When two people who each own a home marry, or a home-owner moves in with a parent who owns a home, one household ends up with two homes. Income Tax Enforcement Decree Article 155 treats the first home sold within 10 years of the marriage or the merger as the household’s one home and applies Article 154(1), the one-home exemption test. Moving in to care for a parent is para. 4; marriage is para. 5. Enter the dates to see when the 10 years end and whether a sale falls inside.
1. Marriage — one home each, two after marrying: 10 years from the day of marriage (para. 5).
2. Parent care — a one-home owner merges with a parent aged 60 or over who owns one home: 10 years from the merger (para. 4).
3. Only the first home sold is treated as the one home; either home can go first.
4. The Art. 154(1) test, such as holding 2 years, still applies.
Calculator
Updates as you type. The 10 years are counted from the day after the marriage or merger, ending on the same date 10 years on (our Civil Act reading). The article says “the day of marriage” without defining it. The first home sold still needs the Art. 154(1) holding (and residence) test; high-value homes, rights and presales are outside this calculator.
The two paragraphs
| Type | What the source says | Worth noting (ours) |
|---|---|---|
| Art. 155(4) (parent care) | A person who owns one home and forms a household merges with a lineal ascendant aged 60 or over who owns one home (including those below) to live with and support them, so the household owns two homes: the home sold first within 10 years of the merger is treated as one household, one home, and Art. 154(1) applies | Last amended 30 Dec 2025 |
| (4) item 1 | A spouse’s lineal ascendant aged 60 or over | Parents-in-law count (our gloss) |
| (4) item 2 | Where one of the lineal ascendants (including the spouse’s) is under 60 | One parent under 60 still counts |
| (4) item 3 | A lineal ascendant under 60 receiving care under the National Health Insurance Decree, Annex 2, item 3(a)3), (b)2) or (e), as set by ministry ordinance | We did not read the illness list |
| Art. 155(5) (marriage) | A one-home owner marries another one-home owner, or a homeless person caring for a parent aged 60 or over who owns one home marries a one-home owner, so the household owns two homes: the home sold first within 10 years of the day of marriage is treated as one household, one home, and Art. 154(1) applies | Last amended 12 Nov 2024 |
Both paragraphs end with “Article 154(1) applies”. Art. 154(1) requires one home in Korea on the sale date, held for 2 years or more (and, if in a regulated area at purchase, lived in for 2 years within that time). So on our reading the rule removes the two-home obstacle but not the holding and residence test. That test is in the one-home holding and residence checker.
Three sums — our example
| Case (our example) | 10 years end | Worth noting (ours) |
|---|---|---|
| Married 2 Nov 2026, one home each | 2 November 2036 | Sell the first home by then |
| Merged with a parent 16 May 2020, sold 16 May 2030 | Within 10 years | A sale on the last day is inside |
| Married 29 Feb 2024 | 28 February 2034 | Common year, so month-end |
We read “within 10 years of the day of marriage” with Civil Act Arts. 157 and 160, counting from the next day. The article does not say whether the day of marriage is the registration date; ask the tax office if a date is close.
What this rule does not cover
- Mergers that make three or more homes — the paragraphs cover only 1 + 1 = 2.
- Redevelopment rights and presales — Arts. 156-2 and 156-3, not read this time.
- High-value homes over KRW 1.2 billion — the part above is taxed under separate rules (one-home capital gains exemption).
- Inherited homes — Art. 155(2), in the inherited home exemption checker. Para. 2 also has a parent-care merger clause: only a home “held since before the merger” is treated as the inherited home.
Checklist
- ☐ How many homes each side had before (1 + 1?)
- ☐ For parent care: the parent’s age — 60 or over, or items 1–3
- ☐ Records of the marriage or merger date
- ☐ The first home sold held 2 years (lived 2 years if regulated at purchase)
- ☐ Completion before the 10 years end
Questions that remain
Are both homes exempt?
No. The article treats “the home sold first” as the one home. The other is judged on its own facts when sold later (our reading).
What if a homeless person marries a one-home owner?
Then the household has one home and needs no special rule. Para. 5 mentions a homeless person only where they care for a parent aged 60 or over who owns a home.
What if the parent is under 60?
Para. 4 items cover a spouse’s parent, a pair where only one is under 60, and a parent under 60 receiving the listed care.
Sources
- Korean law database (law.go.kr) — Income Tax Enforcement Decree Art. 155(4), (5), Art. 154(1) — source (current text, effective 1 October 2026, Presidential Decree No. 36737; checked 2 November 2026). Parent-care merger 10 years (para. 4, items 1–3), marriage 10 years (para. 5), Art. 154(1) holding 2 years and regulated-area residence 2 years, Art. 155(2) wording on homes held before a merger.
- Not read. The earlier period and the addendum to the 12 Nov 2024 amendment, NHI Decree Annex 2, the ministry ordinance for item 3, Arts. 156-2 and 156-3.
- What we added. The “worth noting” column and the Korean everyday gloss.
Where to check further
- Your tax office or the National Tax Service — the marriage date, and cases with rights or presales.
- Hometax — filing capital gains tax.
Written on 2 November 2026. The content is from the source; the glosses are ours.
