How Much Is Japan’s Maternity Allowance? Calculation, Pay Table and How to Apply

What the maternity allowance is, and where it fits among the benefits

The maternity allowance (出産手当金) is paid by the employee health insurance that company employees and civil servants belong to (Kyokai Kenpo, a company health insurance society or a mutual aid association). It supports you during the days you take off work to give birth and receive no salary. The easiest way to think of it is as “replacement pay” for prenatal and postnatal leave (maternity leave).

It is easily confused with the similarly named childbirth lump-sum allowance (出産育児一時金). That one helps cover the cost of giving birth, and every health insurance scheme, including National Health Insurance, pays it: as a rule ¥500,000 per baby. The maternity allowance, on the other hand, is “income compensation” paid according to the days you take off, so people who are not employed or who are self-employed are generally not covered.

For mothers, the money flows from “maternity allowance during maternity leave” to “childcare leave benefit from the day after postnatal leave ends.” The benefit you receive once childcare leave starts is explained in detail in How the childcare leave benefit is calculated, with a pay table, so this guide focuses on the maternity allowance during maternity leave.

How the maternity allowance is calculated (three steps)

1. 1

   Find the 12-month average of your standard monthly remuneration

   Your standard monthly remuneration is your monthly pay (gross base pay plus overtime, commuting allowance and other allowances) slotted into a grade with a round figure. For the maternity allowance, you average the standard monthly remuneration for the 12 consecutive months before payment starts (usually the first day of prenatal leave). If your pay barely changed over the year, you can simply use your current standard monthly remuneration.

2. 2

   Divide by 30 and round to the nearest ¥10

   Divide the average standard monthly remuneration by 30 and round to the nearest ¥10. For ¥300,000 that is 300,000 ÷ 30 = ¥10,000; for ¥260,000 it is 260,000 ÷ 30 = ¥8,666.6…, which becomes ¥8,670.

3. 3

   Multiply by two-thirds and round to the nearest yen

   ¥10,000 × 2/3 = ¥6,666.6…, so the daily amount is ¥6,667. For ¥8,670 it is ¥5,780. This is what you receive per day of maternity leave.

4. 4

   Multiply by the number of days off

   If the baby arrives on the due date and you take all 42 days before and 56 days after, that is 98 days. With a daily amount of ¥6,667, that is ¥6,667 × 98 days = ¥653,366. Weekends and holidays count as days too, so “per month (30 days)” works out to ¥6,667 × 30 days = ¥200,010.

The “two-thirds of your salary” you often hear refers to the “× 2/3” in this formula. But the base is neither your take-home pay nor your actual monthly pay; it is a graded figure called the standard monthly remuneration. If your pay sits near the boundary between grades, the amount can be higher or lower than you expected (the ¥250,000 row in the next table is an example).

Maternity allowance pay table by monthly salary

These amounts assume your monthly pay before leave (gross, excluding bonuses) was the same for 12 months. The standard monthly remuneration uses the Kyokai Kenpo grades, and the 98-day total assumes the baby arrives on the due date and you take all 42 days before and 56 days after.

Someone earning ¥250,000 a month falls into the “¥250,000 to under ¥270,000” band of the grade table, so the calculation uses a standard monthly remuneration of ¥260,000. Conversely, ¥450,000 a month falls into the “¥425,000 to under ¥455,000” band, which is ¥440,000. Because your monthly pay and your standard monthly remuneration may not match, if you want the exact figure, work back from the health insurance premium on your payslip or ask your employer’s HR team for your standard monthly remuneration.

Compared with take-home pay, the maternity allowance is tax-free and social insurance premiums are waived during maternity leave, so even at two-thirds of your gross pay it feels like “just over 80% of take-home.” For someone on ¥300,000 a month, take-home pay before leave is about ¥239,000 a month (estimate for Tokyo, under 40, no dependents), so ¥200,010 of maternity allowance per 30 days is about 84% of take-home.

How the standard monthly remuneration is set, and when the calculation drifts

As a rule, your standard monthly remuneration is set from the average pay you received in April to June each year and used from September to the following August (the regular determination). If your pay changes significantly, for example after a raise, it can also be revised mid-year (an occasional revision). Because the maternity allowance uses a 12-month average, if your grade changed during that year, calculating with only your current grade will be slightly off.

In the second example, the 98-day total is ¥6,373 × 98 days = ¥624,554, about ¥29,000 less than for someone on ¥300,000 for all 12 months. Heavy overtime in April to June raises your grade from September, which increases your social insurance premiums but also increases your maternity allowance and your future pension.

How the grades work, and why your April–June pay sets your premiums, is also explained in How social insurance premiums are calculated.

How long it is paid, and the days when the baby comes early or late

The maternity allowance covers the days you are off work between 42 days (98 days for twins or more) before the birth (or the due date, if the baby is late) and 56 days after the birth. The day of birth counts as “before birth.” How to count the maternity leave dates themselves is covered in When does maternity leave start? Calculating prenatal and postnatal leave dates.

• If the baby is late: the extra days are added to the prenatal period, and the maternity allowance increases accordingly. The 56 days after birth are not shortened.
• If the baby is early: the prenatal period becomes “42 days up to the actual date of birth,” but days when you were still working and paid are not covered. If you started leave based on the due date, your prenatal days will be fewer.
• If you worked right up to the birth without taking prenatal leave: days you worked and were paid are not covered; only the days off are paid. Since you generally cannot work for 56 days after birth, the postnatal days are almost always covered.

Adjustments when you receive salary or use paid leave during maternity leave

The maternity allowance compensates for “days with no pay,” so days on which your employer pays you during maternity leave are adjusted. The rule is simple: if the pay for that day is at least the daily maternity allowance, nothing is paid for that day. If it is less, the difference is paid.

If you save paid leave and use it at the start of prenatal leave, you receive full pay for those days, so you keep more than you would from the maternity allowance. However, how paid leave is applied to the prenatal leave period differs from company to company, so if you plan to use it, confirm the dates with your HR or general affairs team.

Who can and cannot receive it, and conditions for receiving it after resigning

You can receive the maternity allowance if you are enrolled in your employer’s health insurance “as the insured person yourself.” This is not limited to full-time employees: part-timers, contract and temporary agency workers are also covered if they are enrolled in their workplace’s social insurance. Births after 4 months (85 days) of pregnancy or more are covered, including premature births, stillbirths, miscarriages and abortions.

Even if you resign, you can keep receiving the maternity allowance for the rest of the period after you leave if you meet both of the following conditions (continued benefits after losing eligibility).

• By your last day of employment, you had been continuously insured under the health insurance for at least 1 year (time as a voluntary continued insured person does not count; if you changed jobs without a gap in health insurance, the periods may be combined)
• On your last day of employment, you were receiving, or were able to receive, the maternity allowance. In other words, your last day falls within the 42 days before the birth (or due date), and you did not work that day

How to apply, and when the money arrives

The maternity allowance is not paid automatically; you must submit a “Health Insurance Maternity Allowance Application Form.” Besides the section you fill in yourself, the form has a section for a doctor or midwife to certify the birth and a section for your employer to certify the days you were off and what pay you received.

1. 1

   Get the form before maternity leave

   Ask your HR or general affairs team, or download it from the Kyokai Kenpo or your health insurance society’s website. Take it with you when you go into hospital for the birth, and have the doctor or midwife certify it at discharge or at the one-month checkup to avoid an extra trip.

2. 2

   Fill in your section

   Enter your bank account, the period you are claiming for (the days off before and after birth), the due date and the date of birth. It is common to submit one application for the whole period after the 56 postnatal days have passed, but you can also apply separately for the prenatal and postnatal periods.

3. 3

   Have your employer certify it

   After postnatal leave ends, give the form to your employer to certify your attendance and pay. Many employers submit it to the health insurance for you, but some ask you to mail it yourself.

4. 4

   Review and payment

   From when the health insurance receives the documents, payment usually takes about 2 weeks with Kyokai Kenpo and around a month with a health insurance society. Any missing information will delay it.

If the due date is May 10, 2027 and the baby arrives on time, postnatal leave ends on July 5. If your employer takes 2–4 weeks to certify and submit the form and the review takes 2 weeks to a month, the first payment arrives around August. That means for about 4–5 months after maternity leave starts at the end of March, no maternity allowance has arrived yet. The first childcare leave benefit payment comes even later, so it is safest to plan your household budget before maternity leave assuming “the first lump of money arrives 2–3 months after the birth.”

Taxes, dependents and social insurance premiums

• No tax: the maternity allowance is tax-free. Neither income tax nor resident tax applies, and you do not need to report it as income in year-end adjustment or a tax return.
• Not counted for the spouse deduction: it is not included in income when determining tax dependents (the spouse deduction and special spouse deduction). Because your salary income drops in the year of maternity and childcare leave, your spouse may be able to claim the spouse deduction.
• Counted for health insurance dependents: be careful if you want to become a dependent on your husband’s health insurance while receiving continued benefits after resigning. Under many health insurance schemes, if your daily maternity allowance is ¥3,612 or more (the guideline of ¥1.3 million a year ÷ 360 days), you cannot be a dependent while you are receiving it.
• Premiums are waived: during maternity leave, once your employer applies, health insurance and employees’ pension premiums (plus nursing care insurance if you are 40 or over) are waived for both your share and the employer’s share. The waived period is treated as if you had paid, so your future pension is not reduced.
• Resident tax continues: resident tax is based on the previous year’s income, so you keep paying it during maternity leave. Check with your employer how months when it cannot be deducted from your pay are handled.

Premiums are waived for “months in which you are on maternity or childcare leave at the end of the month.” For someone on ¥300,000 a month (under 40, Kyokai Kenpo in Tokyo), your share is ¥42,315 a month, so with a due date of May 10, maternity leave alone waives 4 months from March to June, about ¥170,000. Combined with the maternity allowance, the effect on your household during maternity leave is well above two-thirds of your gross pay.

How it differs from the benefit after childcare leave starts, and a one-year outlook

If you start childcare leave the day after postnatal leave ends, the money you receive switches from the health insurance maternity allowance to the employment insurance childcare leave benefit. Both the base amount and the rate are different.

If you earn ¥300,000 a month, the baby arrives on the due date and you take leave until the day before the child’s first birthday, you receive a maternity allowance of ¥653,366, a childcare leave benefit of ¥1,826,000 and, if you qualify, a post-birth leave support benefit of ¥36,400, for total benefits of about ¥2.51 million. On top of that come the ¥500,000 childbirth lump-sum allowance and the social insurance premiums waived during maternity and childcare leave (about ¥590,000). You can see the breakdown by period in the model case in How the childcare leave benefit is calculated, with a pay table.

Calculate your own maternity allowance with the tool

In the Childcare Leave Benefit Calculator, choose “Mother (maternity leave followed by childcare leave)” to see the daily maternity allowance, the number of days and the total alongside the childcare leave benefit. The numbers you enter are calculated only in your browser and are never sent anywhere.

1. 1

   Choose “Mother (maternity leave followed by childcare leave)”

   If you choose the father option, no maternity allowance is calculated. Choose the mother option when calculating for the person who takes maternity leave.

2. 2

   Enter your monthly pay (gross) and due date

   Monthly pay is the gross amount including overtime and commuting allowance, excluding bonuses. The tool maps your monthly pay to a standard monthly remuneration and calculates the daily amount as “standard monthly remuneration ÷ 30 (rounded to the nearest ¥10) × 2/3.”

3. 3

   Enter the birth date if the baby has arrived, and tick the box for twins or more

   If you enter the birth date, any days past the due date are added to the prenatal days. Ticking multiple pregnancy calculates the prenatal period as 98 days.

4. 4

   Copy the result and use it to plan your budget

   The tool shows the total of the maternity allowance, childcare leave benefit and waived social insurance premiums, plus a comparison with your take-home pay before leave. Use “Copy result” to share it with your family.

The tool assumes your monthly pay was the same for 12 months, so if your grade changed during the year or you have been insured for less than 12 months, the actual amount will differ slightly. To check the start date of maternity leave itself, you can also use the “Maternity leave & school year guide” in the Due Date & Pregnancy Week Calculator. For the exact amount you will receive, ask your employer or your health insurance.

FAQ

How much is the maternity allowance on a monthly salary of ¥300,000?

With a standard monthly remuneration of ¥300,000, the daily amount is 300,000 ÷ 30 × 2/3 = ¥6,667. If the baby arrives on the due date and you take the 98 days (42 before and 56 after), the total is ¥653,366. Per month (30 days), that is ¥200,010.

What share of take-home pay is the maternity allowance?

It is about two-thirds of gross pay, but because it is tax-free and premiums are waived during maternity leave, it comes to just over 80% of your take-home pay before leave. At ¥300,000 a month, about ¥200,000 per 30 days against take-home pay of about ¥239,000 is roughly 84%.

Where can I find the standard monthly remuneration used in the calculation?

You can work it back from the health insurance premium on your payslip using the premium rate, or check with your HR team, your annual pension statement (Nenkin Teiki Bin) or your health insurance. It may not match your monthly pay: ¥250,000 a month maps to ¥260,000, and ¥350,000 maps to ¥360,000.

Does the maternity allowance increase if the baby is born after the due date?

Yes. The days past the due date are added to the prenatal period, and the 56 postnatal days are not shortened. At ¥300,000 a month, a baby 7 days late means 105 days and ¥700,035, which is ¥46,669 more than an on-time birth.

What happens to the maternity allowance if I use paid leave during maternity leave?

On paid leave days you receive full pay, so no maternity allowance is paid for those days. On days when your pay is less than the daily maternity allowance, only the difference is paid. Using paid leave leaves you with more money overall.

When is the maternity allowance paid?

It is usually applied for after the 56 postnatal days have passed, so the first payment arrives about 2–3 months after the birth. Once the health insurance receives the documents, it typically takes about 2 weeks with Kyokai Kenpo and around a month with a health insurance society.

Can I receive the maternity allowance after resigning?

Yes, if you had been continuously insured for at least 1 year by your last day and were receiving (or able to receive) the maternity allowance on that day, you can receive the rest of the period after you leave. Be careful: working on your last day makes you ineligible.

Can part-time workers receive the maternity allowance?

Yes, part-time and agency workers can receive it if they are enrolled in their employer’s health insurance (social insurance) as the insured person. People enrolled as dependents on a husband’s insurance or on National Health Insurance are generally not covered.

Do I need to file a tax return for the maternity allowance? Does it affect dependent status?

It is tax-free, so no tax return is needed, and it is not counted when determining tax dependents such as the spouse deduction. However, it does count as income for health insurance dependent status, so under many schemes a daily amount of ¥3,612 or more means you cannot be a dependent while you are receiving it.