With childbirth and childcare, there is a lot of money you can receive, and most of it is "tax-free." The lump-sum childbirth allowance of ¥500,000, the maternity allowance during maternity leave, the benefit during childcare leave (from 2025, up to 28 days at "100% of take-home pay"), plus exemption from social insurance premiums and the child allowance. This article gives a full overview, in chronological order, of the money you can receive, the tax and social insurance treatment, and the points to watch for the medical expense deduction on childbirth costs.
① Lump-sum childbirth allowance: ¥500,000 per child (from health insurance. The direct payment system, in which it is paid directly to the hospital, is the mainstream).
② Maternity allowance: during maternity leave (42 days before and 56 days after birth), roughly two-thirds of your salary.
③ The childcare leave benefit is 67% for the first 180 days, and 50% thereafter. In addition, with the post-birth leave support benefit (+13%) that started in April 2025, if you meet the requirements, for up to 28 days it is 80% = combined with the social insurance exemption, about 100% of take-home pay[Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare].
④ During maternity and childcare leave, social insurance premiums (health insurance and employees' pension) are exempt for both the individual and the company. Your future pension is treated as if the premiums had been paid.
⑤ ① through ③ are all tax-free (no need to report them on your tax return or year-end adjustment). Childbirth costs are eligible for the medical expense deduction, but the ¥500,000 lump-sum allowance is subtracted in the calculation.
The "money you can receive" in chronological order
| Timing | System | Amount guide | Tax |
|---|---|---|---|
| At childbirth | Lump-sum childbirth allowance (health insurance) | ¥500,000 per child | Tax-free |
| During maternity leave (42 days before + 56 days after birth) | Maternity allowance (health insurance / employees) | 2/3 of the standard daily wage × days taken off | Tax-free |
| During childcare leave | Childcare leave benefit (employment insurance) | 67% up to 180 days / 50% thereafter (with a daily cap) | Tax-free |
| Right after the child's birth | Post-birth leave support benefit (from April 2025) | +13% (up to 28 days) → 80% in total = about 100% of take-home pay[MHLW] | Tax-free |
| During childcare (ongoing) | Child allowance (expanded October 2024) | Under age 3: ¥15,000; age 3 to high-school age: ¥10,000; third child and beyond: ¥30,000 per month (no income limit) | Tax-free |
The trick behind "100% of take-home pay" is that (1) the 80% benefit is tax-free, (2) social insurance premiums are exempt, and (3) employment insurance premiums are also zero when the salary is zero — so it comes out to about the same as your usual take-home pay (about 80% of gross). The requirements are that you yourself take a total of 14 days or more of childcare leave during the target period (8 weeks for a person who did not take post-natal leave, 16 weeks for a person who did), and that your spouse also takes a total of 14 days or more within 8 weeks after the birth (there are exceptions on the spouse side)[MHLW leaflet].
How much is the maternity allowance: the two-thirds-of-standard-remuneration calculation, and the conditions for receiving it after you leave your job
The maternity allowance is worked out by first finding a "daily amount" and then multiplying it by the number of days you took off. The daily amount is the average of your standard monthly remuneration over the 12 months up to the start date, divided by 30, times two-thirds.
Daily amount
(Average of each standard monthly remuneration for the 12 months up to and including the payment start date) ÷ 30 days × 2/3[Kyokai Kenpo FAQ]
* The "payment start date" is the day the maternity allowance was first paid. The figure is rounded to the nearest ten yen at the ÷30 step, and to the nearest yen at the ×2/3 step[Kyokai Kenpo].
If you have been insured for less than a year, there are not 12 months to average. In that case the calculation uses the lower of the following two amounts[Kyokai Kenpo FAQ].
- (a) The average of the standard monthly remuneration for each consecutive month up to and including the month containing the payment start date.
- (b) The average standard monthly remuneration of all insured persons: ¥320,000 if the payment start date is on or after April 1, 2025 (¥300,000 if it is on or before March 31, 2025).
Worked example: a person with standard monthly remuneration of ¥300,000
¥300,000 ÷ 30 days = ¥10,000
¥10,000 × 2/3 = ¥6,667 (per day)
¥6,667 × 98 days (42 days before + 56 days after birth) = about ¥653,000
* Our own calculation. In practice the average over the 12 months up to the payment start date is used, and any salary paid during maternity leave is offset against the allowance.
The period covered is 42 days before and 56 days after birth (98 days before for a multiple pregnancy)
| Category | Period covered |
|---|---|
| Before birth | 42 days up to the date of birth (or up to the due date if the actual birth is later than the due date). 98 days for a multiple pregnancy |
| After birth | Up to the 56th day counting from the day after the birth |
| The day of birth itself | Counted in the pre-birth period |
| If the birth is later than the due date | The extra days are also covered (42 days before the due date + the days of delay + 56 days after birth) |
Within this range, the days covered are those on which you were away from work and received no salary[Kyokai Kenpo]. Health insurance treats a birth from the 85th day of pregnancy (4 months) onward as a birth, so stillbirths and miscarriages from that point are also covered[Kyokai Kenpo].
Three conditions for receiving it after you leave your job
Even if you leave the company, you can receive the maternity allowance for the period after that if you meet the following three conditions (continued benefit after loss of insured status)[Kyokai Kenpo FAQ].
1. You have been an insured person continuously for one year or more up to the day before you lose insured status (your last day of employment). Periods as a voluntarily continuing insured person do not count.
2. At the time you lose insured status, you are receiving the maternity allowance, or meet the conditions to receive it. If you leave while still on leave of absence, you continue to receive it after leaving.
3. You did not report to work on your last day of employment. If you do work that day, you cannot receive the allowance for the period from the following day onward.
Voluntarily continuing insured persons are not covered. A maternity allowance that was already running while you were employed can still be claimed, but no maternity allowance is paid for a birth that arises during the voluntary continuation period[Kyokai Kenpo, voluntary continuation]. The maternity allowance also covers the insured person only, not the birth of a dependent family member. It cannot be received together with the injury and sickness allowance; if the injury and sickness allowance is larger, the difference is paid as injury and sickness allowance[Kyokai Kenpo].
The childcare leave benefit goes from 67% to 50% on day 181
When maternity leave ends, the benefit switches to the childcare leave benefit under employment insurance. The amount is "daily wage at the start of leave × number of days paid × 67%," and it becomes 50% from day 181 of childcare leave onward. Days paid under the post-birth papa leave benefit (childbirth-time childcare leave benefit) also count toward the 180-day limit for the 67% rate[MHLW].
The daily wage used in the calculation is capped: the daily cap is ¥16,540 and the floor is ¥3,203 (figures applying up to July 31, 2027). The caps are revised every August 1, and the following amounts apply from August 1, 2026[MHLW][Prefectural labour bureau].
| Benefit (days paid) | From Aug 1, 2025 | From Aug 1, 2026 (current) |
|---|---|---|
| Childcare leave benefit (67%, 30 days) | ¥323,811 | ¥332,454 |
| Childcare leave benefit (50%, 30 days) | ¥241,650 | ¥248,100 |
| Childbirth-time childcare leave benefit (67%, 28 days) | ¥302,223 | ¥310,290 |
| Post-birth leave support benefit (13%, 28 days) | ¥58,640 | ¥60,205 |
The post-birth leave support benefit adds 13% on top of that 67%, for 80% in total. The top-up covers up to 28 days. You must take a total of 14 days or more of childcare leave during the target period, and your spouse must also take a total of 14 days or more within 8 weeks after the birth. There are seven exceptions under which the spouse's leave is not required: (1) you have no spouse (including certain cases where the spouse is missing); (2) there is no legal parent-child relationship between your spouse and the child; (3) you live apart because of violence by your spouse; (4) your spouse is not working; (5) your spouse is self-employed, a freelancer, or otherwise not an employed worker; (6) your spouse is on post-natal leave; or (7) your spouse cannot take childcare leave for a reason other than (1) to (6)[MHLW]. The drop that comes once the 28-day top-up ends is set out day by day in the 100%-of-take-home-pay period lasts only the first 28 days.
Exemption from social insurance premiums (quietly a big deal)
- During maternity and childcare leave, upon application, health insurance and employees' pension premiums are exempt for both the individual and the company. You apply to your employer, and the employer submits the "notification of a person taking childcare leave" to the Japan Pension Service[Japan Pension Service].
- Monthly premiums are exempt from the month containing the day childcare leave began through the month before the month containing the day after the leave ends. In other words, if you are on leave on the last day of the month, that month is exempt.
- Even if the leave does not cover the last day of the month, the month's premiums are exempt if you take 14 days or more of childcare leave within that same month (for leave beginning on or after October 1, 2022). The 14 days include weekends and other non-working days, but exclude days you were scheduled to work during the leave. If you take leave more than once in the same month, the days are added together[Japan Pension Service].
- Premiums on bonuses are exempt only if you take childcare leave of more than one consecutive month that includes the last day of the month in which the bonus was paid. Whether it exceeds one month is judged in calendar days, including weekends and other non-working days[Japan Pension Service].
- Post-birth papa leave (childbirth-time childcare leave) is also covered. And because the exemption period is treated as a period in which premiums were paid when your future pension is calculated, your future pension does not decrease[Japan Pension Service].
- After returning to work, if you apply for the "special provision for the standard monthly remuneration during the child-rearing period (child-rearing special provision)," even if your salary drops due to shorter working hours, your pension amount is calculated at the level before the drop. It is the leading example of a provision people forget to apply for, so check with your company's HR/labor staff.
- Self-employed people (National Pension Category 1) also have a 4-month exemption of National Pension premiums around childbirth (treated as full payment) (National Pension exemptions and deferrals). National Health Insurance also has reductions such as of the per-capita portion around childbirth.
Points to watch on taxes
- The benefits are all tax-free = they are not counted as income. In a year when your income dropped due to childcare leave, you can often become eligible for the spousal deduction or the special spousal deduction (benefits are excluded from income in the judgment. Spousal deduction). Even in a dual-income household, it is worth checking in the year of childcare leave.
- Childbirth costs are eligible for the medical expense deduction: regular checkups, transportation costs for visits, delivery and hospitalization costs, and so on. However, the lump-sum childbirth allowance (¥500,000) is subtracted as compensation in the calculation (the maternity allowance and childcare leave benefit are not subtracted). For details, see How to calculate the medical expense deduction.
- There is no dependent deduction for children under 16, but because the number of dependents affects the judgment of exemption from residence tax, filling in the "Matters concerning residence tax" section of your year-end adjustment is meaningful.
- Collection of the child- and childcare-support levy has begun from employees' salaries (as a funding source for the child allowance expansion and the like).
FAQ
Is tax charged on the benefit during childcare leave?
No. The lump-sum childbirth allowance, maternity allowance, childcare leave benefit, and post-birth leave support benefit are all tax-free, and there is no need to report them on a tax return or year-end adjustment. Because social insurance premiums are also exempt, even at a benefit rate of 80% your take-home pay comes to about 100% of your usual amount.
Can anyone get "100% of take-home pay," and for how long?
From April 2025, if the father takes 14 days or more of childcare leave within 8 weeks after the child's birth and the mother 14 days or more within 16 weeks, then for up to 28 days a 13% top-up is added to the 67% childcare leave benefit for a total of 80% (equivalent to about 100% of take-home pay). From day 29, it returns to 67% (up to 180 days).
Can I still receive the maternity allowance after leaving my job?
Yes, if you meet three conditions: (1) you have been an insured person continuously for one year or more up to your last day of employment (periods of voluntary continuation do not count); (2) at the time you lose insured status you are receiving the maternity allowance or meet the conditions to receive it; and (3) you did not report to work on your last day. If you do work on your last day, you cannot receive the allowance from the following day onward. Even if you become a voluntarily continuing insured person, no maternity allowance is paid for a birth arising during that period.
Can I include my wife (husband) who is on childcare leave in the spousal deduction?
In many cases, yes. Because the childcare leave benefit and maternity allowance are tax-free and not included in income, if her/his salary income for that year is ¥1,230,000 or less (from the 2025 tax year), she/he can be eligible for the spousal deduction, and up to about ¥2,010,000 or less for the special spousal deduction. Don't forget to declare it in the year-end adjustment.
Can childbirth costs be included in the medical expense deduction?
Yes. Pregnancy checkups, transportation costs for visits, delivery and hospitalization costs, and so on are eligible. However, the lump-sum childbirth allowance (¥500,000) is subtracted from those childbirth costs as compensation in the calculation. The maternity allowance and childcare leave benefit do not need to be subtracted.
Data sources
- Post-birth leave support benefit (13% top-up, up to 28 days, requirements): Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare leaflet (August 2025 revised edition) (in Japanese) / Same, system overview (in Japanese)
- Childcare leave benefit rates and caps (from August 1, 2026): MHLW / Hello Work, "Contents of childcare leave benefits and payment application procedures" (revised August 1, 2026) (in Japanese) / Prefectural labour bureau leaflet, "The payment limits change from August 1, 2026" (in Japanese)
- Maternity allowance calculation, period covered, and continued benefit after leaving a job: Japan Health Insurance Association (Kyokai Kenpo), Maternity allowance (in Japanese) / Same, FAQ (in Japanese) / Same, Voluntary continuation (in Japanese)
- Social insurance premium exemption during maternity and childcare leave: Japan Pension Service, Procedures when an employee takes or extends childcare leave (in Japanese) / Same, Exemption of employees' pension premiums (maternity and childcare leave periods) (in Japanese)
- Medical expense deduction and childbirth costs: National Tax Agency No.1124 Specific examples of childbirth costs eligible for the medical expense deduction (in Japanese)
* The benefit caps and procedures depend on the operation of the health insurance and employment insurance you belong to. This article is general information; for whether a specific payment applies, please check with your employer, insurer, or Hello Work.
