After you buy a home and make the final payment, you must apply for the ownership transfer registration within 60 days. That is Article 2 of the Special Measures Act on Real Estate Registration. Miss it and Article 11 imposes a fine, which the Ministry of the Interior and Safety’s rule sets, by how late you are, at 5% to 30% of a base amount. For a home bought for value the base amount is 20 per 1,000 (2%) of the tax base. A ₩500 million flat paid off on 31 August 2026 and registered on 15 January 2027 draws a ₩1.5 million fine (our example). The calculator below gives the deadline and the fine from the payment date, filing date and price.
1. Deadline: 60 days from the day the counter-performance was completed (Art. 2(1)1) — usually the final payment. If only one side owes anything, such as a gift, 60 days from when the contract takes effect (item 2).
2. Base amount = tax base × (acquisition tax standard rate − 20 per 1,000); for a home bought for value, 20 per 1,000 (Art. 11(1)).
3. Rate: under 2 months 5% · 2–5 months 15% · 5–8 months 20% · 8–12 months 25% · 12 months or more 30% (rule annex).
Calculator
Updates as you type. The deadline is the 60th day after the payment date, moved to Monday if it falls on a weekend; public holidays are not moved automatically. “Months late” counts whole months from the deadline to the filing date (our method). Won fractions are dropped.
Article 2 — when to apply (as written)
| Type | What the source says | Worth noting (ours) |
|---|---|---|
| Para. 1 | Whoever signs a contract transferring ownership of real estate must apply for registration within 60 days of the date below, unless the contract is cancelled, rescinded or void | — |
| Para. 1, item 1 | Where both sides owe each other — the day the counter-performance is completed | Usually the final payment in a sale (ours) |
| Para. 1, item 2 | Where only one side owes — the day the contract takes effect | We read gifts as falling here |
| Para. 2 | To sign another transfer contract with a third party after that date, register in your own name first | Closes the door to reselling unregistered |
| Para. 3 | If you contract with a third party before that date, register under the first contract within 60 days of its completion | — |
“Within 60 days” follows the Civil Act rule that leaves out the first day, so counting starts the day after payment. Paying on 31 August 2026 makes 1 September day one and 30 October 2026 day 60. If the deadline falls on a Saturday or Sunday the calculator moves it to Monday (our reading of Civil Act Art. 161). Public holidays are not moved automatically.
Article 11 and the rule annex — how much (as written)
| Type | What the source says | Worth noting (ours) |
|---|---|---|
| Base amount | The Local Tax Act tax base at the time of delay × the Art. 11(1) standard rate less 20 per 1,000; for item 8 (homes bought for value) 20 per 1,000 | The annex calls this the “fine base amount” |
| Heavy-rate cases | If Local Tax Act Art. 13(2), (3), (6) or (7) applies, 300% of that amount | E.g. corporate acquisitions in overcrowding-control areas |
| Statutory ceiling | Up to 5 times the base (Art. 11(1)) | The annex’s 30% top is far lower |
| Under 2 months | 5% of the base | — |
| 2 to under 5 months | 15% | Triples once you pass 2 months |
| 5 to under 8 months | 20% | — |
| 8 to under 12 months | 25% | — |
| 12 months or more | 30% | — |
| Reduction | A farmer acquiring land to farm, ending up with 30,000 m² or less in total, may get 50% off (rule Art. 3(2)) | “May” — discretionary |
| Penalty surcharge | No fine if a surcharge is imposed under the Real Name Act Art. 10(1) (Art. 11(1) proviso) | — |
Article 11(2) says the amount should reflect the length of and reason for the delay and the property’s value; the local mayor, county head or district head imposes and collects it (Art. 12(1)), and the registrar tells them without delay (Art. 12(7)). The fine is due within 30 days of notice (rule Art. 5).
Delays that don’t count (rule Art. 2, as written)
| Type | What the source says | Worth noting (ours) |
|---|---|---|
| Item 1 | Force majeure such as natural disasters | That period is left out of the 60 days |
| Item 2 | A lawsuit pending over the property | — |
| Item 3 | The seller, without good reason, not handing over the papers needed to register | Sellers slow with documents |
| Item 4 | Other cases the local head accepts as good reason | — |
Base-amount rate by cause — our sums
| Cause | Local Tax Act Art. 11(1) standard rate (as written) | Base-amount rate (ours) |
|---|---|---|
| Home bought for value (item 8) | 1–3% by price | 20 per 1,000 — set by the Act |
| Purchase etc., not farmland (item 7(b)) | 40 per 1,000 | 40 − 20 = 20 per 1,000 |
| Purchase etc., farmland (item 7(a)) | 30 per 1,000 | 30 − 20 = 10 per 1,000 |
| Gift and other free transfers (item 2) | 35 per 1,000 | 35 − 20 = 15 per 1,000 |
Where a local ordinance sets a different rate, 20 per 1,000 comes off that rate instead; the calculator uses standard rates only. The acquisition tax filing deadline itself is in the acquisition tax filing deadline calculator.
Three sums — our examples
| Case (ours) | Fine | Worth noting (ours) |
|---|---|---|
| ₩500 million flat, paid 31 Aug 2026, filed 15 Jan 2027 | Deadline 30 Oct 2026 · over 2 months late → 15% → ₩1.5 million | Base ₩500M × 2% = ₩10 million |
| Same flat, filed 20 Dec 2026 | Under 2 months → 5% → ₩500,000 | 15% from 30 December |
| ₩300 million gift (not farmland), effective 1 Sep 2025, filed 4 Nov 2026 | Deadline 31 Oct 2025 · 12 months or more → 30% → ₩1.35 million | Base ₩300M × 1.5% = ₩4.5 million |
In the first case, filing on 29 December means 5% and on 30 December 15% — one day moves the fine from ₩500,000 to ₩1.5 million. The calculator counts a month each time the deadline’s date comes round again (our method); the annex does not spell out the counting, so check with the local office on a boundary.
Selling without registering — Income Tax Act (as written)
If someone who acquired land, a building or a real estate right sells it without registering the acquisition, it is an “unregistered transferred asset” (Art. 104(3)). That draws a rate of 70% of the capital gains tax base (Art. 104(1)10) and loses every exemption (Art. 91(1)) — a different order of cost from the registration fine.
How much of the exemption is lost when the contract shows a different price is in the down contract capital gains tax calculator.
Checklist
- ☐ Day 60 counted from the day after payment
- ☐ Register in your own name before any resale contract
- ☐ If the seller withholds papers, keep a record (rule Art. 2, item 3)
- ☐ After 2 months, 5% becomes 15%
- ☐ Pay within 30 days of notice
Questions that remain
What if my legal scrivener was late?
Article 11 fines the “registration right-holder”. The Act says nothing about your arrangement with the person you hired (ours).
How are the months counted?
The annex gives bands like “under 2 months” only. The calculator treats you as late from the day after the deadline and counts whole months from the deadline date (ours).
What about inheritance?
Article 2 covers contracts transferring ownership. We did not cover inheritance registration here.
Sources
- Korea Law Information Center — Special Measures Act on Real Estate Registration Arts. 2, 11, 12 — source (current text, effective 1 January 2022, Act No. 18655; checked 4 November 2026). The 60-day duty (completion of counter-performance, contract taking effect), registering before resale, the fine base (standard rate less 20 per 1,000; 20 per 1,000 for item 8; 300% for heavy-rate cases), the 5× ceiling, factors, imposition and notice.
- Korea Law Information Center — Rule on Imposing Fines under the Special Measures Act, Arts. 2, 3, 5 and annex — source (current text, effective 13 August 2024, MOIS Ordinance No. 508; checked 4 November 2026). Four excluded periods, the five bands (5, 15, 20, 25, 30%), the 50% farmland cut, 30 days to pay.
- Korea Law Information Center — Local Tax Act Arts. 11(1), 13; Income Tax Act Arts. 91(1), 104 — source (current text, effective 1 July 2026, Act No. 21308; Income Tax Act current text, effective 1 July 2026, Act No. 21221; checked 4 November 2026). Standard rates (inheritance, gifts, new builds, purchases, homes for value), heavy-rate articles, the 70% rate and loss of exemption for unregistered sales.
- Not read. Local Tax Act Arts. 10–10-6 on the tax base in detail, the full conditions in Art. 13, the Real Name Act, actual local practice, inheritance and new-build registration deadlines.
- What we added. The “worth noting” column and the Korean everyday gloss.
Where to check further
- The city, county or district office where the property is — the fine and any reduction (Act Art. 12, rule Art. 3).
- The registry office — filing the transfer.
Written on 4 November 2026. The content is from the source; the glosses are ours.
