First-time home buyers in Korea pay less acquisition tax. Article 36-3 of the Restriction of Special Local Taxation Act cuts the tax until 31 December 2028 where, on the acquisition date, neither you nor your spouse has ever owned a home, and you buy a home priced at ₩1.2 billion or less by sale, to live in. There are two levels: small homes — non-apartment multi-unit homes or urban-type housing of 60 m² or less priced ₩300 million or less (₩600 million in the capital area), multi-household houses, and homes in population-decline areas — get up to ₩3 million off; other homes up to ₩2 million. If the tax is at or below the limit, it is waived. Selling, gifting or using the home otherwise (including letting) within 3 years brings a clawback. Enter the price and type to see the tax, the relief and what you pay.
1. You and your spouse have never owned a home + ₩1.2 billion or less + bought by sale — minors and gifts with debt excluded.
2. ₩2 million off as standard; ₩3 million for small non-apartment homes (60 m², ₩300m/₩600m) and population-decline areas.
3. Clawback if sold, gifted or used otherwise within 3 years — transfers of a share to a spouse excepted.
Calculator
Updates as you type. Assumes you and your spouse have never owned a home, you are not a minor and you buy by sale (not a gift with debt) to live in it. Acquisition tax only — local education tax and rural development tax are not included. For joint buyers the relief for the whole home is capped at the same amount.
How the relief works — Art. 36-3(1)–(2)
| Type | What the source says | Worth noting (ours) |
|---|---|---|
| Who | On the acquisition date, you (a Korean national) and your spouse have never owned a home; a foreign spouse whose marriage is registered counts. Minors excluded | You and your spouse, not the whole household |
| What | A home priced ₩1.2 billion or less, bought by sale (not a gift with debt) to live in | Surcharge rates (Local Tax Act Art. 13-2) do not apply |
| Until | 31 December 2028 | Sunset |
| Item 1 — ₩3 million | (a) Multi-unit homes (not apartments) of 60 m² or less priced ₩300m (capital area ₩600m) or less / (b) urban-type housing on the same terms / (c) multi-household houses ₩300m (₩600m) or less (units of 60 m² or less) / (d) homes in population-decline areas | Tax of ₩3 million or less waived; above, ₩3 million off |
| Item 2 — ₩2 million | Any other home | Tax of ₩2 million or less waived; above, ₩2 million off |
| Joint buyers (2) | Where two or more buy together, the total relief for the home is ₩3 million (item 1) or ₩2 million (item 2) at most | It does not multiply by buyers |
The tax before relief uses Local Tax Act Art. 11(1)8: 10/1000 up to ₩600 million, 30/1000 over ₩900 million, and in between (price × 2/₩300m − 3) × 1/100, rounded at the fifth decimal place. So a ₩700 million home is taxed at 1.67%, ₩11.69 million, and after ₩2 million off you pay ₩9.69 million (our sum). For local education and rural development tax on top, see acquisition tax calculator.
Five sums — our example
| Home (our example) | Tax → relief | You pay |
|---|---|---|
| Capital-area villa ₩500m, 59 m² | ₩5m → ₩3m off | ₩2 million |
| Capital-area apartment ₩500m, 59 m² | ₩5m → ₩2m off | ₩3 million |
| Capital-area apartment ₩700m, 84 m² | ₩11.69m → ₩2m off | ₩9.69 million |
| Villa outside the capital ₩200m, 50 m² | ₩2m → within ₩3m, waived | ₩0 |
| Apartment in a population-decline area ₩400m | ₩4m → ₩3m off | ₩1 million |
An apartment never falls in item 1(a), however small or cheap — the article says “apartments excluded” — but in a population-decline area item 1(d) gives the ₩3 million limit. A villa outside the capital area priced over ₩300 million is item 2 (₩2 million).
Six cases treated as never having owned a home — Art. 36-3(3)
| Item | Summary | Worth noting (ours) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | A share of a home inherited and then entirely disposed of | Including a share of the land only |
| 2 | A home outside urban areas or in a township (outside the capital area) — a detached house 20+ years old, a detached house of 85 m² or less, or an inherited home — owned while living there, then moving away | Only if disposed of before, or within 3 months of, the new purchase |
| 3 | Owning or having owned a home of 20 m² or less | Not if two or more |
| 4 | Owning or having owned a home with a standard value of ₩1 million or less | — |
| 5 | Owning or having owned a jeonse-fraud victim home under Art. 36-4(1) | — |
| 6 | A small item-1 home (₩200m, capital area ₩300m) lived in as a tenant for a year or more and bought with relief between 1 January 2024 and 31 December 2025 (unless clawed back) | That earlier relief doesn’t count |
Clawback — Art. 36-3(4)
If the buyer sells or gifts the home (other than a share to a spouse) or uses it otherwise, including letting, within 3 years of acquisition, the relief is clawed back. Where the buyer takes over a landlord’s position and the tenant stays on (with a year or less left), the 3 years run from the end of that lease. Detailed tests for home ownership are set by Ministry of the Interior notice (para. 5).
Checklist
- ☐ Neither you nor your spouse has ever owned a home (check the six cases)
- ☐ Price ₩1.2 billion or less, bought by sale
- ☐ ₩3 million for small non-apartment, multi-household or population-decline homes; otherwise ₩2 million
- ☐ Joint buyers share one limit
- ☐ No sale or letting within 3 years
Questions that remain
Do joint spouses get ₩4 million?
No. Para. 2 caps the total relief for the home at ₩3 million (item 1) or ₩2 million (item 2).
What about a flat bought from a pre-sale right?
The article only says “acquiring a home by sale”. We did not read the Ministry notice or rulings on pre-sale rights; ask the local tax office.
Sources
- Korean law database (law.go.kr) — Restriction of Special Local Taxation Act Art. 36-3 — source (current text, effective 2 June 2026, Act No. 21738; checked 27 October 2026). First-home relief (you and spouse never owned, ₩1.2 billion, by sale, to 31 December 2028), item 1 ₩3 million and item 2 ₩2 million, joint-buyer cap, six never-owned cases, 3-year clawback.
- Korean law database — Local Tax Act Art. 11(1)8 — source (effective 1 July 2026, Act No. 21308; checked 27 October 2026). Home purchase rates 1%, the in-between formula, 3%.
- Not read. The Ministry notice, the Enforcement Decree, rural development and local education tax treatment, population-decline area designation.
- What we added. The “worth noting” column and the Korean everyday gloss.
Where to check further
- The local tax office or Wetax — applying and proving no ownership.
Written on 27 October 2026. The content is from the source; the glosses are ours.
