When you register a home purchase in Korea, or register a mortgage for a home loan, the filing comes with a national housing bond purchase. Article 8(1)2 of the Housing and Urban Fund Act requires people applying to the state or a local government for registration, as set by decree, to buy national housing bonds, and Decree Article 8(2) sets who and how much in a Table. Item 15 of its Schedule, “Real estate registration”, charges 13 to 31 per 1,000 of the standard value for home purchases depending on the value band and region (special or metropolitan city / elsewhere), and 10 per 1,000 of the mortgage amount for mortgages (bond purchase capped at 1 billion won). The calculator takes the type of registration and the standard value.
1. Registering a home purchase: 1.3–3.1% of the standard value — nothing under 20 million won (Schedule 15(a)1; percentages are our conversion).
2. Registering a mortgage: 1% of the mortgage amount, only from 20 million won, bond purchase capped at 1 billion won (15(c)).
3. Under 10,000 won: 5,000 won or more rounds up to 10,000; less is dropped (Table item 4).
Calculator
Updates as you type. Face value of first-class national housing bonds to buy when registering. Co-owned property uses your share of the standard value; flats use the value per household. The share does not apply to mortgages. Exemptions are not reflected.
Schedule item 15 — real estate registration (as written)
We opened the Decree’s Table, “Persons required to buy first-class national housing bonds and purchase standards (re Art. 8(2))”, and its Schedule (amended 26 Aug 2025), “Items and amounts”, in the annex viewer. Rates are written as “○/1,000 of the standard value”; the percentages are our conversion.
(a) Preservation or transfer of ownership — 1) homes
| Standard value (won) | Special/metropolitan city | Elsewhere |
|---|---|---|
| 20 million to under 50 million | 13/1,000 (1.3%) | 13/1,000 (1.3%) |
| 50 million to under 100 million | 19/1,000 (1.9%) | 14/1,000 (1.4%) |
| 100 million to under 160 million | 21/1,000 (2.1%) | 16/1,000 (1.6%) |
| 160 million to under 260 million | 23/1,000 (2.3%) | 18/1,000 (1.8%) |
| 260 million to under 600 million | 26/1,000 (2.6%) | 21/1,000 (2.1%) |
| 600 million or more | 31/1,000 (3.1%) | 26/1,000 (2.6%) |
The source gives 20 million to under 50 million as a single “13/1,000 of the standard value” with no regional split. For newly sold flats with no published standard value, the acquisition value under Local Tax Act Art. 10-3 is used.
2) Land
| Standard value (won) | Special/metropolitan city | Elsewhere |
|---|---|---|
| 5 million to under 50 million | 25/1,000 (2.5%) | 20/1,000 (2%) |
| 50 million to under 100 million | 40/1,000 (4%) | 35/1,000 (3.5%) |
| 100 million or more | 50/1,000 (5%) | 45/1,000 (4.5%) |
3) Real estate other than homes and land
| Standard value (won) | Special/metropolitan city | Elsewhere |
|---|---|---|
| 10 million to under 130 million | 10/1,000 (1%) | 8/1,000 (0.8%) |
| 130 million to under 250 million | 16/1,000 (1.6%) | 14/1,000 (1.4%) |
| 250 million or more | 20/1,000 (2%) | 18/1,000 (1.8%) |
(b) Inheritance (including gifts and other free acquisition)
| Standard value (won) | Special/metropolitan city | Elsewhere |
|---|---|---|
| 10 million to under 50 million | 18/1,000 (1.8%) | 14/1,000 (1.4%) |
| 50 million to under 150 million | 28/1,000 (2.8%) | 25/1,000 (2.5%) |
| 150 million or more | 42/1,000 (4.2%) | 39/1,000 (3.9%) |
(c) Registering or transferring a mortgage
10/1,000 of the mortgage amount (1%, our conversion). Only where the mortgage amount is 20 million won or more; if the bond amount exceeds 1 billion won, it is 1 billion. Transfers to or from a trustee on trust or its end are excluded.
The base is the standard value — co-owners by share
| Type | What the source says | Worth noting (ours) |
|---|---|---|
| Item 15 heading | For co-owned property, the standard value under Local Tax Act Art. 4 worked out by share; for flats, the standard value per household | A couple owning jointly each uses their share’s value for the band |
| Same | When working out shares, two or more lots forming one site are treated as one lot | Land |
| (a)(가) | Preservation of ownership of a building is excluded | First registration of a new building |
| (a)(나) | Transfers splitting co-owned property by share, and transfers on trust or its end, are excluded |
What the standard value is comes from Local Tax Act Art. 4, which we did not open this time. For homes it is generally known to be the published official price (our gloss); check the exact figure on the acquisition tax notice or the registration screen.
Rounding and exemptions — the Table
| Type | What the source says | Worth noting (ours) |
|---|---|---|
| Item 4 | The minimum purchase is 10,000 won. A remainder under 10,000 won of 5,000 won or more becomes 10,000 won; under 5,000 won it is treated as none | In effect rounding to the nearest 10,000 (our gloss) |
| Item 2 | State bodies, local governments, public institutions under Decree Art. 8(1), local public enterprises, KAMCO, REITs and the Korea Housing Finance Corporation are exempt | |
| Item 3(d) | A person who bought bonds when applying for the building permit buys none when registering preservation of the finished building | |
| Item 3(i) | Mortgages on homes pledged by people with a home pension guarantee from the Korea Housing Finance Corporation, or a pension-style long-term mortgage loan | No bonds for home pension mortgages |
| Item 3(e) | Farmers, fishers and farming corporations registering farmland bought for farming, or mortgages on farmland |
Item 3 has further exemptions (certain registrations by religious bodies, social welfare and school corporations, loan mortgages of national merit recipients and others). The calculator does not apply exemptions.
Six sums — our examples
| Case (our example) | Sum | Bonds to buy |
|---|---|---|
| Seoul flat bought, standard value 500 million won | 500 million × 26/1,000 | 13 million won |
| The same home elsewhere | 500 million × 21/1,000 | 10.5 million won |
| Metropolitan-city home, standard value 123.45 million won | 123.45 million × 21/1,000 = 2,592,450 won → the 2,450 won remainder dropped | 2.59 million won |
| Seoul home worth 300 million owned 50/50 by a couple | Each share 150 million × 21/1,000 = 3.15 million × 2 | 6.3 million won in all (one owner: 300 million × 26/1,000 = 7.8 million) |
| Mortgage registered for 360 million won | 360 million × 10/1,000 | 3.6 million won |
| Seoul home inherited, standard value 300 million won | 300 million × 42/1,000 | 12.6 million won |
Joint ownership costs less in total because each share’s standard value falls in a lower band (100 million to under 160 million, 21/1,000) (our sum).
What you actually pay — the discount when selling at once
The calculator gives the bonds’ face value. In practice, as we understand it, most people buy the bonds at registration and sell them straight back to the bank, bearing only the discount. That discount moves daily with market rates and is not a figure in the law, so it is not in the calculator (our gloss). The loss on selling before maturity becomes a deductible selling cost when you later sell the home (Income Tax Decree Art. 163(5)2) — see the capital gains deductible expenses calculator.
Checklist
- ☐ Type of registration — purchase, inheritance or gift, mortgage
- ☐ Type of property — home, land, other
- ☐ Region — special or metropolitan city?
- ☐ Standard value (per household for flats, by share if co-owned)
- ☐ Exemptions (home pension mortgages etc.)
- ☐ Keep the bond sale statement — a deductible cost later
Questions that remain
Which column for Sejong or Jeju?
The table has only “special and metropolitan cities” and “elsewhere”. Special self-governing cities and provinces are not named, so we did not decide; ask the registry or the bank selling the bonds.
What about a newly sold flat?
With no published standard value, the acquisition value under Local Tax Act Art. 10-3 is used (heading of (a)1).
Is the mortgage amount the loan amount?
The table just says “mortgage amount”. Use the amount entered in the register.
Sources
- Korean law database (law.go.kr) — Housing and Urban Fund Act Enforcement Decree Art. 8, Table and Schedule — source (current text, effective 27 October 2026, Presidential Decree No. 36795; checked 3 November 2026). Art. 8(1)–(6); Table (amended 17 Feb 2022) items 1–4 (who buys, exemptions, partial exemptions, rounding); Schedule (amended 26 Aug 2025) item 15 real estate registration (a) ownership preservation and transfer — homes, land, other; (b) inheritance; (c) mortgages. Opened in the annex viewer.
- Korean law database (law.go.kr) — Housing and Urban Fund Act Art. 8 — source (current text, effective 2 June 2026, Act No. 21738; checked 3 November 2026). (1) (licences and permits, registration applications, public construction contracts, home buyers under the Housing Act), (2) (delegation to decree).
- Korean law database (law.go.kr) — Income Tax Act Enforcement Decree Art. 163(5)2 — source (current text, effective 1 October 2026, Presidential Decree No. 36737; checked 3 November 2026). Loss on selling national housing bonds as a deductible cost.
- Not read. Local Tax Act Art. 4 (standard value) and Art. 10-3 (acquisition value), the Ministry ordinance on confirming purchase, second-class bonds, bond discount rates.
- What we added. The “worth noting” column and the Korean everyday gloss.
Where to check further
- The bank counter selling the bonds, or the internet registry — the day’s amount and the cost of selling at once.
- Wetax or the acquisition tax notice — the standard value.
Written on 3 November 2026. The content is from the source; the glosses are ours.
