Every late November, Korean news mentions “comprehensive real estate tax bills.” But didn't we already pay property tax in July? They're two entirely different taxes.
This year is worth watching closely. Reporting by the tax accountants' newspaper in June 2026 puts the 2026 published price rise at an average of 18.6% for apartments, and a proposal to lift the fair market value ratio from the current 60% to 80% is under discussion. Together, those two would make this year's bill look quite different from last year's.
1. Are you liable. Property tax applies to every owner (local tax); comprehensive real estate tax only above a threshold (national tax) — the basic deduction is ₩1.2 billion for a single-home household and ₩900 million otherwise. The latter is layered on top of property tax.
2. Why this year differs. 2026 published prices rose an average of 18.6% for apartments, and a proposal to lift the fair market value ratio from 60% to 80% is under discussion — together they would make this year's bill look quite different.
3. What to do. One day — 1 June — decides it. Sell on or after 2 June and you pay that year's property and comprehensive tax on a home you no longer own. Whether the completion date can be set on or before 31 May is worth millions of won.
On 3 August 2026 a bill was published that changes the figures below. The single-home allowance would split into ₩1.4bn if occupied / ₩900m if not, the fair market ratio would rise 60% → 70%, and the burden ceiling would loosen 150% → 200%. It is still a government bill and the earliest start is 2027 — everything below is current law. The bill is set out in our guide to the 2026 tax reform bill.
Property tax vs. comprehensive real estate tax
| Item | Property tax / comprehensive tax |
| Type | Local / national |
| Who pays | All owners / owners above the deduction |
| Assessment date | June 1 / June 1 (same) |
| Payment | July and September / December 1–15 |
| Calculation unit | Per property / per person, nationwide total |
| Surtax | Local education tax / 20% rural development tax |
The critical difference is “per person, nationwide.” Property tax is billed property by property; the comprehensive tax adds up the published prices of every home you own across Korea.
Am I liable? The basic deduction
| Single-home household | ₩1.2B |
| Others (multi-home) | ₩900M |
| Aggregate land | ₩500M |
| Separately aggregated land | ₩8B |
This is the fork. A single-home owner with a ₩1.2B published price pays zero. A multi-home owner whose homes total ₩1.2B has a ₩900M deduction and pays tax on ₩300M. Same total, different result.
Also note the base is the published price, not market price. The same reporting states the realisation rate is frozen at 69% — roughly seven-tenths of market value becomes the published price. In practice, single-home owners enter the net around a ₩1.7B market value.
How much did 2026 published prices rise?
These are the figures reported in June 2026. Averages are hard to feel, so the actual complexes are listed alongside.
| Item | 2026 published price | Prior year |
|---|---|---|
| Apartment average increase | 18.6% | |
| Seoul standard detached houses | 4.5% | |
| Raemian First Age, Banpo, 84㎡ | ₩3.641B | ₩2.853B |
| Raemian Prugio, Mapo, 84㎡ | ₩1.752B | ₩1.338B |
| Sinsigaji 7, Mok-dong, 66㎡ | ₩1.962B | — |
| Hannam The Hill, Yongsan, 235㎡ | around ₩8.65B | — |
Apartments averaged 18.6% while detached houses averaged 4.5%. The same headline “published prices are up” lands almost four times harder on one than the other. Judging your own bill from a single national average will mislead you.
The burden cap — however far prices run, this stops it
A large jump in published price does not carry straight through to the bill. The reporting states the burden cap is 150% of the prior year's computed tax.
Pay ₩2M last year and, however far the published price runs, this year cannot exceed ₩3M. That is why the rise in published prices and the rise in tax are not the same number.
The same source notes the special fair market value ratio for single-home owners' property tax is 43–45%. The two taxes do not even use the same ratio.
How it's calculated
There is a separate comprehensive real estate tax calculator that walks the six steps in order.
| ① Sum published prices | All your homes nationwide |
| ② − basic deduction | ₩1.2B single / ₩900M other |
| ③ × fair market ratio | Housing currently 60% (80% under discussion) |
| = tax base | Rates applied here |
| ④ − property tax already paid | Overlapping amount deducted |
| ⑤ − tax credits | Age and long-holding (single home) |
| ⑥ + rural development tax | 20% of the tax |
Step ④ matters: it prevents double taxation on the same value.
Step ③ is this year's biggest variable. The ratio is set by enforcement decree, not statute, so it can change every year. Moving from 60% to 80% enlarges the tax base by more than a third. Confirm the finalised ratio before your bill arrives.
There are two rate schedules — and they are identical up to 1.2bn won
Article 9(1) of the Comprehensive Real Estate Holding Tax Act carries two rate schedules for housing: one for two homes or fewer, one for three or more. That is where “more homes means a higher rate” comes from. Set the two side by side, though, and not a single band differs up to a tax base of 1.2bn won. Which means the heavy rate really starts at a published price of KRW 2.9bn — the working is in two rate tables and the 2.9bn line.
| Tax base | Two or fewer | Three or more | Comparison |
|---|---|---|---|
| Up to 300m won | 0.5% | 0.5% | same |
| 300m – 600m | 0.7% | 0.7% | same |
| 600m – 1.2bn | 1.0% | 1.0% | same |
| 1.2bn – 2.5bn | 1.3% | 2.0% | differs |
| 2.5bn – 5.0bn | 1.5% | 3.0% | differs |
| 5.0bn – 9.4bn | 2.0% | 4.0% | differs |
| Over 9.4bn | 2.7% | 5.0% | differs |
The statute writes each band as a fixed amount plus a rate — “9.6m won plus 1.3% of the amount exceeding 1.2bn won” — so the tax accumulated in the lower bands is stated up front and the band rate applies only to the excess. The figures below are that sentence, worked through.
What matters is not the rate but where the split falls. An owner of three or more homes gets a 900m won deduction and a 60% fair market value ratio, so a base of 1.2bn corresponds to a combined listed price of about 2.9bn won. Below that, three homes and one home carry the same rate.
So at what listed price do they actually part?
Deduct 900m won, apply the 60% ratio to get the tax base, then run each schedule. These are amounts before the property-tax credit under article 9(3) and before any of the ownership credits.
| Combined listed price | Tax base | Two or fewer | Three or more | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1.5bn won | 360m won | 1.9m won | 1.9m won | same |
| 2.0bn won | 660m won | 4.2m won | 4.2m won | same |
| 2.9bn won | 1.2bn won | 9.6m won | 9.6m won | same |
| 4.0bn won | 1.86bn won | 18.2m won | 22.8m won | +4.6m won |
| 6.0bn won | 3.06bn won | 34.9m won | 52.4m won | +17.5m won |
Read the table as “how far the two schedules diverge at a given combined listed price”, not as “what three homes cost”. An actual bill then subtracts the property tax already paid and the ownership credits, and is capped by the burden ceiling.
The schedules render as images inside the statute. Open article 9 on the Korean Law Information Center and the tables arrive as pictures, not text — scrape the page and no rate comes back at all. The figures here were read by zooming into the rendered article, then checked a second time against the band rates and progressive deductions in the National Tax Service's calculation flowchart.
Credits for single-home owners
The two credits are added together — but the tables reach 90% and the law cuts the combined figure at 80%. All nine combinations are drawn out in the age and holding relief.
| Age credit | Rises by age band from 60 |
| Long-holding credit | Rises with years held, from 5 years |
| Combined cap | Up to 80% together |
An older owner in a long-held single home often sees the tax shrink to near nothing — which is why the “tax bomb on one home” worry frequently doesn't match reality.
Less well known — older owners can defer payment
Separate from the credits, there is a deferral scheme. It does not reduce the tax; it postpones it until you sell. It exists for retirees whose income is flat while their home's value has climbed. The conditions, as set out by the tax accountants' newspaper:
| Condition | Threshold |
|---|---|
| Age | 60 or over |
| Income | Prior-year total salary ₩70M or less, comprehensive income ₩60M or less |
| Tax amount | Housing portion of the year's tax above ₩1M |
| Holding period | Long-term holders, 5 years or more |
| Interest | Deferral interest of 1.2% a year |
It isn't free. Interest of 1.2% a year accrues over the deferral. Even so, for an owner determined not to sell, it is a real option. The application window is short, so check as soon as the bill arrives. (These thresholds come from guidance for the 2022 tax year — confirm the current ones before applying.)
Is joint ownership better?
| Sole ownership (single home) | ₩1.2B deduction + age and holding credits |
| Joint ownership (couple) | ₩900M each, ₩1.8B combined |
Joint ownership looks better on the headline deduction, but sole ownership can cut up to 80% through age and holding credits — so older, longer-held owners eventually favor sole treatment. Joint owners may therefore apply for single-home special treatment and be assessed the sole-ownership way, choosing each September whichever is better.
Payment and installments
- Billed by the tax office around late November — no filing required (self-filing is optional).
- Deadline — per the tax accountants' newspaper, bills go out from 21 November and payment is due by the 15th of the following month. The self-filing window for correcting the bill runs 1–15 December.
- Installments available when the tax exceeds ₩2.5M, spread over up to six months.
- Exclusion filing from 16 to 30 September removes qualifying rental and company housing from the total.
June 1 — one day in the closing schedule decides it
This is the most practical part of the article, and the tax accountants' newspaper carries exactly this case. A seller who had planned to close on 30 May instead received the balance and transferred title on 3 June — and was billed as a two-home owner.
The article's own sentence: “if the home is sold after 2 June, that year's property tax and comprehensive real estate tax fall on the seller.” You pay another full year on a home you have already handed over. Whether the closing date can be set on or before 31 May is worth millions of won.
The mirror image holds for buyers: close after 2 June and you skip that year's holding taxes. Put this date alongside the closing schedule in the purchase process guide.
Questions you may have
Where do I find published prices?
On the official real estate price disclosure site, published annually with an objection window.
Does a rented-out home count?
Yes — liability follows ownership. Rental income is taxed separately, and the tenant's legal position is a separate matter again.
What if I sell just before June 1?
The June 1 owner pays. Closing on May 31 shifts that year's bill to the buyer.
Are inherited homes included?
Special rules can exclude them from the count for a period. Check the requirements.
If published prices rose 20%, does my tax rise 20%?
No. The burden cap of 150% of the prior year's computed tax stops it. A rise in the fair market value ratio does make the increase feel larger, though.
Is this the same as the tax I paid when buying?
Entirely different. Buying triggers acquisition tax, holding triggers property tax and this one, and selling triggers capital gains tax. All three are computed separately.
Sources and where to check
- Korean Law Information Center — Comprehensive Real Estate Holding Tax Act (in force 1 January 2026, Act no. 21224) and its Enforcement Decree (in force 27 February 2026, Presidential Decree no. 36132), checked August 2026. Article 8(1) gives the tax-base formula and the 900m won deduction (1.2bn for a single-home household); article 9(1) carries the two rate schedules; article 9(3) is the property-tax credit. Note that the Act itself only sets the fair market value ratio as “between 60 and 100 percent” — the figure of 60% lives in article 2-4(1) of the Decree.
- National Tax Service — Comprehensive real estate holding tax — calculation flow (checked August 2026). Each box of the calculation was checked against the agency source. Source for the deductions of 900 million won (1.2 billion for a single-home household), 500 million for aggregated land and 8 billion for separately aggregated land, the fair market value ratio of 60% for housing and 100% for land, the rate bands and progressive deductions for up to two homes and for three or more, the single-home credits — 20% at 5 years held, 40% at 10, 50% at 15; 20% at age 60, 30% at 65, 40% at 70, “combinable up to a cap of 80%”, the 150% cap on the year-on-year increase, the rule that the property tax credit is computed separately by asset type, and “payment in instalments over six months where the amount exceeds 2.5 million won.”
- KACTA Tax Accountants' Newspaper — will the fair market value ratio go to 80% this year? (25 June 2026). Source of the current 60% ratio and the 80% proposal, the 150% burden cap, the 18.6% apartment and 4.5% Seoul detached-house averages, the 69% realisation rate, the 43–45% single-home property tax ratio, and the complex-by-complex published prices.
- KACTA Tax Accountants' Newspaper — the assessment date is 1 June — mind your closing (August 2024). Source of the sentence “if the home is sold after 2 June, that year's property tax and comprehensive real estate tax fall on the seller,” the worked case, the ₩1.2B deduction for low-value regional homes, the 80% credit ceiling and the exclusion filing window.
- KACTA Tax Accountants' Newspaper — bills can be corrected 1–15 next month; deferral applications for older owners (November 2022). Source of the 21st billing date, the 1–15 self-filing window, the 15th of the following month deadline, the deferral conditions (60 or over / ₩70M salary / ₩60M comprehensive income / above ₩1M tax / 5 years held / 1.2% interest) and the ₩2.5M instalment threshold over six months.
- Korea Association of Realtors news — summary of 2026 property tax amendments (February 2026). Source of the unsold-home threshold moving ₩600M → ₩700M and the preferential basic deduction moving ₩900M → ₩1.2B.
Written as of July 2026. The fair market value ratio, burden cap, 2026 published prices, realisation rate, worked examples, the 1 June assessment date, the deferral conditions, instalment thresholds and billing schedule all come from the sources above. However, the ₩1.2B and ₩900M basic deductions, the ₩500M aggregate-land and ₩8B separately-aggregated-land thresholds, the rate schedule, the age and long-holding credit percentages by band, the 20% rural development surtax and the ₩1.8B joint-ownership deduction could not be checked against a 2026 public-agency original. The deferral conditions also date from guidance for the 2022 tax year, and the 2026 fair market value ratio is confirmed only as “60%, with 80% under discussion.” The National Tax Service and Ministry of Economy and Finance sites would not open. When the bill arrives, check the ratio and deductions actually applied on Hometax, and consult a professional if the amount is large. This is general information, not tax advice.
