Tax rate of expat pilots in Japan

[fgw]

Hello guys. I've got recommended job for Air Peach.
Before I process, I'm really curious for pilot tax in Japan.
I searched previous postings but those are more than 10 years ago.
Anybody currently working in Japan would kindly explain the tax?
Someone said there are big amount of return when you resign or retire.
If anyone can clarify how it works, it will be much appreciated.
Thank you safe flight.

[A321drvr]

I think you'll still be a resident when working for Peach, taxed like a local, except first year when there's no residency tax. The only non-res contracts in Japan are AirJapan 787 and JAL 777FO atm.

[Flappo]

Originally Posted by fgw

Hello guys. I've got recommended job for Air Peach.
Before I process, I'm really curious for pilot tax in Japan.for 50
I searched previous postings but those are more than 10 years ago.
Anybody currently working in Japan would kindly explain the tax?
Someone said there are big amount of return when you resign or retire.
If anyone can clarify how it works, it will be much appreciated.
Thank you safe flight.

33% over the income plus national and prefectural taxes ( those ones are flat rate but as almost everything in Japan, increasing). Japanese Yen is plummeting right now so, for Peach, : 420,000 basic + 700, 000 ( 50 hours guaranteed) = 1,120, 000 JPY ( 7,242.46 usd) before taxes. There are some credit hours meaning, they will pay you a little bit more per hour depending on how many hours you fly per month. Anyway the more you make the more you´re taxed. First year, taxes are more relaxed because is a yearly tax and you havent been there that long but it will hit you back the second year. As far as I know there is no protection against the JPY devaluation and rightfully so since you will sign a contract in JPY not USD.
Cheers.

[ThunderLizard]

You'll lose about 1/3 to tax

[fgw]

Originally Posted by Flappo

33% over the income plus national and prefectural taxes ( those ones are flat rate but as almost everything in Japan, increasing). Japanese Yen is plummeting right now so, for Peach, : 420,000 basic + 700, 000 ( 50 hours guaranteed) = 1,120, 000 JPY ( 7,242.46 usd) before taxes. There are some credit hours meaning, they will pay you a little bit more per hour depending on how many hours you fly per month. Anyway the more you make the more you´re taxed. First year, taxes are more relaxed because is a yearly tax and you havent been there that long but it will hit you back the second year. As far as I know there is no protection against the JPY devaluation and rightfully so since you will sign a contract in JPY not USD.
Cheers.

Thanks for the details.
However, the last offer package I received was the exchange rate protection of 10000yen per 1 yen if lower than 100yen to 1 dollar.
Get 200000 yen for travel. Seems little better now.
If you pay tax for 33%, I believe it includes national health insurance and pension. Am I right?
Do you have any idea how much do you get pension after you resign?
Thanks in advance again.

[A321drvr]

A friend left Japan recently and still in the process of getting his pension payments back. It's not as easy as it seems: he had to appoint a firm doing this for him in absence as it takes 6+ months apparently. He is hoping getting back the last 3 years minus taxes and another 10% or so fees paid for the service.

[Flappo]

Originally Posted by fgw

Thanks for the details.
However, the last offer package I received was the exchange rate protection of 10000yen per 1 yen if lower than 100yen to 1 dollar.
Get 200000 yen for travel. Seems little better now.
If you pay tax for 33%, I believe it includes national health insurance and pension. Am I right?
Do you have any idea how much do you get pension after you resign?
Thanks in advance again.

Then we have different terms and conditions. In any case, JPY now, like in right now, is 155.7, so it is well below 100; you would need 155.7 JPY to buy one USD. The 100ish JPY per USD is not happening since 2019-2020.

Reading the brochure sent to me by the agency it doesn´t mention any protection regarding JPY devaluation (T&C´s updated from Jan 24) I will have a chat with the agent and ask for clarification.

About the pension, well that´s a complicated one so I will try to make it short. To get the full pension you need to contribute to the JPS 40 years, if less, the pension will be adjusted accordingly, the full pension is 816,000 JPY/ for this year 2024 (that amount seems to be variable ). The monthly contribution is 16,980 jpy ( fiscal year 2024). Whether this amount is coming from your gross salary or is paid by the pilot from the net salary I really don´t know ( it could be both since the JPS website states that they will send you an invoice and you can pay your contributions in banks, coonvenience stores and so on ).http://www.nenkin.go.jp/internationa...ion.html#cms04
From the information I have:
"Tax, Licence & Insurance
Withholding Tax:
Paid by the pilot (Income Tax, Local tax, etc. shall be deducted from net salary.There will be adjustments based on actual total amount of payment through the year.Employee Health Insurance/National Pension

Half paid by the company and half paid by the pilot. (Pension and social insurances shall be deducted from gross salary. There will be adjustments based on actual total amount of payments through the year).

Loss of Licence Insurance

50% of monthly salary is covered until 60 years of age by the insurance company. Additional coverage is available at pilot’s expense.

Medical/English Licence

Initial fee at candidates own expense. Renewal fee paid by the company. "

When you leave Japan:
"Lump-sum Withdrawal Payments (Exclusively for Non-Japanese Citizens)

If you are not a Japanese citizen and you had resided in Japan and had been covered by the Japanese pension system for a short time, you can claim the Lump-sum Withdrawal Payments within two years after your departure from Japan. You can claim the Payments if you have at least 6 months of coverage periods* as a Category Ⅰ insured person under the National Pension system and you have not been eligible for pension benefits.

* Contribution-exempted periods are proportionally calculated: We count 1/4 of your coverage periods (months) exempt from 3/4 contribution payment, half of your coverage periods (months) exempt from half contribution payment, and 3/4 of your coverage periods (months) exempt from 1/4 contribution payment."

You can get more information regarding the Pension in the link I posted above
For the taxation over income and so on you can check this;
www.nta.go.jp/english/index.htm


And that´s all the information I got by now.
(I´ll have a word with the agent and ask about that exchange protection and so on. It would be really helpful if someone currently working there give us some more accurate information)

Cheers.

[Qwark]

You are over thinking it. Nobody actually understands the make up of the salary, various allowances and tax system. Even if you do your actual take home salary will be out of your control. It’s directly proportional to monthly flight time which is in the hands of the rostering dept. if you do 50 hrs a month then salary is not so good. If you do 80-90 hrs in a months then salary is good. Simply put dont go to Japan just for the money. Do it if you are after an adventure, willing to fit in, and looking to do something different for a few years.

[A321drvr]

Exactly. Friend of mine just couldn't make it work: they didn't feel that they're a good fit with the missus, kids' private school was expensive, eur/yen exchange rate hit them hard. Another guy i know is having a blast for over 5 years now. Couldn't care less about the money (granted, missus has a good job), or progress in his career (apparently it's difficult to become an instructor, management and becoming a checker is unheard of as a foreigner). Thinking of part time to enjoy what the country could offer. Visited both of them last year. It's all about one's attitude and a seriously tuned down expectation when it comes to money and career progression.