How to Read a Japanese Payslip: the 7 Deductions

The short answer: what a 300,000 yen monthly payslip looks like (Tokyo, FY2026, under 40, no dependents)

Note: health insurance uses the FY2026 rates of the Tokyo branch of the Japan Health Insurance Association, employment insurance the employee's share for general businesses, income tax the Reiwa 8 (2026) withholding tax table (Column A), and resident tax a guide figure for a single person on 4.2 million yen a year. Companies with their own health insurance society have different rates.

Three things are worth remembering here: the four social insurance premiums are a rate applied to a grade called the standard monthly remuneration, so they do not change straight away when you work more overtime; income tax is a monthly advance payment settled at the year-end tax adjustment; and resident tax alone is fixed on last year's income.

Inside the seven deductions: who takes what, on what, and how it is calculated

Workers' accident compensation insurance does not appear on your payslip, because the employer pays all of it. On top of matching the four social insurance premiums above, the employer pays 0.85% for employment insurance, a 0.36% child and childcare contribution, and workers' accident compensation insurance, so for someone on 300,000 yen a month the employer's share is about 49,000 yen a month. Together with the employee's share, social insurance comes to more than 90,000 yen a month. There is a table by income level in how much social insurance costs at each income level.

A calendar of the months when the withholding changes: June, October, April and turning 40

If it feels as though your take-home pay has fallen, start by checking the month against this table. In June it is almost always resident tax, and in October the social insurance grade. How resident tax is fixed is covered in how resident tax works and how it is calculated, and the link between April to June overtime and your grade in overtime in April to June raises your social insurance premiums for a year.

Five things worth checking on your payslip

1. Make sure income tax is not being withheld under Column B. Without the dependent deduction declaration, about 20,000 yen or more is taken on a monthly salary of 300,000 yen. Column B is normal at a second job you hold alongside your main one, but Column B at your main job means the declaration was never filed.
2. Work your grade back out of the health insurance premium. The health insurance premium divided by 4.925% (Tokyo) is your standard monthly remuneration. 14,775 yen gives 300,000 yen. If it is far from your actual monthly pay, that is the effect of April to June overtime or an interim revision (how to look up your standard monthly remuneration).
3. Check that the commuting allowance is not being taxed. Trains and buses are tax-free up to 150,000 yen a month, and a private car up to the limit for the distance. From April 2026 the limits widened for one-way distances of 65 kilometres or more, and a 5,000 yen allowance for parking fees was added (the tax-free limit for commuting allowances).
4. Check the resident tax figure against last year's withholding tax statement. See whether the annual amount on the resident tax notice delivered through your employer in June matches the monthly amount on your payslip times 12. If you made furusato nozei donations, check that they are reflected in the "tax credits" box of the notice.
5. Look for the year-end tax adjustment refund on your December (or January) payslip. It appears as a plus on a line such as "year-end adjustment over/under payment" or "year-end adjustment refund". In 2026 the higher basic deduction means bigger refunds than usual (the 1.04 million yen basic deduction runs through the 2027 tax year).

A bonus payslip works a little differently from a monthly one: no resident tax is withheld, and social insurance premiums are a rate applied to the bonus rounded down to the nearest 1,000 yen. That is sorted out in how much of a bonus you actually take home. For the annual totals, see how to read your withholding tax statement.

Frequently asked questions

Summary

• The deductions column on a pay slip lists seven items: health insurance, long-term care insurance, employees' pension insurance, employment insurance, income tax, resident tax, and the child and childcare support levy.
• For a monthly salary of ¥300,000 (Tokyo, under age 40), total deductions are about ¥65,800, leaving take-home pay of about ¥244,200.
• Social insurance premiums are calculated by applying a rate to the standard monthly remuneration. Income tax is a provisional monthly withholding reconciled at year-end adjustment, while resident tax is determined by the previous year's income.
• Payroll deductions change in June (resident tax), October (social insurance grade), and the month a person turns 40 (long-term care insurance premium begins).
• If income tax on a main job is withheld using the "Column B" (otsu-ran) rate, it usually means the dependent deduction declaration form was not submitted.

References (sources)

This article is based on the materials below. Rates change every year, so check them against the year on your payslip.

• Japan Health Insurance Association, FY2026 premium table (Tokyo branch) (the full and half shares of health insurance 9.85%, long-term care 1.62%, the child and childcare support levy 0.23% and employees' pension 18.3%)
• Japan Health Insurance Association, FY2026 prefectural premium rates
• Japan Pension Service, Employees' pension insurance premiums
• MHLW, Guide to the FY2026 employment insurance rates
• Children and Families Agency, The child and childcare support levy
• Japan Pension Service, Annual determination (the standard remuneration report)
• National Tax Agency, Withholding tax table for employment income (Reiwa 8 / 2026)

Note: this article is general information. Rates at health insurance societies and mutual aid associations, and resident tax amounts, differ case by case.