When you inherit a home in Korea you pay acquisition tax on top of, and separately from, inheritance tax. The rate is set by Article 11(1)1 of the Local Tax Act: 23 per 1,000 (2.3%) for farmland and 28 per 1,000 (2.8%) for everything else. The tax base is not the market price but, under Article 10-2(2)1, the standard value (for land and homes, the officially published price). The local education tax (Art. 151) and the rural special tax (Rural Special Tax Act Art. 5) sit on top. And where the heir’s household ends up with a single home — the “one-home household” case — the special rate in Article 15(1)2(a) cuts the acquisition tax rate from 2.8% to 2.8% minus the 2% base rate, or 0.8%. Enter the standard value, your share and the type of property and the calculator below splits the three taxes. Every default is our example.
1. Homes, buildings and land 2.8%, farmland 2.3%, on the standard value — inheritance uses the standard value under Art. 4, not the market-recognised value (Art. 10-2(2)1).
2. Two taxes on top — local education tax is the base × (2.8% − 2%) × 20% = 0.16%, and rural special tax is the base × 2% × 10% = 0.2%. Together that is 3.16%; a home of national housing size or smaller is exempt from the rural special tax, so 2.96% (our arithmetic).
3. One-home household inheritance: 0.96% — acquisition tax 0.8% plus education tax 0.16%; the rural special tax is exempt under Rural Special Tax Act Art. 4(10-4) (our arithmetic). On a home with a standard value of ₩400 million, ₩12.64 million becomes ₩3.84 million (our example).
Calculator
Results update as you type. Enter the standard value in units of ₩10,000 and the share as a whole number from 1 to 100. The defaults (standard value ₩400 million, sole heir, home above national housing size) are our example. Fractions of a won are dropped for each tax (our arithmetic — for amounts under ₩10 see the paragraph just above the worked examples). The size and one-home fields are used only for a home. Reliefs under the Restriction of Special Local Taxation Act (such as farmland for self-farming farmers) and the luxury-home heavy rate are not calculated.
The rate provisions — original text
| Provision | What the text says | Worth noting (our reading) |
|---|---|---|
| Local Tax Act Art. 10-2(2)1 | Notwithstanding paragraph (1), in the following cases the value set out in each item is the value at acquisition. 1. Gratuitous acquisition by inheritance: the standard value under Article 4 | Unlike a gift (market-recognised value) — comparable sales and appraisals are not used |
| Art. 4(1) | The standard value of land and homes applied under this Act is the value published under the Act on the Public Announcement of Real Estate Values. … | Where no price is published, the head of the local government calculates one |
| Art. 11(1)1 | 1. Acquisition by inheritance (a) farmland: 23 per 1,000 (b) other than farmland: 28 per 1,000 | The same 2.8% whether the home is worth 600 or 900 million — unlike the 1–3% for purchases (item 8) |
| Art. 15(1) main text and item 2 | Acquisition tax on any of the following acquisitions is the amount calculated at the rate under Articles 11 and 12 less the base rate for heavy taxation … 2. Acquisition by inheritance that falls under any of the following: (a) acquisition of a one-home household prescribed by Presidential Decree (b) acquisition of farmland eligible for relief under Article 6(1) of the Restriction of Special Local Taxation Act | 2.8% − 2% = 0.8%; Art. 6 item 19 defines the base rate as 20 per 1,000 |
| Decree Art. 29(1) | A household made up of the heir and the family members listed with them on the same household resident register (excluding lodgers) (the heir’s spouse, the heir’s unmarried lineal descendants under 30, or, if the heir is unmarried and under 30, the heir’s parents are treated as in the same household even if not listed) that owns one home in Korea … (excluding luxury homes) | Heirs who are overseas Korean nationals are excluded. We read it as the household having one home including the inherited one |
| Decree Art. 29(2) and (3) | Where several people jointly own one home, each co-owner is treated as owning one home, and owning only the land attached to a home also counts as owning a home. / Where several people jointly inherit one home, the heir with the largest share is treated as its owner … 1. the person living in the home 2. the oldest person | Even a part share or just the land under a home counts as owning one |
The two taxes on top — original text
| Provision | What the text says | Worth noting (our reading) |
|---|---|---|
| Local Tax Act Art. 151(1)1 | For an acquired item (excluding cases under Article 15(2)), … the amount calculated by applying to the tax base the rate in Article 11(1)1 to 7 and Article 12 … less 20 per 1,000 … times 20/100 | (2.8% − 2%) × 20% = 0.16%. The one-home special rate (Art. 15(1)) leaves this unchanged — the text excludes only Art. 15(2) (our reading) |
| Rural Special Tax Act Art. 5(1)6 (table) | The acquisition tax calculated under the Local Tax Act, the Restriction of Special Local Taxation Act and the Restriction of Special Taxation Act applying the standard rate in Articles 11 and 12 of the Local Tax Act as 2/100 — 10/100 | 2% × 10% = 0.2% for homes and farmland alike |
| Rural Special Tax Act Art. 4(10-4) and (11) | 10-4. Acquisition tax under Article 15(1)1 to 3 of the Local Tax Act / 11. Acquisition tax on low-income housing and farm housing prescribed by Presidential Decree | One-home household inheritance falls under Art. 15(1)2, so it is exempt |
| Rural Special Tax Decree Art. 4(5) | “Low-income housing prescribed by Presidential Decree” means residential buildings of national housing size under Article 2(6) of the Housing Act or smaller (for multi-household houses, by exclusive area per household) and the land attached … | The 85㎡ national housing size and its exception are quoted in our 85㎡ article |
Amounts under ₩10. Acquisition tax and local education tax are local taxes, so Art. 55 of the Local Accounting Act covers fractions; the rural special tax is a national tax, covered by Art. 47 of the National Treasury Management Act (our reading). Art. 55 says a local government may disregard amounts under ₩10 in its receipts or payments, and may treat a total under ₩10 as zero (with an exception for instalments in Decree Art. 67). Art. 47(1) of the Treasury Act says fractions under ₩10 are not counted. Because the local-tax rule is permissive, the calculator drops only fractions of a won for all three taxes and does not cut to ₩10 — an actual bill may be cut to the ₩10 and differ by a few won (our explanation).
Five worked examples — ours
| Example (ours) | Result | Worth noting (our reading) |
|---|---|---|
| Home with a standard value of ₩400 million, sole heir, above national housing size | Acquisition tax ₩11,200,000, education tax ₩640,000, rural special tax ₩800,000: a total of ₩12,640,000 | 3.16% of ₩400 million |
| Same home, one-home household | Acquisition tax ₩3,200,000 + education tax ₩640,000, rural special tax 0: a total of ₩3,840,000 | 0.96% — ₩8,800,000 less than the first example |
| ₩400 million home, national housing size or smaller, no special rate | Acquisition tax ₩11,200,000 + education tax ₩640,000: a total of ₩11,840,000 | Only the rural special tax drops out (2.96%) |
| ₩400 million home shared half and half by two siblings | A tax base of ₩200 million each: ₩6,320,000 per person | Whether the special rate applies is decided per person — see joint inheritance below |
| Farmland with a standard value of ₩100 million | Acquisition tax ₩2,300,000, education tax ₩60,000, rural special tax ₩200,000: a total of ₩2,560,000 | (2.3% − 2%) × 20% = 0.06% |
Between the first two examples the special rate alone is worth ₩8,800,000. It takes 2% off the acquisition tax rate and removes the rural special tax, but the local education tax stays — because Art. 151(1)1 subtracts 20 per 1,000 from the Art. 11(1)1 rate of 2.8% (our reading).
How the one-home household is judged
Decree Art. 29 defines the household by the household resident register. Family listed together (not lodgers) form one household, and a spouse and unmarried children under 30 count as the same household even if registered elsewhere. If the heir is unmarried and under 30, the heir’s parents are in the same household too. The special rate applies where that household owns one home in Korea; luxury homes are excluded.
We read this as “the household has one home including the inherited one” — a household that already owns a home and inherits another ends up with two, so the special rate does not apply (our reading). Paragraph (2) treats a co-owned share or land attached to a home as owning a home, so even a 10% share in your name counts as one.
Who gets the special rate in a joint inheritance
Decree Art. 29(3) treats the heir with the largest share as the owner when several people inherit together. If two or more share the largest stake, the one living in the home comes first, then the oldest. This rule decides ownership for counting the one-home household; the tax itself is still the rate applied to each heir’s share of the base, as in the calculator (our reading). Ask the local tax office how the special rate applies to each heir in a joint inheritance.
Checklist
- ☐ Whether the property is a home, farmland or something else (building and land registers)
- ☐ The standard value at the start of inheritance (for land and homes, the published value)
- ☐ Family on the same household register and the homes they own (including shares and attached land)
- ☐ In a joint inheritance, the agreed shares and who holds the largest
- ☐ Whether the exclusive area is national housing size or smaller
- ☐ The filing deadline (below)
Questions that remain
When do I have to file?
Art. 20(1) says that for inheritance you file and pay within “six months (nine months where an heir is domiciled abroad)” from the last day of the month in which the inheritance began. You can count the dates in our acquisition tax filing deadline calculator.
If I pay inheritance tax, do I still pay acquisition tax?
They are different taxes. Inheritance tax is a national tax under the Inheritance and Gift Tax Act; acquisition tax is a local tax under the Local Tax Act. See our inheritance tax calculator for the former.
I heard farmland inherited by a farmer gets relief?
Art. 15(1)2(b) also puts inherited farmland eligible for relief under Art. 6(1) of the Restriction of Special Local Taxation Act into the special rate. We did not read Art. 6 of that Act, so the calculator does not cover this case.
What if I sell the home later?
That is capital gains tax — see our inherited house capital gains exemption checker.
Sources
- Korea Law Information Center — Local Tax Act Arts. 4, 6, 10-2, 11, 15, 20 and 151 — original (current text, in force 1 July 2026, Act No. 21308; checked 11 November 2026). Standard value (published price), base rate for heavy taxation of 20 per 1,000, the inheritance tax base, inheritance rates of 2.3% and 2.8%, the special rate (rate less the base rate), filing deadline, local education tax.
- Korea Law Information Center — Enforcement Decree of the Local Tax Act Art. 29 — original (in force 1 October 2026, Presidential Decree No. 36736; checked 11 November 2026). The one-home household, co-ownership and joint inheritance.
- Korea Law Information Center — Rural Special Tax Act Arts. 4 and 5 — original (in force 12 May 2026, Act No. 21611; checked 11 November 2026). Exemptions (items 10-4 and 11) and item 6 of the rate table.
- Korea Law Information Center — Enforcement Decree of the Rural Special Tax Act Art. 4 — original (in force 2 January 2026, Presidential Decree No. 35947; checked 11 November 2026). Low-income housing (national housing size or smaller).
- Korean Law Information Center — Local Accounting Act Art. 55 and Decree Art. 67, National Treasury Management Act Art. 47 — Local Accounting Act (current version, in force 20 October 2026, Act No. 22084) · Decree (in force 2 June 2026, Presidential Decree No. 36369) · Treasury Act (in force 2 January 2026, Act No. 21065); checked 11 November 2026. Fractions under ₩10.
- Not read. The decree rules for setting a standard value where no price is published, the luxury-home threshold (Decree Art. 28(4)), Art. 6 of the Restriction of Special Local Taxation Act (farmland for self-farming farmers), Housing Act Art. 2(6) (national housing size — quoted in our rural special tax 85㎡ article), and Ministry of the Interior and Safety rulings on joint inheritance.
- What we added. The calculator defaults (₩400 million, sole heir) and five examples, dropping fractions of a won for each tax, the reading “one home including the inherited one”, and the “worth noting” column.
Where to check further
- The tax department of the city, county or district where the property is — whether the one-home special rate applies, how it applies in a joint inheritance, the actual standard value.
- Wetax — filing and paying acquisition tax.
Written on 11 November 2026. The provisions are reproduced from the originals; the explanations and arithmetic are ours.
