Give a one-off lecture or write an article for a fee in Korea and tax is withheld on it as “other income”. The rate is not applied to the whole amount. 60% of what you receive is treated as necessary expenses, and 20% is applied to the remaining 40%. And if that remainder is 50,000 won or less per case, it is not taxed at all. We read Articles 84 and 129 of the Income Tax Act and Article 87 of its Enforcement Decree in the original and did the arithmetic.
1. 60% deemed expenses. For other income such as lecture fees, manuscript fees and royalties, 60/100 of the amount received is the necessary expense; more if actual costs were higher (Decree, Article 87, item 1-2).
2. A 20% withholding rate. For “any other other-income” the rate is 20/100 (Act, Article 129(1)6(d)).
3. 50,000 won or less per case is not taxed. That is where the other-income amount is 50,000 won or less per case (Act, Article 84, item 3).
Which income gets the 60% — Decree, Article 87, item 1-2
The Decree names five items of Article 21(1) of the Act and says 60/100 of the amount received is the necessary expense.
| Item | Text (gist) | Typical case (ours) |
|---|---|---|
| 7 | Consideration for transferring or lending mining rights, industrial property rights, trademarks, goodwill and similar assets or rights | Trademark licence fee |
| 8-2 | Fees, up to a size set by Decree, for lending goods or a place through an online sales intermediary | Renting items or space through a platform |
| 9 | Income from creating or lending an easement or superficies in connection with a public project | — |
| 15 | Manuscript fees, royalties and payment for creative works received as the author of literary, academic, artistic, musical or photographic work | Fee for an article, book royalties |
| 19 | Payment for personal services provided temporarily — lectures to an audience without employment, broadcast commentary or judging, services using professional knowledge, and other allowances received without employment | One-off lecture, judging or advisory fee |
The key word in item 19 is “temporarily”. Doing the same work continuously and repeatedly may make it business income instead; that boundary cannot be drawn from this text alone, and we did not check it separately. The contrast with business income (3.3% withholding) is in side-job income tax.
The arithmetic — 8% of what you receive
| Amount received | Other-income amount (40%) | Income tax withheld (20%) |
|---|---|---|
| 100,000 won | 40,000 won | Not taxed (50,000 or less) |
| 125,000 won | 50,000 won | Not taxed (the boundary) |
| 300,000 won | 120,000 won | 24,000 won |
| 1,000,000 won | 400,000 won | 80,000 won |
All our arithmetic. 40% × 20% = 8%, so income tax is 8% of the amount received. Local income tax is added on top; its rate is not in the provisions we read this time, so it is left out of the table. The “50,000 won per case” is measured on the other-income amount, not the amount received, so where the 60% applies, up to 125,000 won received falls under the threshold (50,000 ÷ 0.4, ours).
If actual costs were higher
The 60% is a floor. The Decree says that where actual necessary expenses exceed 60/100 of the amount received, the excess is also counted. We read that as: if a lecture cost you more than 60% of the fee, the extra can be deducted — something to establish with evidence when filing, not at the withholding stage.
Neighbours in the same provisions — not 60%
- 80% — prizes awarded by a public-interest corporation with the competent authority’s approval, prizes for placing in a ranked competition, and compensation for delayed housing occupancy (Decree, Article 87, item 1).
- Lottery winnings — not taxed at 2 million won or less per case (Act, Article 84, item 2). The withholding rate is 30/100 on the part of the income amount above 300 million won (Act, Article 129(1)6(a)).
- 15/100 — other income under Article 21(1), items 18 and 21 (Act, Article 129(1)6(b)). We did not reproduce which income that is.
Do I file in May?
Whether withholding ends the matter or the income must be combined in a May return depends on whether the year’s other-income amount exceeds 3 million won (Act, Article 14(3)). That threshold and the position of employees are in side-job income tax and who need not file a final return. Where the 60% applies, an other-income amount of 3 million won corresponds to 7.5 million won received (3 million ÷ 0.4, ours).
Checklist
- ☐ One-off, or work you repeat continuously?
- ☐ Is 40% of the amount 50,000 won or less (125,000 won received or less)?
- ☐ Is the payer withholding 8% (plus local income tax)?
- ☐ Does the year’s other-income amount exceed 3 million won?
Questions that remain
If I receive 125,000 won many times, is it never taxed?
Article 84 says “per case”. What counts as one case is not defined in the text, and we did not check.
I am employed and received a lecture fee. Does it go into year-end settlement?
Year-end settlement settles wage income, so other income does not go into it (our gloss). Whether separate taxation ends the matter is as in “Do I file in May?” above.
Sources
- Income Tax Act [Act No. 21221, partially amended 23 December 2025] — original text (checked 6 October 2026). Article 21(1), items 7, 8-2, 9, 15 and 19; Article 84 (items 1 to 3; 100,000 won, 2 million won, 50,000 won); Article 129(1)6 ((a) 300 million won and 30/100, (b) 15/100, (d) 20/100).
- Enforcement Decree of the Income Tax Act [Presidential Decree No. 36737, partially amended 30 September 2026] — original text (checked the same day). Article 87, item 1 (80/100) and item 1-2 (60/100).
- Not read. The local income tax rate; Article 21(1), items 18 and 21; the Decree on the size limit in item 8-2; the scope of a “case”; the boundary with business income.
- Our own working. The table figures, the 8%, 125,000 won and 7.5 million won are ours.
Where to check further
- Side income in general — side-job income tax.
- Freelancers and the 3.3% — freelancer tax refund.
Written on 6 October 2026. The provisions are as published by the Korea Law Information Center; the reading and arithmetic are ours.
