If you let out registered rental homes in Korea and sell the one home you lived in, can that home still get the one-home capital gains exemption? Article 155(20) of the Income Tax Act Enforcement Decree says that a household owning long-term rental homes and one other home in Korea, meeting the conditions, is treated as owning one home in Korea when it sells that home (the residence home), and Article 154(1) (the one-home exemption) then applies. You must have lived in the residence home for at least 2 years while owning it, and on the sale date the rental home must still be registered with rent and deposit increases of no more than 5%. Enter the rental type, official price, registration date and residence period to see each condition checked.
1. Long-term rental homes + one residence home — when you sell the residence home, it is judged as if you owned one home in Korea (Art. 155(20)).
2. At least 2 years' residence in the home sold; the rental home must keep its tax and rental registrations on the sale date, with increases of 5% or less (Art. 155(20) items 1 and 2).
3. What counts as a long-term rental — a purchased long-term rental let for 10 years with an official price of 600 million won or less at the start of the lease (300 million won outside the capital region), a 6-year short-term rental of 400 million won (200 million won) or less, and so on (Art. 167-3(1)2). Our example: item (e), 500 million won, registered 2019, 30 months' residence, let for 7 years — it qualifies.
Checker
Results update as you type. "Yes" only means the residence home is treated as your one home; the other Article 154(1) conditions such as the holding period, and the 1.2 billion won high-value line, are separate. Attaching the "by 10 July 2020" limit to items (a) and (c), and comparing the rental period in years, are our own choices. Item (d) (unsold new homes), item (g) (voluntary deregistration during the mandatory period), the proviso that uses the published price for built rentals, and the split period where an earlier residence home was sold are not in the checker.
The provisions
| Provision | What it says | Note (our reading) |
|---|---|---|
| Art. 155(20), main text | Where a household owning in Korea a home under Article 167-3(1)2 (… "long-term rental home") … and one other home meets the conditions and sells that home (the "residence home"), it is treated as owning one home in Korea and Article 154(1) applies. | The rental is not dropped from the count; you are "treated as" owning one home |
| Art. 155(20), brackets | The deadline in item (a) 1) and the deadline in the proviso to item (c) do not apply, but only homes whose rental registration was applied for on or before 10 July 2020; homes under item (e) 1) are included [only where items (e) 2) and 3) do not apply]. | The 31 March 2018 deadline of items (a) and (c) is lifted, but only for applications by 10 July 2020 — we read that limit as attached to (a) and (c) |
| Art. 155(20) item 1 | Residence home: residence during the holding period … of 2 years or more | For a home with an earlier residence home sold, only residence after the rental registration counts |
| Art. 155(20) item 2 | Long-term rental: on the sale date, registered as a business under Act Article 168 and … registered and let as a private rental home, with the increase in deposit or rent not exceeding 5 percent. No increase may be claimed within 1 year of the lease or the last increase … | Swaps between deposit and rent follow Private Rental Housing Act Art. 44(4) |
| Art. 155(21) | Even where a household sells the residence home before meeting the rental-period condition of the long-term rental, that rental is treated as a long-term rental home and paragraph 20 applies. | You can sell before reaching 10 years |
| Art. 155(22) | Where, after paragraph 21 has applied, the rental-period condition … is no longer met, the amount calculated … must be reported and paid as capital gains tax within 2 months from the last day of the month in which the event occurred. | Tax due = tax without the relief − tax paid with it |
The last sentence of Article 155(20) splits once more. A residence home that was once registered as a private rental home or used as a childcare centre, and during whose ownership another residence home was sold (the latest one if there were several, the "previous residence home"), is treated as your one home only for the period after the previous residence home was sold. A long-term childcare centre (Art. 167-3(1)8-2) sits in the same place as a long-term rental, and must be operating with an identification number on the sale date (item 3).
What counts as a long-term rental — Article 167-3(1)2
| Item | What it says (summary) | Note (our reading) |
|---|---|---|
| (a) | A resident letting 1 or more purchased private rentals for 5 years or more, official price at the start of the lease 600 million won or less (300 million won outside the capital region), increases of 5% or less; 1) registered by 31 March 2018 | The deadline in 1) is lifted for this relief (Art. 155(20)) |
| (c) | A resident letting 2 or more built rentals (land ≤ 298 m², floor area ≤ 149 m²) for 5 years or more or converting them to sale, official price 600 million won or less; proviso: registered by 31 March 2018 | The proviso deadline is lifted for this relief (Art. 155(20)) |
| (e) | A purchased rental let as a long-term private rental for 10 years or more, official price 600 million won or less (300 million won outside). Excluded: 2) apartments registered on or after 11 July 2020; 3) homes switched from short-term to long-term on or after 11 July 2020; and others | 1) (new purchase in an adjustment area) is included for this relief (Art. 155(20)) |
| (f) | 2 or more long-term built rentals (land ≤ 298 m², floor area ≤ 149 m²) let for 10 years or more or converted to sale, official price 900 million won or less; homes switched from short-term on or after 11 July 2020 excluded | No regional split |
| (h) | A purchased rental let as a short-term private rental under Art. 2(6-2) for 6 years or more, official price 400 million won or less (200 million won outside), increase of 5% or less over the previous lease; a home newly acquired by a household member in an adjustment area while owning a home is excluded | The 6-year short-term branch on the current text — included because Art. 155(20) points to "a home under item 2" (our reading) |
Five sums — our examples
| Example (ours) | Result | Note (our reading) |
|---|---|---|
| Item (e), capital region, official price 500 million won, applied 2019-05-01, not an apartment, increase 4.5%, 30 months' residence, let for 7 years | Yes | 10 years not reached yet, but Art. 155(21) applies first — if never reached, report under Art. 155(22) |
| Same, but an apartment registered on 2020-08-01 | No (1 condition) | Item (e) 2) — apartments applied for from 11 July 2020 are excluded |
| Item (a), applied 2020-09-01, otherwise the same | No | The "by 10 July 2020" limit in the brackets of Art. 155(20) (our reading) |
| Item (h), capital region, official price 450 million won | No | Above the 400 million won limit |
| As in the first row, but 20 months' residence | No | Short of the 2 years (24 months) in item 1 |
In the first row the home has been let for 7 years, 3 short of the 10 in item (e). Article 155(21) still treats it as a long-term rental so the residence home can be sold exempt first, and Article 155(22) says that if the 10 years are then not met, you report and pay "the tax you would have paid without the relief minus the tax paid with it" within 2 months from the last day of the month in which that happened. Unavoidable events such as expropriation, and redevelopment periods, are counted under the special rules in item 2 of the same paragraph.
Related posts
- The one-home exemption basics — one-household one-home exemption and the holding and residence checker.
- The 5% rent cap and conversions — housing rent 5% increase calculator, sangsaeng rental home exemption calculator.
- Income tax on the rent — rental income tax.
- Selling a dagagu house — dagagu house one-home checker.
Checklist
- ☐ Which item of Article 167-3(1)2 is the rental (registration type, rental period, official price)?
- ☐ Registration application date — by 10 July 2020? An apartment?
- ☐ On the sale date, are both the tax office business registration and the local rental registration alive?
- ☐ At each renewal, increases of 5% or less and no second increase within 1 year
- ☐ At least 2 years' residence in the residence home while owning it
- ☐ If you sell before the rental period is met and later miss it, report within 2 months
Questions that remain
Can I have several rental homes?
Paragraph 20 says "long-term rental homes … and one other home", without capping the number of long-term rentals (our reading). If you own another home that is not a long-term rental besides the residence home, this relief does not make you a one-home owner.
What if the residence home is above 1.2 billion won?
Paragraph 20 only makes Article 154(1) apply, so the 1.2 billion won high-value line in Act Article 89(1)3 still stands. The taxed share is worked out in the apportionment post.
Is it once in a lifetime?
The current text of paragraph 20 has no "once" limit; instead it says that a residence home with a previous residence home sold is treated as your one home only for the period after that sale (text as shown on 10 November 2026, our reading).
Sources
- Korea Law Information Center — Income Tax Act Enforcement Decree Art. 155(20) to (22) — source (current text, in force 1 October 2026, Presidential Decree No. 36737; checked 10 November 2026). The residence-home relief, selling before the rental period is met, and the later report-and-pay formula with its special counting rules.
- Korea Law Information Center — Income Tax Act Enforcement Decree Art. 167-3(1)2 — source (same text). Rental period, official price and increase conditions in items (a), (c), (e), (f), (g), (h) and (i).
- Not read. Private Rental Housing Act Arts. 2, 5 and 44 and Addendum Art. 5 of Act No. 17482, the details of items (d) and (i) of Art. 167-3(1)2 and the sale deadline in its paragraph 11, the Seoul Metropolitan Area Readjustment Planning Act that defines the capital region, and the Ministry ordinance on unavoidable events.
- What we added. Reading the 10 July 2020 limit as attached to items (a) and (c), including item (h) in the long-term rental range, the order of checks, and the notes column.
Where to check further
- Your tax office or Hometax — business registration status and the residence-home relief form.
- Renthome (rental registration system) or the local district office — registration application date, registration type and reported rents.
Written on 10 November 2026. The provisions are quoted from the source; the reading and the sums are ours.
