Japan Dependent Spouse Income Limit Calculator — See how crossing the ¥1.06M, ¥1.1M, ¥1.3M and ¥1.6M dependent income limits (the "walls") changes household take-home pay
Enter a part-time salary and the main earner's income to see what happens to household take-home pay at each Japanese income wall: social insurance at ¥1.06M and ¥1.3M, resident tax at ¥1.1M, income tax and the spousal deduction at ¥1.6M. Updated for the 2025 tax reform that ended the ¥1.03M wall.
Enter the part-time salary and the main earner's salary to see how household take-home pay changes when you cross a wall.
Before you rely on thisThe figures here are estimates based on standard conditions. Social insurance rates depend on your insurer, prefecture and industry, and resident tax differs by municipality. Other dependents and deductions are not reflected. The rules keep changing: the extra basic deduction applies only through the 2026 tax year, and the salary test for the ¥1.06 million wall is due to be removed in October 2026. Before you change your working hours, check with your employer's HR department, your city office, the pension office, or a licensed tax accountant or labor and social security attorney.
Spouse Income Limit Calculator: tips and things to know
- The 2025 tax reform ended the famous ¥1.03 million wall. Income tax on a part-time salary now starts around ¥1.6 million when no social insurance is paid.
- The salary test for the ¥1.06 million wall is scheduled to be dropped in October 2026; after that, working 20 hours or more a week is what triggers enrolment.
- Joining social insurance cuts take-home pay now, but it raises your future pension and gives you sickness and maternity allowances.
- At ¥1.1 million or less you also pay no resident tax (the threshold rose from ¥1 million when the employment income deduction went up).
How to use the Spouse Income Limit Calculator
Enter the part-time salary
Type the part-timer's annual salary in yen or pick a preset near one of the walls.
Enter the main earner's salary
Type the annual salary of the spouse who claims the deductions.
Choose the employer size
Select whether the part-timer's employer has 51 or more employees, which decides whether the ¥1.06 million wall applies.
Read the result
Each wall is marked as crossed or not, followed by the part-timer's take-home pay, the spouse's extra tax, the household net gain and a chart by salary.
What the "income walls" are
In Japan, a married person working part-time can stay on their spouse's health insurance and pension as a dependent, and the spouse can claim a tax deduction for supporting them, as long as the part-timer's income stays under certain limits. Those limits are the "walls" (nenshu no kabe). Cross one and something changes: a tax starts, a deduction shrinks, or social insurance premiums begin.
Foreign residents on a spouse or dependent visa are subject to exactly the same rules, so the walls matter for anyone who works part-time while their partner is the main earner.
The ¥1.03 million wall no longer exists
The long-famous ¥1.03 million figure was the sum of the ¥550,000 employment income deduction and the ¥480,000 basic deduction. Above it, income tax started, so many part-timers capped their hours there.
The 2025 tax reform raised the minimum employment income deduction to ¥650,000 and increased the basic deduction. As a result the point where income tax starts moved up.
For the 2025 and 2026 tax years the basic deduction carries a temporary top-up, and the guide figure for someone paying no social insurance is ¥1.6 million. The top-up is a two-year measure, so from 2027 the guide figure is expected to fall back to ¥1.23 million.
The walls that exist today
Several different things are all called walls. Sorted by what they actually do:
- ¥1.06 million: enrolment in employee social insurance (health insurance and employees' pension), at employers with 51 or more staff and subject to other conditions. The biggest drop in take-home pay.
- ¥1.1 million: resident tax begins. The amount is small.
- ¥1.23 million: the spouse's deduction switches from the spousal deduction to the special spousal deduction. The amount stays at ¥380,000, so the household tax bill does not change.
- ¥1.3 million: you leave your spouse's social insurance regardless of employer size and must join National Health Insurance and National Pension yourself. A large drop in take-home pay.
- ¥1.6 million: the special spousal deduction starts to taper. Also roughly where your own income tax starts.
- About ¥2.01 million: the special spousal deduction reaches zero.
Only two walls really cut your take-home pay
The list looks intimidating, but the only walls where take-home pay visibly falls the moment you cross them are the two social insurance walls.
The tax walls only tax the portion above the line, a little at a time, so earning more never leaves you with less. Social insurance is different: once you enrol, roughly 15 percent of your salary is deducted all at once, which is why a higher salary can mean lower take-home pay.
Move the part-time salary in this simulator a little at a time and you will see household take-home pay dip clearly around ¥1.06 million (or ¥1.3 million).
The special spousal deduction tapers gradually
Above ¥1.6 million the special spousal deduction shrinks step by step. The steps are ¥50,000 apart, so at each step household take-home pay can dip slightly.
The dips are small, and another ¥100,000 of salary more than recovers them. They are nothing like the social insurance walls.
Note that the extra tax from the shrinking deduction is paid by the main earner, not the part-timer. The higher the main earner's income, the higher their tax rate, so the same lost deduction costs more.
What you gain by joining social insurance
Enrolling in social insurance is usually discussed as a loss, but it also buys you things.
Employees' pension raises the pension you will receive later. Sickness allowance when you cannot work and maternity allowance around childbirth are only available to members, not to dependents. Your employer pays half of the premiums.
It is easier to decide when you weigh how long you expect to keep this working pattern, not just this year's take-home pay.
The ¥1.06 million wall changes in October 2026
Today the ¥1.06 million wall applies when all of these hold: 20 or more hours a week, monthly pay of ¥88,000 or more, employment expected to last more than two months, not a student, and an employer with 51 or more employees.
The monthly-pay condition is scheduled to be removed in October 2026. After that, anyone working 20 hours or more a week at a covered employer will be enrolled regardless of annual salary.
In other words the question shifts from "how much can I earn" to "how many hours a week do I work". Planning your hours around the ¥1.06 million figure may stop working.
Sources
- National Tax Agency, "Revision of the basic deduction for income tax under the FY2025 tax reform" (令和7年度税制改正による所得税の基礎控除の見直し等について)
- National Tax Agency, Tax Answer No. 1191 (spousal deduction) and No. 1195 (special spousal deduction)
- Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, expansion of health insurance and employees' pension coverage to part-time workers (短時間労働者に対する適用拡大)
Spouse Income Limit Calculator FAQ
Is the ¥1.03 million wall really gone?
Yes. The 2025 tax reform raised the minimum employment income deduction from ¥550,000 to ¥650,000 and increased the basic deduction, so income tax no longer starts at ¥1.03 million. For the 2025 and 2026 tax years the guide figure for someone paying no social insurance is ¥1.6 million.
What is the ¥1.23 million wall?
It is the upper limit for the spousal deduction, now set at total income of ¥580,000 (a salary of ¥1.23 million). Above it the special spousal deduction takes over at the same ¥380,000, so the household tax bill does not change. It only starts to rise from ¥1.6 million, when the special deduction tapers.
What is the difference between the ¥1.06 million and ¥1.3 million walls?
The ¥1.06 million wall is where employees at companies with 51 or more staff must join employee social insurance if they meet the other conditions. The ¥1.3 million wall is where you leave your spouse's social insurance as a dependent regardless of employer size. The monthly-pay condition of the ¥1.06 million wall is due to be removed in October 2026.
When is it worth crossing a wall?
If your salary will go well past the wall, household take-home pay rises even after premiums and tax. Joining social insurance also raises your future pension and gives you sickness and maternity allowances.
Does it matter how much my spouse earns?
Yes. The higher the main earner's income, the higher their tax rate, so losing the spousal deductions costs more. The deduction amounts used here assume the main earner's total income is ¥9 million or less.
Do these rules apply to foreign residents?
Yes. Tax and social insurance rules are based on residence and employment, not nationality. A dependent spouse on a visa is treated the same as a Japanese dependent spouse.