If you pay monthly rent in Korea, some of it comes back at year-end settlement. Yet many tenants miss it — confusing tax credits with deductions, or assuming they don't qualify.
How many actually claim? According to the Korean Association of Certified Public Tax Accountants' newspaper, of 20.85 million employees in the 2023 year-end settlement, 4.22 million (20.2%) took a housing-related deduction or credit. One in five. Some of the rest own homes and are simply ineligible — but a share of them qualify and never claim.
The rent credit is subtracted directly from tax owed, so the effect is substantial. Meet the conditions and it is worth hundreds of thousands of won, up to ₩1.5M.
Three core requirements — ① no home owned by the household ② total salary of ₩80M or less ③ move-in registration matching the lease address. Housing size or value conditions also apply.
How much comes back
| Total salary | Credit rate |
| ₩55M or less | 17% |
| ₩55M – ₩80M | 15% |
| Above ₩80M | Not eligible |
| Annual cap on rent counted | ₩10M |
The rates come from Article 95-2 of the Restriction of Special Taxation Act. The tax accountants' summary of the amendment records "15% for total salary of ₩70M or less and above ₩55M" and "17% for total salary of ₩55M or less," effective for rent paid on or after 1 January 2023. Before that the rates were 10% and 12%.
Example — ₩600,000 monthly rent, ₩50M salary: ₩7.2M a year × 17% = about ₩1.22M credited.
Fill the cap and the maximum is ₩10M × 15% = ₩1.5M. The same publication states that an employee on ₩80M can claim up to ₩1.5M in rent credit.
Credits differ from deductions. A deduction reduces taxable income, so you save only your marginal rate. A credit is subtracted from the tax itself — far more valuable for the same amount.
The thresholds moved twice
Plenty of people read an older article, concluded they didn't qualify, and stopped there. The bar has been lowered twice since.
| Item | Before | After |
|---|---|---|
| Credit rate | 10% / 12% | 15% / 17% (rent paid from 2023) |
| Salary threshold | ₩70M | ₩80M (from 2024) |
| Annual cap | ₩7.5M | ₩10M (from 2024) |
All three moved, so a maximum that was ₩900,000 under the old rules is now ₩1.5M. If you were told years ago that you didn't qualify, it is worth checking again.
Eligibility in detail
| Home ownership | No home owned by the household at year-end |
| Income | Total salary ₩80M or less |
| Housing size | 85㎡ or under, or meeting the value condition |
| Property type | Apartments, houses, officetels and goshiwon included |
| Contract holder | You or a qualifying dependent |
| Address | Registered address must match the lease |
⚠️ It is not only the household head who has to be careful. The tax accountants' newspaper states plainly that "neither the head nor any member of a household that owns one home may take the housing lease repayment deduction or the monthly rent tax credit." Owning nothing in your own name is not enough — if anyone in your registered household owns a home, you are out. Sharing a household registration with parents is the usual trap.
⚠️ The most common miss: move-in registration. A contract alone isn't enough — without registration there's no credit, and only rent paid after registration counts. Register the day you move; it is also the starting point for protecting your deposit.
How to claim
- Documents — lease contract copy, proof of rent transfers, residence certificate
- Submit at year-end settlement, or confirm the pre-filled Hometax data
- Missed it? Claim in the May income tax filing
- Missed that too? File an amended return within five years
Cash payments are hard to evidence — pay by bank transfer and label it. If year-end settlement is new to you, start with the preparation guide.
Missed an earlier year? You don't need your employer
This is where most people give up unnecessarily. The tax accountants' newspaper reports that an amended return can be filed after the 10 March payment-statement deadline, by the individual directly at the tax office for their registered address, without going through the employer.
You do not have to contact a former employer. Many people postpone because they assume they must request documents from a job they have left. The individual route is open, and the window is five years.
The procedure and paperwork are covered in the amended return guide. To see whether anything else is waiting for you, run a refund check.
If the landlord objects
Some landlords ask tenants not to claim, since it reveals rental income.
- The credit is your legal right.
- Such clauses are unlikely to be enforceable.
- To avoid friction, some tenants file an amended return after moving out, within five years.
The landlord's own rental income tax is a separate matter, and much of it is already visible through lease records.
If you don't qualify, there is still a route
Over the salary threshold, or someone in the household owns a home? That is not the end. You can request a cash receipt for the rent and fold it into the card-spending deduction.
Summarising the National Tax Service's year-end guidance, the tax accountants' newspaper notes that a non-owning household head on total salary of ₩70M or less can claim without submitting separate documents, and that those who do not meet the conditions can still take the card-spending deduction at 30%.
| Aspect | Rent credit / cash-receipt deduction |
| Effect | Cuts tax directly (15–17%) / reduces taxable income (30% rate) |
| Better option | Usually the credit / fallback if ineligible |
| Both? | One or the other |
Cash receipts can be requested using the lease itself — no landlord consent needed. The same guidance notes that in a share house, each resident can claim separately from the household head for the portion they pay.
On jeonse — a different scheme
With a jeonse loan there is a separate deduction for principal and interest on housing lease borrowings. It is not the rent credit. Note, though, that as above, a household owning one home is shut out of that one too.
Which is better depends on your case, so compare on an after-tax basis using the jeonse-to-rent converter. Moving to a semi-jeonse arrangement — smaller deposit plus rent — can also bring you inside the credit.
Questions you may have
Must I be the head of household?
Generally, though a household member may qualify if the head hasn't claimed related benefits. But if the household owns even one home, members are excluded too.
Do officetels count?
Yes, when used residentially and other conditions are met.
I moved mid-year.
Combine rent paid while registered at each address. Keep every contract.
What if my parent signed the lease?
In principle it must be in your name or that of a qualifying dependent. Check before signing.
I missed last year.
File an amended return within five years, and you can do it directly at your local tax office without your employer.
My salary is just over ₩80M.
No credit, but you can request a cash receipt and use the card-spending deduction. No landlord consent is required to request one.
Sources and where to check
- KACTA Tax Accountants' Newspaper — key tax law amendments (January 2023). Source for Article 95-2's 15% above ₩55M up to ₩70M and 17% at ₩55M or less, for the 1 January 2023 effective date, and for the earlier 10% and 12% rates.
- KACTA Tax Accountants' Newspaper — rent credit raised to ₩10M (December 2023). Source for the salary threshold moving ₩70M → ₩80M, the cap moving ₩7.5M → ₩10M, and the 2024 application date.
- KACTA Tax Accountants' Newspaper — homeowners cannot claim the rent credit (January 2025). Source for both the head and members of a one-home household being excluded, for the ₩1.5M maximum, and for the 4.22 million of 20.85 million (20.2%) figure.
- KACTA Tax Accountants' Newspaper — request a cash receipt for rent (December 2023). Source for the 30% card-spending deduction fallback, the ₩400M assessed-value condition and the share-house rule.
Written as of July 2026. The 15% and 17% rates and their effective date, the rise to ₩80M salary and a ₩10M cap, the exclusion of members of a one-home household, the ₩1.5M maximum, the individual amended-return route and the 30% cash-receipt fallback all come from the articles above. By contrast, whether the ₩400M assessed-value and 85㎡ size conditions still hold for the most recent tax year, and the five-year amended-return window, could not be re-checked against a 2026 public-agency original. Some of the sources date from 2023 and 2025 and may not reflect later amendments; the National Tax Service site could not be opened. Confirm with Hometax's year-end settlement guidance or a tax professional before filing. This is general information, not tax advice.
