Japan HSP Salary Points: What Counts as Annual Remuneration?
office-babaakiraYour tax certificate, monthly salary and HSP annual remuneration are related—but they are not automatically the same figure.
Salary points can make a significant difference when applying for Highly Skilled Professional status or considering a Permanent Residence route based on HSP points.
The arithmetic may look simple. The more difficult question is often which payments qualify as remuneration and how the amount can be demonstrated at the relevant date.
What does “remuneration” mean?
The Immigration Services Agency explains remuneration as consideration received in return for providing services.
Basic salary is the clearest example. Other payments require closer attention to their substance, conditions and supporting documents.
The official HSP guidance confirms that a bonus can be included in remuneration.
This does not mean that every possible or discretionary bonus should automatically be added to the calculation. The applicant should still be able to explain the basis of the amount and provide reliable evidence.
How should allowances be considered?
The name of an allowance does not always determine whether it should be included. Its actual purpose and tax treatment may be relevant.
The official Q&A distinguishes payments connected with services from allowances that mainly reimburse expenses. It lists basic salary, diligence allowances and adjustment allowances as examples of remuneration.
Commuting, dependent and housing allowances with the character of expense reimbursement are generally treated differently, subject to the qualifications stated in the official guidance.
Can overseas salary be included?
In some international-transfer cases, remuneration paid by an overseas company may be included.
The official Q&A refers to a person transferred from a foreign company to a Japanese company who continues to receive remuneration from the foreign company. The overseas payment must be proved.
Relevant evidence may include:
- the overseas and Japanese employment or assignment documents
- a certificate explaining the international transfer
- a remuneration certificate issued by the overseas company
- pay statements and payment records
- an explanation of the currency and calculation method
- Japanese translations of foreign-language documents
This should not be treated as a general rule allowing unrelated foreign income to be added to HSP salary points.
Can investment income or a spouse’s income be included?
Personal investment profits are not remuneration received in return for providing services and should not be treated as the applicant’s HSP salary.
A spouse’s income also should not simply be added to the applicant’s individual salary points.
Household income is relevant to certain separate HSP benefits, such as some arrangements involving parents or domestic workers. That is a different calculation from the applicant’s individual salary points.
What evidence should be prepared?
- employment contract and current employment conditions
- certificate showing annual remuneration
- documents explaining any fixed or expected bonus
- documents showing the purpose of significant allowances
- salary statements and payment records where relevant
- promotion or salary-revision notice showing its effective date
- overseas-company evidence for an international-transfer arrangement
- Japanese translations of foreign-language evidence
A tax certificate or withholding slip may help establish past income, but it may not explain every element of the remuneration used for a particular HSP calculation.
Check the category and the relevant date
Salary points are not assessed in isolation. The result depends on the applicable HSP activity category and the point table used for the relevant calculation.
Age may also affect the salary-point band in some HSP categories. A birthday, salary revision, promotion or change of employer can therefore alter the result.
For Highly Skilled Professional 1(b) and 1(c), the official guidance also provides a minimum annual-remuneration requirement of JPY 3 million. Reaching 70 points through other items does not remove that minimum requirement.
Practical questions before relying on the calculation
- Which HSP activity category applies?
- What is the relevant calculation date?
- Which payments are compensation for services?
- Is a bonus fixed, conditional or purely discretionary?
- Can each material amount be supported by documents?
- Will age or salary change before the intended application date?
Initial HSP point estimate
You may use the HSP Points Calculator for a preliminary estimate. The result does not confirm eligibility. Whether a particular item can be counted depends on the activity category, relevant date, individual facts and supporting evidence.
Open the HSP Points CalculatorFinal message
HSP salary points should not be calculated by copying one number from a payslip or tax certificate.
The more reliable approach is to identify the relevant remuneration, connect each amount to its legal or contractual basis, and preserve evidence showing why it can be counted.
Before selecting an application date, ask: “Can I explain and document every part of the annual remuneration on which my point total depends?”
Official reference: Immigration Services Agency — HSP Points System Q&A
Initial Inquiry & Contact
Your initial inquiry is free of charge and is used to confirm whether the matter is within the scope of this office and which service may be appropriate.
A case-specific point calculation, remuneration assessment, document review or application-timing opinion is provided through a paid consultation or Decision Check. The scope and fee will be explained in advance.
