Hourly Wage → Annual Income & the “Walls”

In Japan, your annual income crossing certain thresholds (“walls”) triggers taxes or social-insurance enrolment. Enter your hourly wage and shift to convert it to annual income and see which wall you reach — and how many more hours of work until the next one.

Inputs

Hourly wage

JPY

2026 national average minimum wage is ~1,118 JPY

Hours per day

Actual worked hours, excluding breaks

Days per week

days

0–7

Commuting allowance / month

JPY

Tax-free; excluded from the income-wall test

Employer size

Converted income

Per day

6,600JPY

Per week

26,400JPY

Per month (excl. commute)

114,400JPY

Per year (taxable)

1,372,800JPY

Next wall you will hit

Spouse special deduction (1.50M)

127,200 JPY to go (about 115 hours of work)

Income walls — status

Resident tax (~1.00M)reached
Income tax / dependent (1.03M)reached
Social insurance (1.06M, large employer)reached
Social insurance (1.30M)reached
Spouse special deduction (1.50M)12.7万 to go

Estimate. For exact take-home and the spouse-deduction effect, see the take-home calculator. Commuting allowance is tax-free and excluded from the income-wall test (but may count toward the 1.30M social-insurance check at some employers).

The income walls explained

~1.00M JPY: resident tax (juminzei) generally starts.
1.03M JPY: the dependent line — affects whether a parent/spouse can claim you as a dependent.
1.06M JPY: at employers with 51+ staff, you must enrol in social insurance (health + pension).
1.30M JPY: regardless of employer size, you leave a family member’s social-insurance dependency.
1.50M JPY: upper limit for the full spouse special deduction.

FAQ

Q. I’m an international student — which wall matters most?: Students on a “Student” visa can work up to 28 hours/week with permission to engage in activities other than that permitted. Financially, the 1.03M line affects your tax and (if applicable) a supporter’s dependent deduction. Note the work-hour cap is a visa rule, separate from the income walls.
Q. Does the commuting allowance count?: Commuting allowance is tax-free (up to 150,000 JPY/month) and excluded from the income-tax and spouse-deduction wall tests. However, some employers include it when checking the 1.30M social-insurance line, so confirm with HR if you’re close.
Q. What happens right after I cross 1.06M / 1.30M?: You start paying health-insurance and pension premiums (~15% of pay), so take-home can temporarily dip — the “working-loss” zone. Earning clearly above the wall (e.g. 1.5M+) usually more than makes up for it.

Estimate for the 2026 tax year. Monthly income uses 52 weeks ÷ 12. See the Japanese version for more detail on each wall.