Hello everyone!
I got a job at an international kindergarten in Tokyo as a substitute homeroom teacher. I accepted the offer and currently waiting for my COE, if things go well I will be moving in march 2023. Even though I did a lot of research about this, I wanted to hear some comments from you as well. I hope some of you guys can help me with my questions.
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\- They will enroll me in **Unemployment Insurance** and **Workers Compensation Insurance**.
\- **Income tax** and **Social Security (Health&Pension)** will also be deducted from my salary.
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With this information,
* what would be my net salary after tax? with 265,000 yen before tax, should I expect it to be under 200k after taxes/deductions? how much of my salary can i expect to take home?
* do you think it is a good starting salary? this will be my first job in japan, keep in mind that i don’t have much experience and i am not a native english speaker. I will definitely look for better teaching jobs in the future and aim for higher salaries. but for now I am content with this job. I’m just looking for answers salary-wise.
Thank you in advance!
edit: (my pronouns are she/they.)
24 comments
You should have around 200-215k left after taxes and deductions (~20%)
In context that’s about 200,000-220,000yen 1400USD after taxes and wellfare payments. So near the poverty line based on Japan’s classification. The worst part is unlike a new grad who makes the same your salary in English teaching will not got up much if at all.
In a rural areas you could have enough to live decently alone but would probably be difficult in a place like Tokyo where rent would eat up a good chunk. It won’t be comfortable living and would be hard for you to have a family or even meet someone for that matter.
Unfortunately English teaching salary has continued a downward spiral.
It’s OK to live on as a single person in Tokyo if you are careful with money. Check to see if there are bonuses.
Re “starting salary” – English teaching doesn’t offer much career progression, so you shouldn’t expect your salary to rise much over time (indeed many positions are paying less than they used to, particularly when adjusted for inflation).
It’s 5 man more than I make as an ALT but I imagine you have a bit more responsibility than I do. Doesn’t sound terrible besides being in Tokyo. That much money would be pretty good in a rural area
The deductions are roughly 15%. On ¥265,000 per month you should net around ¥225,000. But as someone else posted, you will most likely be deducted less your first year here because the previous year you weren’t here to pay taxes so they assume your income was zero the previous year and their calculations are based off the previous years income.
If they deduct less than 15% then every pay day put away the difference and expect to pay a bigger tax bill come tax season. Don’t get surprised with a big tax bill and not be able to pay. It’s not a fun surprise.
Good, no..
Livable if single, sure.
That’s not very much for Tokyo. I live in Gunma on JET and I’m going paycheck to paycheck. Just a heads up.
In your first year you don’t pay tax – it rolls onto the next year.
That depends on a lot.
Do they have other benefits? (Do they offer housing? Do they pay for travel? Rent?)
Are you alone?
How much do you spend on food/clothes/activities?
If you are alone, you cook for yourself, and you don’t go out too much, then it is pretty good.
If they have added benefits like housing and what not, that goes right into saving.
If you don’t live alone, you are always eating out, and you go out a lot, you will find that the budget really doesn’t stretch that much.
Be wise with money and it will last longer.
Not good. But you can survive. I make
274,000 before tax and get maybe 220,000 after deductions. You can enjoy some what, but if you want to send money home, you’ll have some difficulty. Higher salaries for teaching is not very common. It seems to top at around 280,000 for entry level. You can do preschool at an international school and make much more. My wife is Filipino and worked at an international school and made more than 300,000. The work level is more than a teacher but the pay is good.
To get 265,000 as a first job from outside of Japan is better than most starting companies. I think roughly 240,000 is kind of the standard.
Can’t say your company will do the same, (but be prepared just in case) some companies require “mandatory teacher training” where you may be housed in temporary training accommodation. This isn’t free, and will be deducted from your salary throughout the year until it’s paid off. Same if they sell you a futon or something similar.
Also, your first paycheck (from my experience) arrives 2 months after beginning. So if you start halfway through the month for example, your first pay check will be less than full salary. Therefore bring some extra savings before you come to Japan just to help you get through the first few months.
Of course all companies operate differently, but it’s always better to be prepared for the worst.
Honestly, if you don’t have debt, 200,000 per month is do-able. You’re going to be looking at 35-50% of your take home being your mandatory expenses, but it’s doable.
I think as a single person 300,000 take home per month is way more flexible.
My wife and I are close to 300,000 apiece after taxes with double bonus pay twice a year and because we have no debt, I think our mandatory expenses are less than 20% of our take-home per month at the moment.
For the first year we lived entirely off of just her dispatch salary while I was doing specialized coursework. We made that work and I think we were at 60% living expenses to salary. Now we both are direct hire.
It’s way better in general to think of what you earn in portions, and where those portions need to go, rather than how big the number is itself.
220,000 yen a month goes further for a debtless single person in inaka, than 500,000 does for someone with debts/obligations to family etc. in ginza.
Let’s say you want to save money. Finding an apartment in the 50k to 70k yen range would be ideal. Look at neighbouring cities for apartments too if you have a commute allowance and don’t mind. After rent, utilities, cell phone, internet, groceries… along with taxes, I imagine you’d have around 120k yen left. Maybe even more. Of course, the first year you arrive, you won’t be taxed, so I’d recommend balancing good savings with fun. This will prepare you for the following years if you decide to stay. All in all, yes, you can live happily with 265k yen a month.
Edited to explain more in detail.
According to multiple 手取り計算 sites, your 手取り should be around 220,000 after taxes.
Health Insurance: 12,753
Pension (厚生年金): 23,790
Pension (国民年金): 16,590 (optional if above pension is paid through deductions)
Employment Insurance: 1,325
Withholding Tax: 5,780 (will be calculated based on current year’s income)
Resident Tax (住民税): 10,925 (will be deducted from June to May based on previous year’s income)
Total:
43,648 (year 1 with no previous income)
54,573 (from 2nd year based on previous year’s income)
Expect to end up with 210,427 from the second year’s June.
The first year’s tax would be lower as you haven’t worked for a full year to calculate. The Withholding Tax (Jan-Dec of current year, automatically deducted from salary and then recalculated at EoY) and Resident Tax (Jan-Dec of previous year and then taxed from June-May) will be added on from the 2nd year.
For new grads in Japan, it would be an OK salary, assuming that you don’t have a family to feed.
If you are the only source of income in the household with 3+ family members, it will be really difficult.
These are some of the deductions that you can expect each month with a salary of 265,000円.
a) Health insurance (# half of 9.9%): 13,118円
b) Nursing insurance (if you are age 40 and above; # half of 1.73%): 2,292円
c) Pension (# half of 18.3%): 24,248円
d) Unemployment insurance (0.3%): 795円
e) Income tax withholding: ~7,125円
Total deductions: ~47,577円
You would also need to set aside about ~26,500円 each month, to pay for your residence tax next year, which is about 10% of your income from this year.
That should leave you with about ~190,923円 each month. These numbers are based on Tokyo. It’ll probably be a little different for other areas, but it shouldn’t vary by too much.
(#) The other half is paid by your employer.
i support my wife with that salary
Should be 20% deductions after the first year
Yes
Yeah… it’s a run of the mill ‘graduate’ salary I think. You won’t be rich but if you’re a new graduate who’s just starting out then it’s average I think.
Where are you from? It’s $1900 USD a month. $22,800 USD a year (the yen’s low right now so that’s a little bit unfair but you get the gist). It’s a basic salary that will be enough for you to enjoy Japan for a year or two. New grads in Japan will get about the same.
Good is subjective. For a cretin, it would be excellent. That’s $1900 in US money or $21,600 a year. Horse shit!
For a first job in teaching, yes it’s okay. I do however find it a bit low for a gig at a kindergarten. Been a couple of years since I did that tho so things might have changed.
Well is only like 17000 us a year
Yes many Japanese people earn around that before taxes. Taking home ¥200,000 after tax. I have a friend who is Japanese with that salary. She’s doing good. Know your budget and don’t go over board
You can reduce your taxable income by opening an iDeCo.