What changes
When an employer provides housing, its value counts as remuneration for setting the standard monthly remuneration on which health and pension contributions are charged. The value is set by the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare per prefecture. A ministry notice of 17 March 2026 (Notice No. 94 of 2026) revised the values for meals from April 2026 and for housing from 1 October 2026.
Until 30 September 2026, housing was valued per tatami mat of living rooms only: entrance, kitchen, toilet, bathroom and hallways were excluded. From 1 October 2026 it is valued per square metre of the total floor area of the home, including those spaces. Storerooms or garages in a separate building and shared common areas are excluded. Any rent the employee pays is deducted.
The Japan Pension Service's Tokyo example: a flat with 16 tatami of living rooms and 40 square metres in total was valued at 45,280 yen a month; from October it is 53,200 yen. The rate used is the one for the prefecture of the employee's workplace, not where the housing is. Health insurance societies may have their own rules.
The Japan Pension Service treats the revision as a change in fixed pay, so it can trigger an occasional revision of standard monthly remuneration.
Who it applies to
Employers that provide company-owned or leased housing, or dormitories, to employees, including foreign subsidiaries housing assignees and senior hires. Tax valuation is separate and unaffected.
Action for employers
- Recalculate every housed employee. Get the total floor area of each property and apply the new rate from October 2026.
- Check for occasional revisions. Average October to December remuneration with the new value; if it moves the employee two grades or more, file a revised remuneration notice from January 2027.
- Tell affected employees. Social insurance deductions may rise; explain why.
- Review rent charged. Since the employee's rent reduces the value, rent policy now affects both tax and social insurance.
Sources
- Notice by the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare partially amending the value of remuneration in kind (Notice No. 94 of 2026, 17 March 2026).
- Japan Pension Service, table of in-kind values by prefecture for fiscal 2026 and Q&A on the October 2026 housing change.