This is a translation of the Japanese original. The Japanese version is authoritative; figures follow Japanese tax law.
If you are 65 or over and live on a public pension alone, income tax is zero up to a pension income of 2.14 million yen[NTA: outline of the amendments]. The basic deduction (基礎控除) rose to 1.04 million yen from the 2026 tax year (令和8年分). Even so, less is left in your hand than you would expect. What weighs on you is not the tax. It is the insurance premiums.
For a single person in Tokyo's 23 wards with a pension of 1.8 million yen, about 163,000 yen a year is deducted at source. Of that, 85,000 yen is the long-term care insurance premium, and the income tax is zero. Start with the table below and find the row closest to your own pension.
The short answer: take-home pay by pension income (Tokyo 23 wards, age 65+)
Four things are taken from a pensioner: income tax, resident tax (住民税), medical insurance premiums and long-term care insurance premiums. The figures below are calculated for a person aged 65 or over in Nerima ward, Tokyo.
| Pension income (year) | Income tax | Resident tax | Medical premium | Care premium | Take-home | Burden rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single, 1.8m yen | 0 yen | 14,600 yen | 63,039 yen | 85,680 yen | 1,636,681 yen | 9.1% |
| Single, 2.4m yen | 0 yen | 63,100 yen | 159,119 yen | 104,160 yen | 2,073,621 yen | 13.6% |
| Single, 3.0m yen | 27,200 yen | 116,800 yen | 222,599 yen | 104,160 yen | 2,529,241 yen | 15.7% |
| Couple: husband 2.4m + wife 780,000 yen | 0 yen | 23,500 yen | 200,112 yen | 162,600 yen | 2,793,788 yen | 12.1% |
Calculated by this site, assuming ages 65 to 74 with National Health Insurance (国民健康保険). The rates are Nerima ward's published figures for fiscal 2026[Nerima ward: how NHI premiums are calculated], and the resident tax rates are those of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government[Tokyo Bureau of Taxation].
The ward's materials do not say how NHI premiums are rounded, nor whether the reduction reaches the per-person portion for children. The figures are to the yen and assume no reduction.
In every row the premiums exceed the income tax. For the single person on 1.8 million yen, more than 90% of the burden is premiums. When the pension rises by a factor of 1.67, the amount deducted rises by a factor of 2.88.
Income tax: zero up to a pension of 2.14 million yen, and anything over-withheld comes back automatically in December
If you are 65 or over and have no income other than your pension, no income tax arises up to 2.14 million yen. It is made up of the 1.1 million yen public pension deduction (公的年金等控除)[NTA No.1600] and the 1.04 million yen basic deduction for the 2026 tax year[NTA No.1199].
| Age | Public pension deduction | Basic deduction (2026 tax year) | Ceiling for zero income tax |
|---|---|---|---|
| 65 or over | 1.1m yen | 1.04m yen | 2.14m yen |
| Under 65 | 600,000 yen | 1.04m yen | 1.64m yen |
Source: National Tax Agency, "Outline of the amendments to withholding income tax"[the amount of public pension not subject to withholding]. The basis for the increase is the Ministry of Finance's tax reform outline[MOF outline].
The real line is higher than that. Premiums deducted at source can be claimed as the social insurance premium deduction, so even the single person on 2.4 million yen in the table above pays no income tax.
In 2026 pensions also get something like a year-end adjustment. The payer recalculates the full year's tax when it pays the December pension and returns anything over-withheld[NTA Q&A, Q5-1]. The recipient has nothing to file.
How long the 1.04 million yen figure lasts is set out in the basic deduction of 1.04 million yen runs only to the 2027 tax year.
Resident tax arrives before income tax, and the exemption line has three levels depending on where you live
The basic deduction for resident tax stays at 430,000 yen; it was not part of the increase. The gap against income tax is 610,000 yen. That is why resident tax reaches you even when income tax is zero.
Resident tax also has a separate mechanism called the exemption ceiling. Because the ceiling for the per-capita levy (均等割) tracks the grade-of-area classification (級地区分), the same pension can give a different answer depending on the municipality you live in.
| Number of dependents | Grade 1 (Tokyo 23 wards) | Grade 2 (Kashiwa) | Grade 3 (Yoshinogari) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 (single) | 1.55m yen | 1.515m yen | 1.48m yen |
| 1 | 2.11m yen | 2.019m yen | 1.928m yen |
The pension income at which a person aged 65 or over living on a pension alone becomes exempt from resident tax. Grade 1 uses Nerima ward's formula[Nerima ward], grade 2 Kashiwa city[Kashiwa city], grade 3 Yoshinogari town[Yoshinogari town]. The conversion from total income to pension income is this site's calculation.
Only the per-capita levy depends on the area grade. The ceiling for the income-based levy (所得割) is the same across the country: 1.55 million yen for a single person and 2.22 million yen with one dependent.
The timing is out of step as well. Resident tax is charged on the previous year's income, so resident tax alone can remain in the year after your income tax fell to zero. For the detailed conditions, see the conditions for a resident-tax-exempt household.
Premiums are the heaviest item, and from 65 there are two of them: medical and long-term care
Once you pass 65 you pay medical and long-term care premiums separately. Which medical scheme you are in depends on your age.
- 65 to 74: National Health Insurance (国民健康保険)
- 75 and over: the Medical Care System for the Latter-Stage Elderly (後期高齢者医療制度)
- Everyone 65 and over: a long-term care insurance premium on top
The National Health Insurance premium is the sum of an income-linked portion and a flat per-person portion. The base for the income-linked portion is total income less 430,000 yen[Nerima ward].
- Miscellaneous income = 1.8m yen - 1.1m yen = 700,000 yen
- Base income = 700,000 yen - 430,000 yen = 270,000 yen
- NHI premium = medical portion 44,077 yen + support portion 16,360 yen + children's portion 2,602 yen = 63,039 yen
- Long-term care premium (taxable person, bracket 6) = 85,680 yen
- Total 148,719 yen (income tax 0 yen)
Calculated by this site, using Nerima ward's fiscal 2026 rates (medical 7.51%, support 2.80%, children's 0.27%), its per-capita amounts and the 50% reduction.
At 75 the medical premium can fall. For a single person on a pension of 1.8 million yen, the latter-stage elderly premium is 54,600 yen[Tokyo Latter-Stage Elderly Medical Care Association], which is 8,439 yen less than under NHI.
The standard long-term care premium differs by municipality. The regional gap is compared in long-term care premiums from age 65 differ by more than 40,000 yen a year between municipalities.
The 2.11 million yen wall is not a tax wall. It is a long-term care premium wall
Pensioners talk about a "2.11 million yen wall". It is not about income tax. Whether every member of the household is exempt from resident tax is what moves the long-term care premium bracket.
Nerima ward's long-term care premium has 19 brackets around a standard amount of 80,040 yen[Nerima ward]. Household exemption creates these steps.
| Bracket | Who it covers | Annual amount |
|---|---|---|
| Bracket 3 | Everyone in the household exempt, taxable pension income over 1.2m yen | 49,680 yen |
| Bracket 4 | The person exempt, someone in the household taxable (same income 826,500 yen or less) | 58,440 yen |
| Bracket 6 | The person taxable, total income under 1.2m yen | 85,680 yen |
| Bracket 7 | The person taxable, total income 1.2m yen or more but under 2.1m yen | 104,160 yen |
Source: Nerima ward, "How long-term care premiums are set for people aged 65 and over"[Nerima ward].
Once the husband's pension passes 2.11 million yen, in a grade 1 area the household is no longer exempt. His long-term care premium moves from bracket 3 to bracket 7, a rise of 54,480 yen a year. His wife moves from bracket 3 to bracket 4 and pays 8,760 yen more.
Premiums are not the only thing that rises. The household also drops out of benefits conditioned on exemption, and out of the lower ceilings under the high-cost medical expense scheme. All of that at a pension level where not a single yen of income tax arises.
You cannot reduce your pension to avoid the wall. What you can do is claim every deduction you are entitled to. The medical expense deduction also counts towards the resident tax test.
The four things taken from your pension, and when
Deduction at source from a pension is called special collection (特別徴収), and what is taken when differs by scheme.
| What is taken | Main condition | Timing |
|---|---|---|
| Income tax | Over 2.14m yen at 65 or over, over 1.64m yen under 65. Rate 5.105% | Six payments in even-numbered months. Settled in December |
| Resident tax | Aged 65 or over as of 1 April, pension of 180,000 yen or more a year | Provisional in April, June, August; main in October, December, February |
| Long-term care premium | Pension of 180,000 yen or more a year. No deduction in the fiscal year you turn 65 | As above |
| NHI and latter-stage elderly premiums | Together with the care premium from the same pension, no more than half the pension | As above |
Sources: Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, "Special collection from public pensions"[MIC]; Nerima ward[Nerima ward: latter-stage elderly premiums]; National Tax Agency[NTA No.1600].
Provisional collection is an estimate based on the previous fiscal year's annual amount. The difference is adjusted from the main collection in October. That is why the amount taken changes in April and in October.
The declaration of dependents for pension recipients (扶養親族等申告書) is widely misunderstood. The rate stays at 5.105% whether you file it or not[Japan Pension Service]. What changes is whether deductions such as the disability deduction can be taken.
Four things you can do now to protect your take-home
- File the declaration of dependents. If you have deductions and do not file it, they reach neither the withholding nor the next year's resident tax.
- Have the taxable spouse pay the exempt spouse's premiums by direct debit. Left as deduction at source, the social insurance premium deduction only attaches to the person themselves. NHI and latter-stage elderly premiums can be switched (the long-term care premium cannot).
- File a tax return if you have medical expenses or life insurance premiums. With a pension of 4 million yen or less and other income of 200,000 yen or less no return is required, but you may still file for a refund[NTA No.1600].
- Even when no tax return is needed, a resident tax return may be. The National Tax Agency notes this too. Check whether it applies to you in tax on pensions and the tax return.
The full Basic Pension for fiscal 2026 is 70,608 yen a month[Japan Pension Service]. Check your own pension amount and compare it with the nearest row of the table.
Common questions about pensions and premiums
My income tax is zero, yet a resident tax notice arrived. Is it a mistake?
It is not. The basic deduction is 1.04 million yen for income tax and 430,000 yen for resident tax, a gap of 610,000 yen. Resident tax is charged on the previous year's income, so the timing differs too.
I hear over-withheld income tax comes back in December 2026. Do I have to do anything?
No. The pension payer recalculates the full year's tax at the December payment and returns the difference. If there is no December payment, it is settled through a tax return.
Is the pension level for resident tax exemption 1.55 million yen everywhere?
No. For a single person aged 65 or over it is 1.55 million yen in a grade 1 area, 1.515 million yen in grade 2 and 1.48 million yen in grade 3. The ceiling for the per-capita levy tracks the grade-of-area classification under the Public Assistance Act.
Do premiums go up when I turn 75?
They can go down. In Tokyo, for a single person on a pension of 1.8 million yen, the calculation gives 54,600 yen under the latter-stage elderly system against 63,039 yen under NHI.
Reference links (sources)
- NTA No.1600, taxation of public pensions - deduction tables and the no-filing rule
- NTA No.1199, the basic deduction - 1.04 million yen for the 2026 tax year
- NTA, outline of the amendments to withholding income tax - 2.14m yen and 1.64m yen
- NTA, Q&A on the increase in the basic deduction - the December settlement
- Ministry of Finance, fiscal 2026 tax reform outline - add-on amounts and income bands
- MIC, special collection from public pensions - provisional and main collection
- Japan Pension Service, not filing the declaration of dependents - the rate does not change
- Japan Pension Service, pension amounts from April 2026 - fiscal 2026 amounts
- Nerima ward, when resident tax is not charged - grade 1
- Nerima ward, how NHI premiums are calculated - fiscal 2026 rates
- Nerima ward, setting long-term care premiums for people aged 65+ - standard amount and 19 brackets
- Nerima ward, premiums under the latter-stage elderly system - conditions for deduction at source
- Kashiwa city, people not charged individual resident tax - grade 2
- Yoshinogari town, taxable and exempt individual resident tax - grade 3
- Tokyo Latter-Stage Elderly Medical Care Association, premiums - per-capita and income-based rates
- Tokyo Bureau of Taxation, individual resident tax - per-capita levy and rates
Amounts are this site's own calculations based on the primary sources above. The actual amounts are set by your municipality.
