💴 お金・税金・保障
What Are "Deductions" on Your Payslip?
The real story behind the money taken out for insurance and taxes
📖 7分で読める📅 2026-04-25
"I thought ¥250,000 a month would be plenty. But when I saw my payslip, I didn't understand what I was looking at."
Ari (23) from Surabaya, Indonesia was hired by a company in Tokyo in October 2023. When she told her family, they were overjoyed: "We can help pay for your younger brother's school fees."
Payday arrived. She opened her banking app.
¥196,843.
She expected ¥250,000 — why was it under ¥200,000? She asked HR, and they said "It's all on your payslip." The payslip was filled with words she didn't know: health insurance premium, employees' pension premium, employment insurance premium, income tax, resident tax. A total deduction of ¥53,157.
She did the math.
Take-home ¥196,843, minus rent ¥52,000 (share house in Kanagawa, utilities included), food ¥25,000, phone ¥3,000 (MVNO), daily expenses ¥5,000 — about ¥112,000 left.
She'd calculated she could send about ¥60,000–¥70,000 a month. Less than she hoped. But when her mother in Surabaya asked, "You're getting ¥250,000 — why can you only send that much?" Ari couldn't find the words to explain over the phone.
"Getting ¥250,000 — why can I only send ¥60,000–¥70,000?" Understanding this gap requires knowing how taxes and insurance are deducted from your salary. The names sound complicated, but once you understand how they work, you can avoid losses. Here's a breakdown into three categories.
Three types: health insurance, employees' pension, and employment insurance. Together, about 14–15% of your salary is withheld. Importantly, your company pays the same amount on top of your deduction. This makes hospital visits cheaper, provides unemployment benefits, and when you leave Japan — you can reclaim up to 5 years of pension contributions as a lump-sum withdrawal.
A national tax applied to your monthly salary. The rate increases with higher income (progressive tax), and it's automatically adjusted at year-end (nenmatsu chosei). If medical expenses exceed ¥100,000 per year, or if you use furusato nozei (hometown tax), a tax return may get some money back.
Year 1: zero. Year 2: a sudden increase — that's resident tax's defining feature. It's a local tax calculated based on the prior year's income, deducted in 12 installments starting in June of the following year. Ari was also surprised in year 2 when her take-home suddenly dropped. This was why.
Amount withheld
~14–15% of salary
Varies by income (2–10%)
Fixed: prior-year income ÷ 12
Company contribution
Yes (equal amount)
No
No
Benefits
Reduced medical costs, unemployment benefits, pension
Auto-adjusted (year-end)
Funds local infrastructure
Key point for foreigners
Refund available on departure (lump-sum withdrawal)
Possible refund via tax return
Watch for sudden increase in year 2
💡 知っておくべきこと
Social insurance may feel like a loss, but your company pays the same amount on top. In effect, about 30% of your salary goes toward insurance and tax — but you're not covering all of it yourself.
🎯 あなたのケースは？
My take-home in year 1 is higher than expected
→ Resident tax doesn't start until June of the following year. Set aside ¥10,000–¥20,000 each month.
Planning to return home in a few years
→ You can reclaim up to 5 years of pension contributions as a lump-sum withdrawal. Be sure to apply after leaving Japan.
Had high medical expenses or used furusato nozei this year
→ A tax return (deadline: March 15) may get some income tax refunded.
"How much will I actually take home?" You can't know without putting in your real numbers. Use GloJob's take-home simulator to check your net pay after social insurance and taxes — in about 1 minute.