Two reliefs attach only to a single-house household: one for age (20%, 30%, 40%) and one for holding period (20%, 40%, 50%). They are added together. But the tables add to 90% at the top, and the law cuts the combined figure at 80%.
1. The tables reach 90%; the statutory cap is 80%. 10 points are cut off (art. 9(5) — “within a combined limit of 80/100”).
2. Two different routes land on 80% exactly. Age 65 with 15 years (30% + 50%) and age 70 with 10 years (40% + 40%) — and once there, neither more years nor more age adds anything.
3. An 80% relief cuts the tax to exactly one fifth. On a published price of KRW 2bn, 2,664,000 won becomes 532,800 won (example).
All nine combinations
Three age bands and three holding bands make nine combinations. Three of them hit the cap — 65 with 15 years, 70 with 10, and 70 with 15. The first two add to exactly 80%, so nothing is lost; the only cell where 10 points are actually cut off is age 70 with 15 years.
| Age | Relief | Held for | Relief |
|---|---|---|---|
| 60 to under 65 | 20% | 5 to under 10 years | 20% |
| 65 to under 70 | 30% | 10 to under 15 years | 40% |
| 70 or over | 40% | 15 years or more | 50% |
The steps are not the same size. Age rises 10 points every five years; holding rises 20 then 10. So the holding side moves harder early — crossing from five years to ten is 20 points in one step.
What the 10 points are worth
On a published price of KRW 2bn at age 70 with 15 years or more, the figure above is the difference between the 90% the tables would give and the 80% the law allows. Cutting 10 points here doubles what is left, from 10% to 20%, so the tax doubles exactly.
As a proportion that is large, but the absolute amounts in this band are small: a long-holding older owner of a single home has already had relief stacked on relief. The cap bites hardest where the published price is much higher — the same 10 points multiply a much bigger number.
When this relief does not apply
Not a single-house household, not a won of it. With two houses the relief is zero at any age and any holding period. Two houses at a published price of KRW 2bn come to 3,895,200 won — against 532,800 won for the same value held as a single home at 70 with 20 years.
A home held jointly by spouses is not a single-house household by default. Each spouse takes the KRW 900m deduction instead, and neither gets this relief. Electing the joint-ownership treatment makes one of them the single-house household, with the KRW 1.2bn deduction and this relief. Which is better flips with age and holding period — the older and longer-held the case, the more the election wins.
This relief applies after the property-tax offset, not before. Reversing the order changes the answer. The calculator shows the sequence.
Questions that remain
As at what date are age and holding measured?
1 June, the assessment date. A birthday on 2 June leaves you in the earlier band for that year.
When does the holding period start?
At acquisition. Whether the clock carries over for a home rebuilt through redevelopment, or one received by inheritance, was not confirmed for this piece. If 15 years is close, check that first — it is the difference between 40% and 50%.
At 70 with 15 years the tables say 90%. Why 80%?
Because the article says the two “may be applied together within a combined limit of 80/100” (art. 9(5)). Each is computed, then added, and anything above 80% is treated as 80%. So past 15 years, holding longer adds nothing to this relief.
What is the fastest route to 80%?
Age 70 with 10 years (40% + 40%). Age 65 with 15 years (30% + 50%) lands on the same figure. The two routes meeting exactly is how the tables are built. But a holding period can be built and an age cannot, so what is actually movable is the holding period and whose name the home is in.
How does this interact with the burden cap?
Not confirmed for this piece. The burden cap (art. 10, 150% of the previous year's tax) is a separate article, and which figure it compares — before or after this relief — changes the amount. If the notice differs, this may be why.
Sources
Comprehensive Real Estate Holding Tax Act, effective 1 January 2026 (Act No. 21224) — art. 9(5) the combined 80/100 limit, art. 9(6) age at 20%/30%/40%, art. 9(8) holding at 20%/40%/50%, art. 9(3) the property-tax offset, art. 10 the 150% burden cap.
The articles were opened and read directly on the national statute portal. All three paragraphs were checked separately, and all nine combinations were computed to confirm that three reach the cap and only one cell actually loses anything to it.
The worked figures use the same calculation as the comprehensive real estate tax calculator — a published price of KRW 2bn, no property-tax reduction or local adjustment, and no burden cap.
Where to check further
The acquisition date on the register. That is where the holding period starts.
The joint-ownership election. The window opens once a year, in September.
Hometax, the simplified estimate. It runs on the age and holding period the tax office holds.
