Korea’s comprehensive real estate tax (jongbuse) notice arrives in late November and is payable from 1 to 15 December (Comprehensive Real Estate Tax Act Art. 16(1)). A large bill need not be paid in one go. Article 20 lets the tax office allow part of the tax to be paid in instalments within 6 months after the deadline when the tax due is over ₩2.5 million, and Enforcement Decree Article 16 sets the size of that part — up to ₩5 million, the amount above ₩2.5 million; over ₩5 million, up to half of the tax. Enter the tax on your notice to see what is due in December and what can wait.
1. Over ₩2.5 million: instalments allowed — within 6 months after the deadline (Act Art. 20).
2. Over ₩2.5 million up to ₩5 million: the part above ₩2.5 million; over ₩5 million: up to 50/100 of the tax (Decree Art. 16(1)).
3. Apply by the deadline (15 December) at the tax office — it reissues the notice in two parts.
Calculator
Updates as you type. Enter the comprehensive real estate tax itself. Whether the rural development tax on the same notice can be split is not covered — we did not read that law. The June date is our count from the Act’s wording; the corrected notice shows the actual date.
The three provisions
| Type | What the source says | Worth noting (ours) |
|---|---|---|
| Act Art. 16(1) | The tax office determines the tax and levies it from 1 to 15 December (the “payment period”) | Self-assessment is filed in the same window (Art. 16(3)) |
| Act Art. 20 | Where the tax due is over ₩2.5 million, part of it may be paid in instalments within 6 months after the deadline, as the Decree provides | “May” — you must apply |
| Decree Art. 16(1) | 1. Over ₩2.5 million up to ₩5 million: the tax minus ₩2.5 million / 2. Over ₩5 million: up to 50/100 of the tax | The maximum that can be split |
| Decree Art. 16(2)–(3) | Apply to the tax office by the deadline; the office reissues the notice split into the part due by the deadline and the part due within the instalment period | You get two notices |
₩2.5 million is “over”: a tax of exactly ₩2.5 million cannot be split. ₩5 million is “up to”, so exactly ₩5 million follows line 1 (minus ₩2.5 million = ₩2.5 million). The two lines meet at the same figure — ₩5 million gives ₩2.5 million either way (our sum).
Four sums — our example
| Tax on notice (our example) | By 15 December | By June next year (instalment) |
|---|---|---|
| ₩2.4 million | ₩2.4 million, all of it | None — ₩2.5 million or less |
| ₩4 million | ₩2.5 million | ₩1.5 million (4m − 2.5m) |
| ₩5 million | ₩2.5 million | ₩2.5 million (5m − 2.5m) |
| ₩10 million | ₩5 million | ₩5 million (half) |
The instalment runs for a period of “within 6 months”, so the exact last day is on the reissued notice. For 2026 the deadline is Tuesday 15 December; counting 6 months from the next day by calendar months gives 15 June 2027 (a Tuesday) — our count. How periods are counted is in legal period calculator.
Instalments are not deferral
Instalments push part of the tax 6 months later, with a single condition: the tax is over ₩2.5 million. Deferral (Art. 20-2) lets a one-home household meeting age or ownership, income and tax conditions, and giving security, put off the tax until the home is sold, with interest for the period. The test and the interest are in comprehensive real estate tax deferral checker.
Checklist
- ☐ Is the tax itself over ₩2.5 million?
- ☐ Up to ₩5 million: the part above ₩2.5 million; above that, up to half
- ☐ Apply by 15 December
- ☐ Check both reissued notices
- ☐ Property tax instalments run 3 months instead (Local Tax Act Art. 118)
Questions that remain
Can the rural development tax be split too?
It appears on the same notice, but its instalment rule sits in a different act that we did not read. The calculator covers the comprehensive real estate tax only.
What if I miss the instalment date?
The instalment is a notified tax, so late-payment penalty tax would apply on our reading. See tax penalty calculator.
Sources
- Korean law database (law.go.kr) — Comprehensive Real Estate Tax Act Arts. 16, 20 — source (current text, effective 1 January 2026, Act No. 21224; checked 27 October 2026). Art. 16 levy (1–15 December), Art. 20 instalments (over ₩2.5 million, within 6 months after the deadline).
- Korean law database — Enforcement Decree Art. 16 — source (effective 1 October 2026, Decree No. 36739; checked 27 October 2026). The two bands, applying by the deadline, the reissued notice.
- Not read. The rural development tax instalment rule; the National Tax Collection Act.
- What we added. The “worth noting” column and the Korean everyday gloss.
Where to check further
- Your tax office or Hometax — the application and reissued notices.
Written on 27 October 2026. The content is from the source; the glosses are ours.
