Pay-improvement add-ons (処遇改善等加算) and allowances for childcare workers | How much reaches your pay depends on the nursery
From FY2025 the pay-improvement add-on for childcare workers has three tiers. From up to ¥40,000 a month for deputy heads and leaders, to higher staff costs in the official fee schedule, published model salaries (ここdeサーチ) and how allowances are taxed, explained from a childcare worker’s point of view.
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- The pay-improvement add-on is money paid to the nursery. How much any one person’s pay goes up depends on how the nursery distributes it
- Tier 3, for deputy heads and team leaders, is up to ¥40,000 a month. Since FY2025, nurseries can distribute it flexibly at their own discretion
- Prefectures now publish model salaries for private nurseries (ここdeサーチ, “Koko de Search”), so you can look them up before a visit
- A cash housing allowance is taxable; a commuting allowance is tax-free but still counts for social insurance premiums. The mix of allowances changes your take-home pay
When the news says “childcare workers are getting a raise,” it is hard to tell how that reaches your own payslip. Here we explain how thepay-improvement add-on (処遇改善等加算) used at private licensed nurseries and similar facilities works, what to look for when choosing a nursery, and how different allowances are taxed.
How much do childcare workers earn now?
In the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare’s Basic Survey on Wage Structure (2025), childcare workers (regular, full-time workers) received ¥285,700 a month in regular pay and ¥847,900 a year in bonuses. The “estimated annual pay” above is calculated as monthly pay × 12 + bonuses. It is an estimate, not an official annual salary figure.
In the Children and Families Agency’s figures, the monthly equivalent pay of childcare workers excluding managers was ¥343,000, against ¥396,000 for all industries (2025). The gap has narrowed from ¥87,000 in 2012 to ¥53,000, but it is still there.
How much has the government raised staff costs?
The staff costs included in the operating funds for private nurseries (the official fee schedule, 公定価格) are raised in line with the National Personnel Authority’s recommendations.
| When | What |
|---|---|
| Applied from Dec 2024 | Staff costs +10.7% (the largest ever) |
| Applied from Dec 2025 | Staff costs +5.3% (FY2025 supplementary budget), maintained in FY2026 |
| Cumulative since FY2013 | About 39% (simple sum of budget figures) |
Note: these are revision rates for the staff costs in the official fees paid to nurseries. They do not mean “every childcare worker’s pay goes up 5.3%.” How much reaches your pay depends on the nursery’s pay rules and how it distributes the money. Childcare workers at public nurseries are paid under the local government’s salary ordinance.
The three tiers of the pay-improvement add-on (from FY2025)
From FY2025, the former add-ons I, II and III were merged into a single add-on with three tiers.
| Tier | What for? | Main rules |
|---|---|---|
| Tier 1: base portion | Pay rises based on experience | Add-on rate of 2–12% depending on staff’s average years of experience. A career-path system is a requirement |
| Tier 2: wage-improvement portion | Base-pay increases for all staff, etc. | 6% or 7% depending on average years of experience, plus the former add-on III amount (¥9,000 × number of staff) |
| Tier 3: quality-improvement portion | Deputy head childcare workers, specialist team leaders, etc. | ¥40,000 a month / ¥5,000 × number of eligible staff. Completing training and similar is required. Nurseries can distribute it flexibly at their discretion, as long as no one gets more than ¥40,000 |
At least half of the combined Tier 2 and Tier 3 amount must go to base pay or allowances paid every month. It cannot all be paid as bonuses or one-off payments.
From FY2025, the requirement to “have at least one deputy head or similar receiving ¥40,000” was dropped, and nurseries can now distribute Tier 3 flexibly at their discretion. The same role can come with a different allowance at different nurseries. Try asking on your visit: “How much is the team leader allowance?”
Nurseries’ model salaries are now published
From FY2025, nurseries and similar facilities report their management information each year (income and expenditure, staff pay, etc.) to the prefecture, and the prefecture publishes model salaries and staff-cost ratios for each facility (ここdeサーチ, “Koko de Search”). Facilities that do not report face a reduction in fees from July 2026.
If there is a nursery you are interested in, looking at its published information before a visit helps you narrow down what to ask.
If you work as a child instructor or in after-school day services
After-school day services for children with disabilities (放課後等デイサービス) and child development support (児童発達支援) are disability welfare services, so they are covered by the disability welfare pay-improvement add-on, not the nursery one. An extraordinary revision in June 2026 (+1.84%) expanded that add-on. On the other hand, after-school day service and child development support providers newly designated on or after June 1, 2026 receive a slightly lower base fee (until the FY2027 revision).
Here too, the add-on is paid to the provider. Check with the provider how much of it is reflected in pay.
How are allowances taxed and counted for social insurance?
When you pick a workplace “with lots of allowances,” knowing that different allowances are treated differently for tax and social insurance makes it easier to estimate your take-home pay.
| Allowance | Income tax and resident tax | Counted for social insurance premiums |
|---|---|---|
| Base pay, pay-improvement allowances, overtime | Taxable | Yes |
| Housing allowance (cash) | Taxable | Yes |
| Commuting allowance (train or bus) | Tax-free up to ¥150,000 a month | Yes, in full |
| Night-duty and day-duty pay (children’s homes, etc.) | Tax-free up to ¥4,000 per duty (conditions apply) | Yes |
| Meals provided (school-style lunches, etc.) | Tax-free if you pay at least half and the employer’s share is ¥7,500 a month or less (from Apr 1, 2026) | Yes, at the value set for each prefecture |
- The tax-free treatment of duty pay does not apply to duty within normal working hours, duty with a compensatory day off, or duty pay set in proportion to salary. Allowances for rotating night shifts are taxed as ordinary pay.
- As a rule, your social insurance premiums for one year from September are set by your average pay in April–June. Lots of overtime or allowances in that period can raise your premiums afterwards.
- Company housing and dormitories are covered in the housing support article.
Sources
- 令和7年賃金構造基本統計調査 — Basic Survey on Wage Structure, 2025 (Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, Mar 2026)
- 基礎資料（保育士・幼稚園教諭等の処遇改善） — Background data: improving pay and conditions for childcare workers and kindergarten teachers (Children and Families Agency, Mar 2026 edition)
- 令和７年度以降の処遇改善等加算について — The pay-improvement add-on from FY2025 onward (Children and Families Agency, Oct 2025)
- 令和８年度公定価格・基準等の見直し事項 — FY2026 revisions to the official childcare fee schedule and standards (Children and Families Agency, Childcare Policy Division, Apr 2026)
- 令和８年度障害福祉サービス等報酬改定における改定事項について — Revisions in the FY2026 fee revision for disability welfare services (Disability Welfare Services Fee Revision Team (Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare), Feb 2026)
- タックスアンサー No.2582 電車・バス通勤者の通勤手当 — Tax Answer No. 2582: commuting allowances for train and bus commuters (National Tax Agency, 2026)
- 所得税基本通達28-1 宿直料・日直料 — Income Tax Basic Circular 28-1: night-duty and day-duty pay (National Tax Agency, 2026)
- タックスアンサー No.2594 食事を支給したとき — Tax Answer No. 2594: providing meals (National Tax Agency, laws as of Apr 1, 2026)
- タックスアンサー No.2597 使用人に社宅や寮などを貸したとき — Tax Answer No. 2597: providing company housing or dormitories to employees (National Tax Agency, laws as of Apr 1, 2026)
- 厚生年金保険の保険料 — Employees’ pension insurance premiums (Japan Pension Service, 2026)
Figures and programs are summarized from the materials above as of September 2026. Programs can be revised, and conditions differ by municipality and employer. Check the latest information with the relevant office before you use any of them.