Family members of company employees and public servants can, if they meet the conditions, join health insurance with no premium burden (as dependents). Furthermore, a spouse is treated as a Category 3 insured person under the National Pension, so no pension premiums apply either. The key is income standards such as "an annual income under ¥1.3 million."
From April 2026, a new rule that judges based on the content of the employment contract began, and in October 2026 the so-called "¥1.06 million wall" (the monthly wage requirement of ¥88,000) was abolished (for how this overlaps with the minimum-wage hike, see the minimum wage and ¥1.06 million wall double reform).
Conditions for who can become a dependent
| Condition | Details |
|---|---|
| Relationship | A spouse (including a common-law spouse), child, grandchild, sibling, or a lineal ascendant such as a parent need not live together. Other relatives within the third degree of kinship must live together |
| Income standard | Annual income under ¥1.3 million (under ¥1.8 million for those aged 60+ or disability pension recipients / under ¥1.5 million for those aged 19 to under 23 [spouse excluded], from October 2025) |
| Income comparison | Living together: less than half of the insured person's income / Living apart: less than the amount of financial support sent |
| Other | Residence in Japan is the rule. Those covered by Later-stage Elderly Medical Care (age 75+) are not eligible |
"Annual income" is judged not on the past but on the "projected income for the next 12 months," and it includes, in addition to salary, commuting allowances, public pensions, unemployment benefits, injury and sickness allowances, and so on (roughly under ¥108,334 on a monthly basis). This point differs greatly from how income is calculated for tax purposes[Japan Pension Service (in Japanese)].
How does it differ from the tax dependent? (¥1.36 million vs ¥1.3 million)
| Tax dependent (spousal deduction, etc.) | Social insurance dependent | |
|---|---|---|
| Standard | Salary income ¥1.36 million or less (= total income of ¥620,000 or less; from the 2026 tax year. It was ¥1.23 million for 2025)[NTA] | Annual income under ¥1.3 million (projected) |
| How income is counted | Actual results from January to December. Tax-free commuting allowances and unemployment benefits are not included | Projection for the next 12 months. Commuting allowances, unemployment benefits, and pensions are included |
| Effect of exceeding it | The deduction only decreases in stages (there is a special spousal deduction) | You leave the dependent status and pay premiums yourself (roughly ¥200,000–300,000 per year) |
The social insurance dependent is the one with the larger impact on take-home pay. The tax wall is gentle, but with the social insurance wall a premium burden arises the moment you exceed it. See the ¥1.06 million and ¥1.3 million walls for details.
Through the 2025 tax year the tax standard (¥1.23 million) sat below the social insurance standard (¥1.3 million), so the tax wall came first. From the 2026 tax year the tax standard rose to ¥1.36 million, so the order is now ¥1.3 million (social insurance) → ¥1.36 million (tax). As you raise your income, the first thing you hit is the social insurance wall, where premiums kick in all at once. Treat ¥1.3 million as the practical ceiling for "working within the dependent range."
If you enroll in your employer's social insurance: premiums are split half-and-half with the company, and your own burden for health insurance plus employees' pension is about ¥200,000 per year. Since you gain future employees' pension and injury/sickness allowances, it is not money thrown away.
If your employer does not enroll you and you take national health insurance plus National Pension: National Pension about ¥210,000 (in the ¥17,000-per-month range) plus national health insurance about ¥80,000–110,000 (varies by municipality and income) = around ¥300,000 per year.
* These are rough approximate guides. Confirm exact amounts with your employer and the municipality where you live.
Summary of the 2025–2026 system reforms
| Effective date | What changes | Effect on dependent status |
|---|---|---|
| October 2025 (in effect) | The income standard for those aged 19 to under 23 (spouse excluded) is eased to under ¥1.5 million[Japan Pension Service (in Japanese)] | Children of university-student age can remain dependents up to an annual income of ¥1.5 million. There is no requirement to be a student |
| April 2026 (in effect) | When income is from salary only, projected annual income is judged by the content of the employment contract | Even if actual results fluctuate due to temporary overtime and the like, it is easier to keep dependent status as long as the contractual annual income is under the standard |
| October 2026 (in effect) | The wage requirement (monthly ¥88,000) for short-time workers is abolished[Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (in Japanese)] | If you work 20 hours or more per week at an employer with 51 or more employees, you enroll in social insurance yourself regardless of income amount (= you leave the dependent status). The company-size requirement is also scheduled to be abolished in stages from October 2027 |
| October 2026 (in effect) | The premium adjustment program begins | If you newly join social insurance at an employer with 50 or fewer employees (standard monthly remuneration of ¥126,000 or less), the company can additionally bear part of your share of premiums, easing the drop in take-home pay for up to 3 years. Whether it is used is up to your workplace, so check with them (detailed guide) |
Procedures and cautions when leaving
- When joining: Submit a "Dependent (Change) Notification" through your employer within 5 days of the event occurring (for a spouse, the National Pension Category 3 notification is filed at the same time)[Japan Pension Service (in Japanese)]. Those with salary income need to attach a written notice of working conditions and the like (from April 2026).
- When leaving: If income exceeds the standard, or in cases of divorce, employment, and so on, promptly file a notification of removal. If left unattended, your eligibility may be revoked retroactively and you may be required to repay the medical expenses (the insurer-covered portion) for that period.
- After leaving: Either enroll in your own employer's social insurance, or switch to national health insurance plus National Pension (Category 1) (the switch must be within 14 days).
Summary
- Family members of company employees can join health insurance without paying premiums if their annual income is under ¥1.3 million (under ¥1.8 million for those 60 or older or receiving a disability pension; under ¥1.5 million for children aged 19 to under 23).
- Annual income is judged by the projected amount for the coming year, not past earnings, and includes commuting allowances, pensions, and unemployment benefits.
- This is separate from the tax dependent threshold (¥1.36 million). The ¥1.3 million social insurance wall comes first, and crossing it adds about ¥200,000 to ¥300,000 a year in premiums.
- From April 2026, eligibility is judged by the terms of the employment contract, and in October the ¥1.06 million wall (¥88,000 a month) is abolished. At workplaces with 51 or more employees, working 20 hours or more a week means the person must enroll themselves.
- When joining, submit the dependent (change) notification within 5 days. When leaving, switch to national health insurance and the national pension within 14 days.
Data sources
- Scope of dependents, income standards (¥1.3M / ¥1.8M, less than half), change notification: Japan Pension Service, procedures when making someone a dependent and when there is a change (in Japanese)
- Income requirement of under ¥1.5 million for those aged 19 to under 23 (from October 2025): Japan Pension Service announcement (in Japanese)
- Dependent certification by annual income based on employment contract content (from April 2026): Japan Pension Service announcement (in Japanese)
- Abolition of the wage requirement (monthly ¥88,000) (from October 2026) and staged abolition of the company-size requirement: Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, on the expansion of social insurance coverage (in Japanese) / Japan Pension Service, expansion of health insurance and employees' pension coverage for short-time workers (in Japanese)
* Depending on the health insurance society, there may be its own certification standards and attached documents. This article is general information, and for individual certification please confirm with the insurer you belong to.
