Salary
As a full time ALT, your gross salary will depend on the contract brokered between our company and the different boards of education we deal with. In general, we aim for a gross salary of between 230,000 and 250,000 yen per calendar month. National income tax and employment insurance is automatically deducted each month; however, city tax and health insurance are not. National income tax is around or less than 10% of your monthly salary.
Unlike most Japanese businesses, your salary is deposited into your account on the last day of the month. When payday falls on a weekend or national holiday, the salary is deposited into the account on the previous business day. If you begin the contract at an irregular time (ex mid month), your first salary will be prorated to the amount of days worked in that month. (Amount per month divided by days worked.)
You will need a bank account from a Japanese bank when you begin working. If you require assistance opening an account, we will be able to help you to ensure that your salary is deposited without any issuses. More information about banking will be provided to you during orientation.
Allowances
Generally, all work-related expenses and work-related transport expenses are the responsibility of the ALT. We also do not reimburse employees for flights to or from your home country. In some cases, depending on where you are living and working, as well as the type of position, an additional allowance may be negotiated. Work-related expenses may include school lunch fees, school social events and dinners, and office expenses.
Taxes
In Japan, there are a few types of tax you will have to pay. The three main taxes are consumption, income and residence tax.
A 8% consumption tax is charged on all purchases, this is generally added to the sticker price at the point of purchase.
Income tax in Japan is determined by your status of residence, source of income, and total taxable income earned. It will be automatically deducted from your salary on the basis of expected earnings. For information regarding tax responsibilities in your home country while you are living and working in Japan, please contact the relevant tax authorities in your home country.
With few exceptions, all people in Japan pay a residence tax. You too are required to pay residence tax if you have been living or plan to live in Japan for more than one year. Therefore, if you are employed by a company, you will be required to pay. You should pay tax to the municipality or city in which you were living in the previous year. This residence tax can usually be paid quarterly. You are responsible for paying the residence tax, however we can arrange for it to be deducted from your salary on a monthly basis.
There are also taxes for owning cars and property, and we will be able to provide assistance with the payment paperwork if needed.
Health Insurance
All people living and working in Japan regardless of nationality are required to be enrolled in a Japanese government approved health insurance program. In most cases, you will need to be enrolled in Japan’s National Health Insurance (NHI) (Kokumin Houken) system. You will be responsible for enrolling in and making payments. NHI provides comprehensive coverage in the event of illness or injury. In most cases, 70% of the medical expenses will be covered by NHI, and the remaining 30% to be paid by you, the patient. Monthly premiums are based on your level of income in the previous year. So in your first year of employment, they may be quite low but expect them to increase if you continue to work in Japan longer than one year. We will provide more details about health insurance during your orientation period.
There is another health insurance program called Social Insurance (SI) (Shakai Houken). The basic 70/30 coverage scheme is the same. Some of our employees opt for this insurance however, the payment structure of SI is a little different to NHI and the monthly premiums are more expensive. We will be able to provide more information later if you are interested.
Employment Insurance
All people regardless of nationality working in Japan will automatically be enrolled in the Japanese employment insurance program. This provides you with insurance coverage in the event you become unemployed during your time in Japan. The numbers of days covered by unemployment insurance depends on the previous amount of time worked. And in most cases, the insurance only covers a three month term of unemployment. The monthly premium is around 1,500 yen per pay period and it will be automatically deducted from your salary.
If you have any questions regarding the above information, please do not hesitate to ask.