The one-home capital gains tax exemption in Korea turns first on how long you held the home and how long you lived in it. Income Tax Act Enforcement Decree Article 154(1) says a household owning one home in Korea on the sale date meets the test if it has held the home for 2 years or more, and, for a home in an adjusted area when bought, has also lived there for 2 years or more within that holding period. The 5 exceptions in proviso items 1–3 — 5 years’ residence in a built-for-rent home, expropriation, emigration, study or work abroad, and an unavoidable move after a year’s residence — drop both tests, and a contract signed before the area was designated (item 5) drops only the residence test. Our checker shows the day each test is met.
1. Held 2 years or more — 3 years for a non-resident who became resident there (para. 8 item 2).
2. Adjusted area when bought: lived there 2 years or more — residence runs from resident registration move-in to move-out (para. 6).
3. The 5 exceptions drop both tests; a pre-notice contract with no home (item 5) drops residence only.
Checker
Updates as you type. Periods start the day after the purchase (or move-in) and end on the same date N years later; if that date doesn’t exist, at month-end (our reading of the Civil Act counting). Residence counts only inside the holding period and only one stretch. It doesn’t check that the household owns one home on the sale date, the 1-household test or the 1.2 billion won share.
Holding and residence — Decree Art. 154(1), (5), (6)
| Type | What the source says | Worth noting (ours) |
|---|---|---|
| Para. 1, main text | One home in Korea on the sale date, held 2 years (3 for a para. 8 item 2 resident) or more; in an adjusted area when bought, 2 years’ residence within the holding period | The area is judged “when bought” — the residence test stays even if lifted later (our reading) |
| Holding period (para. 5, Act Art. 95(4)) | From purchase to sale. A non-residential building lived in, or changed to housing on the register, counts from the day of actual residential use | This catches officetels |
| Residence period (para. 6) | From move-in to move-out on the resident registration record | The record’s dates, not when you actually lived there |
| Purchase date (Act Art. 98, Decree Art. 162) | Normally the day the price is fully paid; the registration date if registered first; the start of inheritance; the day of a gift | Usually the balance-payment day |
The checker counts “2 years or more” from the day after purchase, met on the same date 2 years later. A balance paid on 29 October 2024 reaches 2 years on 29 October 2026, and a sale from that day meets the holding test. A purchase on 29 February 2024 reaches it on 28 February 2026. The Decree says only “2 years or more”; the counting follows the Civil Act (first day excluded, calendar years) as our method.
The 5 exceptions and item 5 — proviso to para. 1
| Item | No holding or residence test (summary) | Worth noting (ours) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | A private or public built-for-rent or purchased-for-rent home bought and sold, with the whole household living there 5+ years from the lease | Includes members away for unavoidable reasons |
| 2(a) | Home or land (bought before the project notice) taken by agreed purchase or expropriation | Includes the remainder sold within 5 years |
| 2(b) | Whole household leaves on emigration — one home on departure, sold within 2 years | — |
| 2(c) | Whole household leaves for study or work needing 1+ year abroad — sold within 2 years | — |
| 3 | A home lived in 1+ year sold for study, work, medical care or other unavoidable reasons | Reasons in Rules Art. 71(3) |
| 5 (residence only) | Contract and deposit paid before the adjusted-area notice, with no home on the deposit date | 2 years’ holding still needed |
Enforcement Rules Article 71(3) lists the unavoidable reasons for item 3 as the whole household moving to another city or county for: study at high school or above, work such as a job change or transfer, an illness needing 1+ year of treatment, or a school transfer due to school violence, among others. Primary and middle school are excluded.
Periods added together — para. 8
| Type | What the source says | Worth noting (ours) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | A home destroyed and rebuilt after fire, collapse or age — periods before and after | The pre-rebuild period carries on |
| 2 | A non-resident who held it 3+ years and became resident while living there | This home needs 3 years under the main text |
| 3 | An inherited home where heir and deceased were one household at the start of inheritance — their joint residence and holding before | Not if they lived apart |
Four cases — our example
| Case (our example) | Result | Worth noting (ours) |
|---|---|---|
| Bought 2024-10-29, not adjusted, sold 2026-10-29 | Met | Sold on the day 2 years is reached |
| Same home sold a day earlier, 2026-10-28 | Not met | One day decides it |
| Bought 2024-10-29, adjusted area, moved in 2024-11-15, sold 2026-10-29 | Not met | Residence reaches 2 years on 2026-11-15 |
| Same home sold 2026-11-15 | Met | Both 2-year tests |
As in the third case, moving in a few weeks after paying the balance makes residence finish after holding. The checker takes one move-in to move-out stretch; if you lived there in several spells, add them yourself.
Checklist
- ☐ Balance-payment date (or an earlier registration date)
- ☐ Whether the area was adjusted on that day
- ☐ Resident registration move-in and move-out dates
- ☐ Whether this is the household’s only home on the sale date (residential officetels included)
- ☐ Whether the sale price is over 1.2 billion won
Questions that remain
Does the exemption vanish above 1.2 billion won?
Act Art. 89(1)3 takes high-value homes, with an actual sale price above 1.2 billion won, out of the exemption. How the gain is then split is in the 1.2 billion won apportionment.
What if I buy the next home first and briefly own two?
Decree Art. 155 has a separate temporary two-home rule. The deadline is in the temporary two-home exemption deadline calculator.
Sources
- Korean law database (law.go.kr) — Income Tax Act Enforcement Decree Arts. 154, 162 — source (current text, effective 1 October 2026, Decree No. 36737; checked 29 October 2026). Art. 154(1) main text and proviso items 1–5, para. 5 (holding period, residential use), para. 6 (residence), para. 8 (periods added), para. 12 (co-inherited homes); Art. 162 (purchase date).
- Korean law database — Income Tax Act Arts. 89, 95, 98 — source (current text, effective 1 July 2026, Act No. 21221; checked 29 October 2026). Exempt gains (homes above 1.2 billion won excluded), start of the holding period, purchase date.
- Korean law database — Income Tax Act Enforcement Rules Art. 71 — source (current text, effective 1 July 2026, Ministry of Economy and Finance Ordinance No. 33). Documents for the holding period, unavoidable reasons.
- Not read. The para. 2 table (2017 adjusted areas), para. 7 land ratios, para. 10, the Art. 155 special rules in full; case law and rulings.
- What we added. The “worth noting” column and the Korean everyday gloss.
Where to check further
- National Tax Service Hometax or a tax office — whether the area was adjusted when you bought, and filing.
- Tax accountant — exceptions and added periods.
Written on 29 October 2026. The content is from the source; the glosses are ours.
