A childbirth bonus from your employer is tax-free in Korea with no cap on the amount. Item (meo)1) of Article 12(3) of the Income Tax Act exempts in full pay an employee receives from the employer in connection with the birth of a child to the employee or their spouse, within 2 years of the child’s birth date and in at most two payments. People with a special relationship to the employer are left out, and Decree Article 17-2(2) defines “two payments” as the first and second within the 2 years, counted per employer. Enter the birth date, the payment date, which payment it is and your relationship to the employer, and the checker tells you whether it is exempt.
1. Within 2 years of the birth, up to two payments, exempt in full — pay from the employer in connection with the birth of a child to the employee or spouse (Act Art. 12(3)(meo)1)). There is no cap on the amount.
2. Counted per employer, first and second only — however many times you are paid, only the first and second payments within the 2 years count (Decree Art. 17-2(2)). Relatives of a sole-proprietor employer, and controlling shareholders of a company and their relatives, are excluded (para. (1)).
3. Our example — a child born on 5 March 2026 and a first payment of ₩10 million on 10 November 2026: the whole ₩10 million is exempt. We count the last day of the 2 years as 4 March 2028 (our reading).
Checker
Results update as you type. Dates as YYYY-MM-DD. “Inside the 2 years” is our reading counting the birth date as day one, up to the day before the second birthday; the second birthday itself is flagged as a boundary day. Payments before 1 January 2024 are not judged. If it is not exempt, we treat it as taxable employment income — other exemptions are not checked.
The law — as written
| Provision | What it says | Points to note (our reading) |
|---|---|---|
| Act Art. 12(3)(meo)1) | Pay received by an employee (excluding a person with a special relationship to the employer prescribed by Presidential Decree) or their spouse from the employer in connection with a birth, within 2 years of the child’s birth date, in up to two payments as the Decree prescribes (including pay received between 1 January 2024 and 31 December 2024 for a child born on or after 1 January 2021) — the full amount | No cap on the amount. A spouse’s birth counts too |
| Decree Art. 17-2(1) item 1 | Where the employer is an individual: a family relationship under Article 1-2(1) of the Enforcement Decree of the Framework Act on National Taxes | Family members working for a sole proprietor |
| Decree Art. 17-2(1) item 2 | Where the employer is a corporation: being a controlling shareholder etc. under Article 43(7) of the Enforcement Decree of the Corporate Tax Act (including people in a family or management-control relationship with them) | Major shareholders and their families |
| Decree Art. 17-2(2) | “Pay received in up to two payments” means the first and second payments received within 2 years of the child’s birth date, regardless of how many times the employer pays. The number of payments is counted per employer. | Split it into three and the third falls outside. Inserted 28 February 2025 |
The 2024 rule in the bracket is an exception to the 2-year window. For a child born on or after 1 January 2021, childbirth support paid during 2024 counts even if more than 2 years had passed since the birth. A child born on 1 May 2021, for example, has a 2-year window ending on 30 April 2023, yet support paid on 1 August 2024 falls under the special rule. We read “up to two payments” as still applying to it (our reading — the bracket widens “pay” but does not change the wording on the number of payments).
Who counts as a “related person”
We read the two provisions that Decree Art. 17-2(1) points to. Where the employer is an individual, the test is the family relationship in Art. 1-2(1) of the Enforcement Decree of the Framework Act on National Taxes: (1) blood relatives within the fourth degree; (2) relatives by marriage within the third degree; (3) a spouse (including a de facto spouse); (4) a biological child fully adopted by someone else, and that child’s spouse and descendants; (5) the biological father or mother of a child born outside marriage whom the person has acknowledged under the Civil Act (only if supported by, or living with, the person).
Where the employer is a company, the test is a controlling shareholder under Art. 43(7) of the Enforcement Decree of the Corporate Tax Act: a shareholder holding 1% or more of the shares or capital whose holding, combined with that of related persons, is the largest among the shareholders. Paragraph 8 of the same article counts family (Framework Act Decree Art. 1-2(1)), companies 30% or more owned and the like as related persons for this purpose. Decree Art. 17-2(1)2 excludes not only the controlling shareholder but also people in a family or management-control relationship with them. “Dominant influence” for management control is set by Framework Act Decree Art. 1-2(4): for a for-profit company, holding 30% or more of the shares or capital, or being found to exercise de facto influence such as appointing and dismissing officers or deciding business policy.
So it reads like this (our example and reading): in a company where the CEO holds 60%, the CEO is the controlling shareholder, and the CEO’s first cousin or sister-in-law (second degree by marriage) working there is outside this item. The CEO’s first cousin once removed (fifth degree) is outside the family relationship, so this provision does not exclude them. A shareholder under 1%, or one at 1% or more whose combined holding is not the largest, is not a controlling shareholder, so their family members on the staff are not related persons here. Use this when choosing the checker’s “relationship to the employer” box.
How the 2 years are counted — our reading
The provision only says “within 2 years of the birth date”. The checker counts the birth date as day one, up to the day before the second birthday — for a child born on 5 March 2026, up to 4 March 2028. Counting from the day after the birth would run to the second birthday itself (5 March 2028), so the two readings differ by one day. The checker flags that day as a “boundary day” and does not settle whether it is exempt. If a payment is actually scheduled for it, moving it a day earlier is the safer course (our suggestion). For a child born on 29 February we treat 1 March as the second birthday in a non-leap year (our arithmetic).
Six cases — our examples
| Case (our example) | Result | Points to note (our reading) |
|---|---|---|
| Born 2026-03-05, first payment of ₩10 million on 2026-11-10 | The whole ₩10 million exempt | No cap on the amount |
| Same child, second payment on 2028-03-04 | Exempt | Last day of the 2 years (our reading) |
| Same child, second payment on 2028-03-05 | Boundary day — not settled | The counting method moves it by a day |
| A third payment from the same employer within the 2 years | Not exempt under this item — employment income | Decree Art. 17-2(2): first and second only |
| Born 2021-05-01, paid on 2024-08-01 | Exempt (2024 special rule) | The 2 years (to 2023-04-30) had passed, but the bracket covers it |
| Born 2020-12-31, paid on 2024-08-01 | Not exempt | Born before 1 January 2021, so outside the special rule |
An employee who is a controlling shareholder of the company, or a relative of one, is excluded from this item even on the same facts, and the checker returns “not exempt”.
Related
- Monthly childcare allowance — ₩200,000 a month per child aged 6 or under: tax-free allowance calculator.
- Production workers’ overtime — overtime pay tax-free calculator.
- Leave and benefits after a birth — maternity leave benefit calculator · paternity leave calculator.
- All tax-free allowances — non-taxable pay allowances.
Checklist
- ☐ The child’s birth date and the employer’s planned payment date
- ☐ Which payment this is from this employer for this birth
- ☐ Near the second birthday, whether the payment can be brought forward
- ☐ If you are family of the owner or a major shareholder, whether you are a related person
- ☐ That your year-end withholding receipt shows it as tax-free
Questions that remain
If I change jobs, do I get two payments again?
Decree Article 17-2(2) says “the number of payments is counted per employer”. Read as written, a payment from the new employer is that employer’s first (our reading). Enter the count for that employer in the checker.
Does support paid before the birth count?
The provision says “within 2 years of the child’s birth date”, so we read pay received before the birth as outside its wording (our reading). The checker shows “paid before the birth” for a payment date earlier than the birth. The government’s tax reform proposal is covered in non-taxable pay allowances (not rechecked this time).
With twins, are the two payments per child?
The provisions we read (Act item (meo)1) and Decree Art. 17-2) say nothing specific about twins. The checker does not settle this case; ask your payroll team or the National Tax Service.
Sources
- Korean Law Information Center — Income Tax Act Art. 12(3)(meo) — original text (current version, in force 1 July 2026, Act No. 21221; checked 10 November 2026). Birth-related pay: 2 years, two payments, in full; the 2024 bracket; related persons excluded.
- Korean Law Information Center — Enforcement Decree of the Income Tax Act, Art. 17-2 — original text (current version, in force 1 October 2026, Presidential Decree No. 36737; checked 10 November 2026). Who is a related person (para. 1), first and second payments counted per employer (para. 2), inserted 28 February 2025.
- Korean Law Information Center — Enforcement Decree of the Framework Act on National Taxes, Art. 1-2 — original text (current version, in force 1 July 2026, Presidential Decree No. 36125; checked 10 November 2026). Para. 1: five family relationships; para. 3: management-control relationships; para. 4: dominant influence (30% or more of a for-profit company, and the like).
- Korean Law Information Center — Enforcement Decree of the Corporate Tax Act, Art. 43(7), (8) — original text (current version, in force 1 October 2026, Presidential Decree No. 36738; checked 10 November 2026). Controlling shareholder (1% or more, largest combined holding), related persons for that test.
- Not read. The addenda of the amending act that introduced this item (payments before 2024), and NTS rulings on counting the period.
- What we added. Counting the 2 years up to the day before the second birthday and flagging the boundary day, the reading that the two-payment limit applies to the 2024 rule, the 29 February case, and the “points to note” column.
Where to check further
- Your payroll team — the planned payment date and number, and the tax-free code on your withholding receipt.
- NTS Hometax — rulings for cases such as twins or a change of employer.
Written on 10 November 2026. The provisions are quoted from the original; the readings and arithmetic are ours.
