Capital gains tax is the biggest variable when you sell a home in Korea. One home per household is usually exempt — and people really do pay tens of millions of won extra by missing a requirement by a hair. What almost no guide says clearly: “how many years do I have?” is 3 under one provision and 10 under another.
This article was rewritten in August 2026 from Articles 88, 89 and 105 of the Income Tax Act and Articles 154, 155 and 160 of its Enforcement Decree, read directly on Korea’s National Law Information Center. Every quotation is the statutory text as written.
Four lines — (1) the exemption “excludes an expensive house whose price exceeds KRW 1.2bn” (Art. 89(1)3); (2) the requirement is two years of holding, plus two years of residence if the area was regulated at the time of purchase (Decree art. 154(1)); (3) ⭐ trading up gives 3 years; caring for a parent and marriage give 10 (art. 155); (4) ⚠⚠ you must file even at a loss (Art. 105(3)).
⭐ Start with “one household” — the statute lists who counts
Article 88(6) “One household” means the family unit formed by a resident and their spouse (including a person who is legally divorced but whose relationship is difficult to regard as an actual divorce, such as where they share a livelihood) together with those who share a livelihood at the same address or residence [meaning the lineal ascendants and descendants of the resident and spouse (including their spouses) and siblings, and including a person temporarily absent from the original address for schooling, medical treatment, work or business]. Provided, that in cases prescribed by Presidential Decree, a household may exist without a spouse.
| Counted in the household? | The statutory wording | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Spouse | “a resident and their spouse” | ⚠ Included even after a paper divorce if you share a livelihood |
| Parents, children, grandparents, grandchildren | “lineal ascendants and descendants (including their spouses)” | ⭐ Sons- and daughters-in-law are in |
| Siblings | “and siblings” | Where they share a livelihood at the same address |
| Family away at school, hospital or a posting | “including a person temporarily absent” | ⚠ Moving the registration alone does not remove them |
⚠⚠ Two parentheses carry the practical weight. One is “legally divorced but difficult to regard as an actual divorce” — splitting a household by paper divorce is blocked in the text itself. The other is “including a person temporarily absent” — schooling, treatment, work or business does not take someone out of the household.
⭐ The test is “sharing a livelihood at the same address or residence.” Splitting the title deeds does not automatically create a separate household.
⭐ And the definition of “housing” is broad too (Art. 88(7)) — “regardless of permits or the use classification on the public register … a building actually used for residence.” Registered as a retail unit but lived in? It counts toward your house number.
⚠ KRW 1.2bn — the statute says “excluded”
Article 89(1)3 Income from the transfer of housing falling under any of the following items (excluding an expensive house where the combined actual transaction price of the housing and its land exceeds KRW 1.2bn) and its land within the area obtained by multiplying the building’s footprint by a ratio prescribed by Presidential Decree for each region …
(a) housing where one household holds one house and meets the requirements prescribed by Presidential Decree
(b) housing prescribed by Presidential Decree where a household holds two or more houses due to replacement purchase, inheritance, caring for parents, marriage and so on before transferring its one house
- ⚠ Article 89 itself only says the over-1.2bn house is excluded from the exemption. The “only the excess is taxed” calculation comes not from here but from Decree Article 160, which apportions the gain and the long-term holding deduction against the 1.2bn line. ⚠ That formula is an image inside the provision and we could not read it.
- ⭐ The measure is the “combined actual transaction price” — the price you actually sold for, not a published valuation, and housing plus its land together.
- ⭐ The attached land has a ceiling too — the footprint times a regional ratio prescribed by Presidential Decree. ⚠ We did not open the ratios.
- ⚠ A parenthesis in Decree Article 160(1) — where a building mixes residential and non-residential parts, “the non-residential part shall not be regarded as housing.” A shop-house is split for the calculation.
⭐ Two years — holding and residence are different requirements
Decree Article 154(1) The “requirements prescribed by Presidential Decree” in Article 89(1)3(a) mean that the household holds one house in Korea as of the transfer date and has held it for two years (three years for certain residents) or more [where the housing was in a regulated area at the time of acquisition, that it has been held for two years or more and resided in for two years or more during that holding period].
- ⚠⚠ The test is “at the time of acquisition.” Even if the area has since been deregulated, buying while it was regulated brings the residence requirement with it. The provision fixes the point in time.
- ⭐ Residence must fall “during that holding period.” Living there outside the holding period is not within the wording.
- ⚠⚠ This provision carries more than twenty-five lines of amendment history — from 1995 through 30 December 2025. It is the textbook case of a rule where a guide from a few years ago cannot be trusted.
- ⭐ The proviso creates exceptions — subparagraphs 1 to 3 are free of both holding and residence limits, and subparagraph 5 is free of the residence limit. ⚠ We did not verify the content of every subparagraph.
| Requirement | What the statute demands | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Holding | 2 years or more (3 for certain residents) | Decree art. 154(1) |
| Residence | ⚠ If regulated at acquisition: 2 years within the holding period | |
| House count | One house in Korea as of the transfer date | |
| Price | Combined actual price KRW 1.2bn or less (excess is apportioned) | Act art. 89(1)3 / Decree art. 160 |
⭐⭐⭐ When you end up with two — the clock differs by provision
What counts as the “housing prescribed by Presidential Decree” in item (b) is handed off by Decree Article 154(11) to “housing to which this Article applies as a special case of one house per household under Article 155.” So the actual deadlines live in Article 155.
Decree Article 155(1) Where a household owning one house in Korea acquires another house before transferring it and thus temporarily holds two, and acquires the new house one year or more after acquiring the former house and transfers the former house within three years of acquiring the new house, it shall be treated as one house per household. <amended 28 Feb 2023>
(4) Where a person holding one house merges households to care for a lineal ascendant aged 60 or over who also holds one house … the house transferred first within 10 years of merging shall be treated as one house per household. <amended … 30 Dec 2025>
(5) Where a person holding one house marries another person holding one house … the house transferred first within 10 years of the marriage shall be treated as one house per household. <amended … 12 Nov 2024>
| Situation | Deadline | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Trading up (temporary two homes) | ⚠ New purchase 1+ year after the former purchase and sale within 3 years of the new purchase | Art. 155(1) |
| Caring for a parent 60+ | First sale within 10 years of merging | Art. 155(4) |
| Marriage | First sale within 10 years of the marriage | Art. 155(5) |
⚠⚠⚠ Trading up has two requirements and the first one is what people miss — “acquires the new house one year or more after acquiring the former house.” Buy a second home while the first is under a year old and the relief does not arise, however fast you sell.
⭐⭐ Parent care and marriage are 10 years, not the widely quoted 5 — the amendment dates are 30 December 2025 and 12 November 2024 respectively.
⭐ The “60 or over” test has three carve-outs: a spouse’s ascendant, cases where only one of the ascendants is 60+, and an ascendant under 60 receiving certain long-term care benefits.
⚠ The inheritance case is Article 155(2), which is long enough that we could not summarise it in full this time.
⚠ Filing — required even at a loss
Article 105(1)1 … two months from the last day of the month in which the transfer falls
(3) Paragraph (1) applies even where there is no gain or where a loss arises.
- ⭐ The deadline runs “from the last day of the month in which the transfer falls” — not two months from the transfer date.
- ⚠⚠ Paragraph (3) — “applies even where there is no gain or where a loss arises.” Selling at a loss does not remove the filing obligation. The statute states it as its own sentence.
- ⭐ The portion of a gift with assumed debt treated as a transfer gets three months (same paragraph, subparagraph 3). The gift side is in our gift tax deduction guide.
What to write down before you sell
- Every household member’s house count — using Article 88(6)’s range (ascendants and descendants and their spouses, siblings, temporarily absent members)
- Acquisition and transfer dates — whether two years of holding is met
- Whether the area was regulated at acquisition — if so, two years of residence too
- If you hold two, which relief applies — 3 years for trading up, 10 years for parent care or marriage
- Whether the price exceeds KRW 1.2bn — if so you move to the apportionment calculation
The full calculation with necessary expenses and the long-term holding deduction is in our capital gains tax guide, the tax you pay on buying is in the acquisition tax guide, and the transaction itself in the apartment purchase guide.
Questions that keep splitting opinion
Is the acquisition date the contract date or the closing date?
⚠ Articles 154 and 155 say only “the date of acquisition” and “transfer date” without defining them. The provisions fixing those dates were not opened this time, so we do not assert “closing date.” A single day can decide the outcome — check with the National Tax Service (126) first.
I rented it out and never lived there
⭐ If the area was not regulated at acquisition, the main text of Decree Article 154(1) requires only the holding period. If it was regulated at acquisition, two years of residence is also required.
What about the cooperative-landlord relief?
⚠ We could not verify that provision this time. The proviso to Article 154(1) waives the residence requirement for certain subparagraphs, but we could not match which subparagraph it is, so this article states no requirements for it.
How is this different from property tax?
⭐ Different taxes entirely. What you pay while holding is property tax and the comprehensive real estate tax; capital gains tax applies to the gain when you sell. Three different statutes.
Do I file even if I am exempt?
⚠ Because Article 105(3) applies the filing rule even with no gain, whether an exempt sale removes the obligation cannot be settled from the text alone. We do not assert it and suggest asking the tax office.
With this exemption, close enough is not good enough. And “how many years do I have” has no single answer — three for trading up, ten for parent care and marriage.
Sources
- ⭐⭐⭐ Ministry of Government Legislation, National Law Information Center — statutory text — Income Tax Act Enforcement Decree, Article 155 (Special Cases of One House per Household). Source of paragraph (1)’s two requirements, paragraph (4)’s 10 years for parent care, and paragraph (5)’s 10 years for marriage.
- ⭐⭐⭐ Ministry of Government Legislation, National Law Information Center — statutory text — Same Decree, Article 154 (Scope of One House per Household). Source of the two-year holding and two-year residence rules, the “at the time of acquisition” test, and paragraph (11).
- ⭐⭐⭐ Ministry of Government Legislation, National Law Information Center — statutory text — Income Tax Act, Article 88 (Definitions). Source of subparagraph 6, “one household” and subparagraph 7, “housing.”
- ⭐⭐ Ministry of Government Legislation, National Law Information Center — statutory text — Same Act, Article 89 (Non-Taxable Transfer Income). Source of the KRW 1.2bn exclusion, items (a) and (b), and the regional land ratio.
- ⭐⭐ Ministry of Government Legislation, National Law Information Center — statutory text — Same Act, Article 105 (Preliminary Return). Source of the two-month deadline and paragraph (3) on filing at a loss. The apportionment for expensive houses is Decree Article 160 (⚠ formula is an image).
What we could not confirm
- ⚠⚠ The apportionment formulas for an expensive house. Both formulas in Decree Article 160(1) are images inside the provision, so we built no worked example.
- ⚠⚠ The definitions of acquisition and transfer dates. Those provisions were not opened, so we do not assert “closing date.”
- ⚠ The content of each subparagraph in the proviso to Article 154(1). Not fully verified — the cooperative-landlord relief sits among them.
- ⚠ The inheritance case (Article 155(2)). Too long to summarise reliably this time.
- ⚠ The regional land ratios. A Presidential Decree matter, not opened.
- The long-term holding deduction rate table. The table in Article 95 is an image inside the provision.
- The history of regulated-area designations. Ministry notices, not statutes.
Written as of August 2026. ⭐ All quotations are the statutory text as published by the National Law Information Center, and what we could not confirm is listed separately above. ⚠ This area is amended constantly — Decree Article 154(1) alone carries over twenty-five lines of amendment history — and a single day can flip the result. Check with the National Tax Service (126) or a certified tax accountant before selling. This article is general information, not tax advice.
