Retire, join a child's employer health insurance as a dependant, and the premium is zero. The figures people memorise are "income 20m, property 540m", but there are more sentences between those two numbers. Read Annex 1-2 as written and it comes out like this.
1. Interest and dividends count as zero up to 10m won and in full one won over. A 12m pension plus 10m of interest is 12m won and passes; one won more and it is 22,000,001 won and fails.
2. Pensions count in full, not by half. The 50% rule (art. 44(2)) is for setting premiums, not for the dependant test.
3. Over 540m won of property, the income limit halves to 10m won. Over 900m, no income passes.
4. The same 1.2bn won home is a tax base of 540m won if it is your only one - exactly on the line. Two homes adding to 1.2bn make 720m won, and the income limit halves.
Enter the relationship, the income and the assessed value of the home, and it shows whether income tests (a) and (b) and the property test each pass, and where it catches.
It follows Annex 1-2 as written. Article 2(1) of the Enforcement Rule of the National Health Insurance Act requires both the support test in Annex 1 and the income and property test in Annex 1-2; this checker covers only the latter. Income: interest, dividend, business, earned, pension and other income under Decree art. 41(1) must total 20m won a year or less (item a) and there must be no business income (item b) — unless the person has no business registration (housing rental income excluded) or is registered as disabled or a decorated veteran, and business income is 5m or under, in which case it is treated as none. Public pensions count in full (Decree art. 41(1)5 proviso), and interest plus dividends of 10m won or under are not added at all (Rule art. 44(1) proviso). Property: the property tax base of land, buildings, homes, ships and aircraft under Decree art. 42(1)1 must be 540m won or under, or between 540m and 900m with income of 10m or under; for a sibling the limit is 180m. Tax bases use the 2026 fair-market ratios in Local Tax Act Decree art. 109(1): land and buildings 70%, homes 60%, a single home 43% up to 300m, 44% up to 600m and 45% above. Fractions of a won are dropped. The support test, ships and aircraft, the spouse's own figures and the redevelopment proviso are not included. An estimate — confirm with the NHIS (1577-1000).
Financial income: zero up to 10m won, all of it one won over
Income test (a) reads: the total of the income in Decree art. 41(1), as calculated, must be 20m won a year or under. The calculation belongs to Rule art. 44(1), which carries a proviso — "where income under art. 14(3)6 of the Income Tax Act is 10m won or under, the interest and dividend income shall not be added".
"Shall not be added." It is not the excess that enters: up to 10m won the whole amount stays out, and one won over the whole amount comes in. Someone on a 12m pension who receives 10m won of interest has income of 12m won and passes; with one won more it is 22,000,001 won and fails. One won of interest turns a zero premium into a regional subscriber's bill.
| Interest (plus a 12m pension) | Income total | Test (a) |
|---|---|---|
| 10m won → none counted | 12m won | passes |
| 10,000,001 won → all counted | 22,000,001 won | fails |
| 8m won → none counted | 12m won | passes |
| The same proviso produces the premium cliff in the post-retirement premium guide — and it applies to the dependant test just the same. | ||
Pensions count in full
Decree art. 41(1)5 lists pension income and adds: for public pension income, "the whole of the pension income arising in the tax period" counts. The National Pension and the civil-service pension enter as received. The "50% of pension income" rule is Rule art. 44(2), the rule for setting premiums, not for deciding who is a dependant. So a public pension one won over 20m won a year rules a person out with no other income at all.
Over 540m won of property, the income limit halves
Annex 1-2 para. 2(a) writes the property test as one of two: the property tax base of the property in Decree art. 42(1)1 (land, buildings, homes, ships, aircraft) is 540m won or under, or it is between 540m won and 900m won and income is 10m won a year or under. So the moment property crosses the line, the income limit drops from 20m won to 10m won, and over 900m won nothing passes, even zero income.
Siblings go by Annex 1 item 10 — a tax base of 180m won or under, one box only. A sibling must also be under 30, 65 or over, or registered as disabled or a decorated veteran, and unmarried with no parent, or a parent with no income.
| Property tax base | Income limit | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| 540m won or under | 20m won a year | para. 2(a)2 |
| over 540m won, up to 900m won | 10m won a year | para. 2(a)1 |
| over 900m won | none (fails) | no item covers it |
| sibling: 180m won or under | 20m won a year | para. 2(b) |
| Decree art. 42(1) also has item 2, tenant deposits, but Annex 1-2 cites item 1 only — a jeonse deposit is not part of the dependant property test. (It does count when a regional subscriber is charged — at 30 percent, in the regional premium calculator.) | ||
The same 1.2bn home: on the line if it is your only one, over it if not
The property tax base is not the assessed value but assessed value × fair-market ratio (Local Tax Act art. 110). Decree art. 109(1) sets the ratio: for 2026, homes 60%, but a single-home household gets 43% up to 300m, 44% up to 600m and 45% above (homes over 900m included). Land and buildings are 70%.
So a 1.2bn single home is 1.2bn × 45% = 540m won — exactly on the property line. The same 1.2bn as two homes at 600m each uses 60% and makes 720m won, over the line, so the income limit falls to 10m won. A parent on a 15m pension passes with one home and fails with two.
| Assessed value | Single home (45%) | Otherwise (60%) |
|---|---|---|
| 900m | 405m won | 540m won (on the line) |
| 1.2bn | 540m won (on the line) | 720m won (10m income limit) |
| 1.5bn | 675m won | 900m won (on the line) |
| 2bn | 900m won (on the line) | 1.2bn won (fails) |
| 900m, 1.2bn, 1.5bn and 2bn are examples; the single-home column uses the 45% band, with no other property. Sibling example: a 400m single home at 44% is 176m won, inside 180m won; the same 400m as one of two homes is 240m won, outside. | ||
Questions that remain
What if there is a little business income?
Test (b) says there must be none. But if the person has no business registration, or is registered as disabled or a decorated veteran, and business income is 5m won a year or under, it is treated as none. A registered business fails on one won, and housing rental income blocks the proviso even without registration. Business income here is the net amount after expenses.
Does the spouse's income count?
Yes. Para. 1(d) says that for a married person both spouses must meet items (a) to (c). When registering both parents, one parent's income alone will not do. Item (d) binds the income tests, (a) to (c).
Is the money test the whole story?
No. Rule art. 2(1) requires the support test in Annex 1 as well. A parent who lives with the employee qualifies; one who lives apart qualifies only where no sibling living with the parent has income. A child living apart must be unmarried. This checker covers Annex 1-2 only.
When do I file?
Filed within 90 days of the employee's enrolment date, the status is backdated to that date; later, it runs from the day of filing (Rule art. 2(2)). The three deadlines are in the post-retirement premium guide.
What does the checker not see?
The Annex 1 support test, ships and aircraft, the spouse's own figures, the redevelopment proviso (item c) and the separate-taxation calculation for housing rental income are left out. Assessed values are official prices, not market prices, and the income data used is from one or two years earlier (Decree art. 41(3)).
Sources
National Health Insurance Act [in force 2 Jan 2026] — art. 5(2) (the four kinds of dependant; income and property by ministerial rule).
Enforcement Rule [in force 11 Aug 2026] — art. 2(1) (Annex 1 and Annex 1-2 both), art. 2(2) (90 days), Annex 1 (support test; siblings item 10), Annex 1-2 (amended 23 Apr 2025; income 20m won; business income 5m won proviso; property 540m won, 900m won, 180m won), art. 44(1) (10m won interest and dividend proviso), art. 44(2) (50% is for premiums).
Enforcement Decree [in force 19 Feb 2026] — art. 41(1) (six kinds of income; public pensions in full), art. 41(3) (which year's data), art. 42(1)1 (what property counts).
Local Tax Act Enforcement Decree [in force 1 Jul 2026] — art. 109(1) (fair-market ratios; 2026 single-home 43, 44, 45%).
The point of this piece is two provisos — "shall not be added" in Rule art. 44(1) and "the whole" in Decree art. 41(1)5. The financial-income cliff and the full-pension rule both come from there.
The script was checked against the same model across 51,840 combinations in both languages — 3 relationships × 2 disability flags × 3 business types × 2 single-home flags × 4 financial incomes × 3 pensions × 2 earnings × 2 other incomes × 3 business incomes × 5 home values × 2 land values, with no mismatch. Percentages are applied as integers and fractions of a won dropped.
Where to check
The result here is an estimate. The Service reads tax-office income data and local tax bases directly, so confirm with the National Health Insurance Service (1577-1000) or a branch. The order of steps after retirement is in what health insurance costs after you retire, the years before the National Pension starts in bridging the pension gap, and a parent's Basic Pension in the Basic Pension income test calculator.
