholding is a provisional figure. If you have overpaid, one of these three brings it back.
- Work to December and it is the year-end adjustment. Starting a job partway through the year still qualifies as long as you are employed at the year end[NTA, No.2665]. It is settled in the December pay.
- Leave during the year and it is the year-end adjustment on departure. You qualify if your total pay for the year at that point is ¥1,360,000 or less and you have no other job lined up[NTA, No.2665]. The figure used to be ¥1,030,000.
- Otherwise it is a refund claim. You have five years from 1 January of the following year[NTA, No.2030]. For 2026 income that runs to 31 December 2032. Column B tax from a second job is settled here as well.
That said, if the "withheld income tax" box on your withholding slip reads ¥0, there is no money to come back[NTA, No.2030]. If you left partway through the year and are not working, the steps are in filing a return while out of work.
Two things to do today. Look at the "income tax" line on your pay slip, and if it is not zero, check with your employer whether your declaration was filed. Students should also check that the working student box is not left blank.
Summary
- Income tax starts being withheld from part-time wages once monthly pay, after social insurance premiums, reaches ¥105,000 — up ¥17,000 from the ¥88,000 threshold that applied through Reiwa 7 (2025).
- This applies if you've submitted a dependent deduction form to your employer. Without it, a second job is taxed under "Column B" (otsuran), withholding about ¥1,530 even on ¥50,000 a month.
- Filling in the working-student section raises the zero-tax threshold to ¥137,000.
- Even if tax is withheld, it's fully refunded in the December year-end adjustment as long as annual income stays at ¥1.78 million or below. For mid-year job changes or multiple jobs, file for a refund within 5 years.
- Resident tax uses a different threshold: if Reiwa 8 (2026) income exceeds ¥1.19 million, resident tax applies starting the following June.
Reference links (sources)
- NTA, withholding tax tables for 2026 (monthly table, daily table, bonus rate table)
- NTA, special rule for computerised calculation (the basis for the zero-tax ceiling)
- NTA, outline of the amendments to withholding income tax (¥740,000 and ¥1,040,000)
- NTA, No.2511 Types of tax table and how to use them (Columns A, B and C)
- NTA, No.1175 Working student deduction (¥270,000 and the income requirement)
- NTA, No.2582 Commuting allowance (tax-free up to ¥150,000 a month)
- NTA, No.2665 Who is covered by the year-end adjustment (treatment partway through the year)
- NTA, No.2030 Refund claims (five years from the following year)
- MIC, fiscal 2026 local tax amendments (¥1,190,000 from fiscal 2027)
Note: the calculations are this site's application of the NTA tax tables and amendment materials. Fiscal 2027 residence tax follows the MIC amendment materials.
