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.
1. What it's worth. On rent of ₩600,000 a month with total salary of ₩50 million, the year's ₩7.2 million attracts 17% — ₩1,224,000, taken straight off the tax you owe. Filled to the cap it reaches ₩1.5 million (₩10 million of rent at 15%).
2. Where the risk is. The table everyone quotes stops at “17% if salary is ₩55M or less” — but the statute adds a second ceiling of ₩45 million in aggregate income. The three core requirements are no home owned by the household, total salary of ₩80M or less, and move-in registration matching the lease, plus housing size or value conditions.
3. What to do. The thresholds moved twice — the maximum credit that used to be ₩900,000 is now ₩1.5 million. If you were told years ago that you didn't qualify, check again; and past years can still be reclaimed for five years through an amended return.
On 3 August 2026 a bill was published that changes this credit in two places. (1) The eligible rent cap rises from ₩10 million to ₩12 million a year, and (2) young renters would get the 17% rate regardless of income (through 31 Dec 2029) — today 17% applies only below ₩55 million of total pay. It is still a government bill and the release gives no start date — everything below is current law. The full bill is covered in our guide to the 2026 tax reform bill.
How much comes back
| Total salary | Credit rate |
| ₩55M or less excluded if aggregate income exceeds ₩45M | 17% |
| ₩55M – ₩80M excluded if aggregate income exceeds ₩70M | 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.
Where the cap bites is easiest to see in monthly-rent terms.
Two things the rate table leaves out
The rate table is everywhere. But Article 95-2 of the Restriction of Special Taxation Act — in force 1 January 2026, Act No. 21223 as amended 23 December 2025 — carries two conditions the usual table does not.
One — the 17% band has a second income test
From the parenthetical inside paragraph 1:
… an employee with total salary of ₩80 million or less (excluding a person whose aggregate income counted in computing the global income tax base exceeds ₩70 million) … 15 per cent of that amount [where the employee's total salary is ₩55 million or less (excluding a person whose aggregate income … exceeds ₩45 million), 17 per cent] shall be deducted from the global income tax payable.
The table everyone circulates stops at “₩55M or less means 17%.” The statute puts a separate ₩45M aggregate-income ceiling on that band.
When does this bite? Rarely for someone with salary alone. It bites when other income sits on top of the salary. An employee on ₩53M whose side work, rental or financial income pushes aggregate income above ₩45M drops from 17% to 15%. At the full cap that is ₩10M × 2pp = ₩200,000 (our own arithmetic). Knowing only the ₩70M threshold hides this band entirely.
Two — a spouse clause was added on 23 December 2025
Paragraph 2, marked newly inserted 23 December 2025. It cannot appear in the 2023 and early-2025 articles this piece has relied on.
(2) Where the spouse of a head of household who has received the credit under paragraph 1 meets all of the following requirements, that spouse may additionally receive the deduction under paragraph 1. In such cases, where the combined monthly rent of the head of household and the spouse exceeds ₩10 million, the amount obtained by subtracting the excess from the spouse's rent (treated as zero if negative) shall be the deductible amount.
1. Meets all the requirements under paragraph 1.
2. Meets the requirements prescribed by Presidential Decree, such as having a different address from the head of household.
It reads as aimed at couples living apart and each paying rent — weekday-separated households. Previously only one person per household could claim.
The ₩10M ceiling does not move. The second sentence measures the cap across both spouses. Applying the text (our own arithmetic) —
· Head ₩6M + spouse ₩3M = ₩9M → no excess. The spouse's full ₩3M qualifies.
· Head ₩7M + spouse ₩5M = ₩12M → ₩2M excess. The spouse gets ₩5M − ₩2M = ₩3M.
· If the head has already used the full ₩10M, the spouse gets nothing (negatives are treated as zero).
The couple's cap does not become ₩20M. What grows is the number of claimants, not the ceiling — which also means that where one spouse qualifies for 17% and the other for 15%, loading the rent onto the better rate is worth more.
Not verified — the content of paragraph 2 subparagraph 2's “requirements prescribed by Presidential Decree, such as having a different address” sits in the Enforcement Decree, which we did not open. We also did not check the supplementary provisions for which income year the clause first applies. Confirm with Hometax or a tax professional before claiming.
Confirmed — the wording of the ₩10M cap
The proviso to paragraph 1: “Provided, that where the monthly rent exceeds ₩10 million, the excess shall be deemed non-existent.” It is not ₩10M off the tax bill; it is a ceiling on the rent that enters the calculation, and the rate applies to that. So the maximum is ₩10M × 15% = ₩1.5M, or ₩1.7M in the 17% band (our own arithmetic).
This article has only ever quoted ₩1.5M as the maximum. On the statute, someone with total salary of ₩55M or less and aggregate income of ₩45M or less who paid ₩10M in rent gets ₩1.7M. It is an uncommon combination — over ₩830,000 a month in rent on a salary of ₩55M or less — but it exists.
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.
Three thresholds moved together, and this is what it did to the maximum.
Eligibility in detail
| Home ownership | No home owned by the household at year-end |
| Income | Total salary ₩80M or less excluded if aggregate income exceeds ₩70M |
| Housing size | National housing size, or assessed value of ₩400M or less |
| Property type | Apartments, houses, residential officetels and goshiwon included |
| Contract holder | You or a qualifying dependant since 2017, a lease signed by a qualifying dependant also counts |
| Address | The address on the lease agreement and the address on your resident registration abstract must be the same |
Checked against the National Tax Service original in July 2026. The monthly rent tax credit section of the NTS 2025 Year-End Settlement Filing Guide for Withholding Agents (pp. 202–203) states head of a household owning no home (single-person households and qualifying household members included), total salary ₩80M or less, excluded where aggregate income exceeds ₩70M, national housing size or assessed value of ₩400M or less, residential officetels and goshiwon included, rates of 17% and 15%, a ₩10M annual cap, and that “the address on the lease agreement and the address on the resident registration abstract must be the same.” The ₩400M value and housing-size conditions this article had long flagged as unverified are now confirmed.
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.
That “five years” is now confirmed from the statute too. Article 45-2(1) of the Framework Act on National Taxes: “within five years after the statutory filing deadline has passed.” It runs from the statutory deadline, not from the day you filed. And subparagraph 2 of that paragraph covers the case where “the tax credit amount falls short” — which is exactly a missed rent credit. 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. The NTS guide sets this out as an explicit either/or: rent claimed under the rent credit cannot also be counted in the cash-receipt or card deduction, and a worker who cannot claim the credit can use the card deduction instead — so one of the two routes is always open to you.
Sources and where to check
- Korea Ministry of Government Legislation, National Law Information Centre — Restriction of Special Taxation Act, Article 95-2 (tax credit for monthly rent), in force 1 January 2026, Act No. 21223 as amended 23 December 2025. Source for the 15% / 17% rates, the ₩80M salary threshold, the ₩70M and ₩45M aggregate-income exclusions, the ₩10M rent proviso, and paragraph 2's spouse credit (inserted 23 December 2025). Every quotation above is taken from this text.
- Korea Ministry of Government Legislation, National Law Information Centre — Framework Act on National Taxes, Article 45-2 (request for correction). Source for the five-year window running from the statutory filing deadline and for a missed credit falling under paragraph 1 subparagraph 2.
- National Tax Service — 2025 Year-End Settlement Filing Guide for Withholding Agents, monthly rent tax credit section (pp. 202–203). Source for head of a household owning no home (single-person households and qualifying members included), total salary ₩80M or less with aggregate income above ₩70M excluded, national housing size or ₩400M assessed value, residential officetels and goshiwon included, the 17% / 15% rates, the ₩10M cap, the address-match requirement, leases signed by a qualifying dependant since 2017, and the rule that rent claimed as a credit cannot also be claimed under the card deduction. The eligibility table above was re-set against this document.
- Seoul Labor Rights Center — posting of the same NTS guide. Confirms this manual is the official document distributed to company payroll staff and is reissued annually; the rent credit sits under “VII. Tax reductions and credits” in its table of contents.
- 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. On top of that, the eligibility conditions were re-checked in July 2026 against the National Tax Service's own 2025 Year-End Settlement Filing Guide. The ₩400M assessed-value and housing-size conditions this article had long carried as unverified are now confirmed, together with the ₩70M aggregate-income exclusion, the address-match requirement and the either/or relationship with the card deduction. In July 2026 we then opened Article 95-2 itself at the National Law Information Centre. That added the ₩45M aggregate-income condition on the 17% band and paragraph 2's spouse credit, inserted 23 December 2025, to the body of this article. The five-year amended-return window was confirmed separately from Article 45-2 of the Framework Act on National Taxes. We did not open the Enforcement Decree behind paragraph 2 subparagraph 2 — since confirmed: Decree art. 95(5), added 27 February 2026, requires the head's and the spouse's addresses to be in different cities, counties or autonomous districts, and any of the head's lineal relatives living at the spouse's address to own no home. It did not check which income year the clause first applies to. The guide's figures are for income year 2025, so income year 2026 has to be re-checked when the new edition appears. Some of the other sources date from 2023 and 2025 and may not reflect later amendments. Confirm with Hometax's year-end settlement guidance or a tax professional before filing. This is general information, not tax advice. To put a number on it there is the monthly rent credit calculator, which carries the day-by-day proration of Decree art. 95(3) as written.
