Real Estate
From jeonse to property taxes
Real Estate
34 posts
Age and Holding Relief — the Tables Add to 90%, the Law Cuts at 80%
Age 65 with 15 years and age 70 with 10 land on exactly the same figure — and nothing beyond it.
Two Rate Tables — Korea's Three-House Heavy Rate Really Starts at KRW 2.9bn
The tables are identical up to a base of 1.2bn — below that line, the number of houses changes nothing.
Korea's Long-Term Holding Deduction — Residence Alone Is Worth KRW 11.6m
Two people sell the same home after the same ten years. One pays 2.62m, the other 14.23m. Holding is not what separates them.
Korea's KRW 1.2bn Apportionment — A Slope, Not a Cliff
“Exempt up to 1.2bn” is right. The sentence that usually follows is not — crossing it does not put the whole gain into tax.
Korea's 600m to 900m Acquisition Tax Slope — KRW 10m Costs 923,000
“1 to 3%” is right on average. Measure what another KRW 10m of price costs in tax and a different number appears.
The Rural Surtax and the 85 Square Metre Line
Cross 85 square metres of exclusive area and the notice gains a line. On a KRW 900m home that is 1.8m won; under the 12% heavy rate, 9m.
Counting Dependents for Korea’s Subscription Score
Thirty-five of the 84 points sit here, at five points a person. But the term does not mean what the everyday word means, and counting the people you live with will be wrong.
Where Korea’s No-Home Period Splits — The Start Date Is Settled Twice
Fifteen years of renting from age 20 counts as zero if the start date has not arrived. The errors come not from adding wrong but from picking the wrong date.
Korean Gift With Assumed Debt — Between Family, the Default Runs the Other Way
The Act subtracts assumed debt, and the Decree names the rental deposit as one. One paragraph later it presumes that between spouses and lineal relatives the debt was never assumed.
Only One Renewal in Three Used Korea's Statutory Renewal Right — We Counted 7,719 Filings
The statute cannot tell you how often the right is used. The rental filing data can, because it carries the answer as a field.
Jeonse Loan Rates Differ by 1.99 Points Between Banks — With the Same Guarantee Behind Them
The lowest was 3.79% and the highest 5.78%. On a KRW 100 million loan that is KRW 1.99 million a year.
Five Places People Get Korea's DSR Wrong — All of Them in Figures
Counting interest only gets you a quarter of the way, the heavy thing is the term rather than the balance, and the LTV limit is not your limit.
Korea's Housing Subscription Deposit Goes by Where You Live, Not Where You're Buying
The note under table 2 pins the threshold to your resident registration area. And you may pay 500,000 won a month while only 250,000 is ever counted.
The Order to Check Before Buying a Home in Korea — The Reversible Stretch Ends at “Beginning Performance”
Money leaves as deposit, interim and balance, but the point of no return and the point of ownership arrive somewhere else. The order comes from the statutes.
Korea Housing Market 2026 — Supply Cliff, Jeonse Squeeze, Stress DSR
Supply cliff, jeonse squeeze, tight lending. Check your loan limit before timing the market.
Korean Capital Gains Tax A to Z — Rates, Deductions, Expenses (2026)
From 10 May 2026 the multi-home surcharge is back: +20 points for two homes in adjusted areas, +30 for three or more, and no long-term holding deduction.
Korean Acquisition Tax Explained — Why It Ranges From 1% to 12%
Local education tax is not a share of the acquisition tax: the provision says “(rate − 2%) × 20%,” and homes use a different formula entirely.
Korea's Comprehensive Real Estate Tax vs. Property Tax — Why December Bills Too
1.2B won for one home, 900M for others. Because it's totalled per person nationwide, the same value gives different results.
Reading Korea's Property Register — Sections A and B Are Not Compared by Rank Number
Within a section, rank number. Across sections, receipt number. Article 4(2) is the most misread provision in Korean conveyancing.
Korean Broker Fees — the Rule Says “Determined by Mutual Agreement”
The rates are ceilings, not list prices. And taking more than the ceiling is not an administrative fine but a criminal offence.
Jeonse vs Monthly Rent — the Numbers the Law Actually Fixes
The conversion cap is the lower of 10% a year and the base rate plus 2 points. At a 2.75% base rate in August 2026, that is 4.75%.
Your July Property Tax Bill in Korea — the Numbers Are in the Decree, Not the Act
All the Act contains is a 40-80% band. And the tax burden cap for housing was deleted outright in 2023.
Korea's One-Home Capital Gains Exemption — “How Many Years” Has No Single Answer
Trading up gives you three years; caring for a parent and marriage give ten. And trading up carries a second requirement almost nobody mentions.
Korea's Jeonse Contract Checklist — the Order Comes From the Statute
Delivery and resident registration create opposing power; a fixed-date stamp adds priority repayment. And the statute says you cannot be repaid unless you hand the property over.
Avoiding Jeonse Fraud 2026 — Register, Fixed Date, Deposit Guarantee
We opened the Housing Lease Protection Act: “0:00 the day after” is nowhere in it, and the test is delivery of the house plus resident registration — both.
Semi-Jeonse — How to Split Between Deposit and Rent
Reading the Decree in the Korean original turned up three restrictions the usual table omits. Chief among them: where one building holds several small-deposit tenants, the priority amount is divided proportionally — a common shape in semi-jeonse.
Korea's Conversion Rate Cap and How to Negotiate It
We opened the conversion-rate ceiling in the statute: neither 10% nor 2% is in the Act. Both sit in the Decree, so both can move without the National Assembly — and they already have, twice.
Tenant Rights in Korea — Opposing Power, Priority Repayment, Renewal
In Seoul, deposits up to ₩165m get small-deposit priority and ₩55m is repaid ahead of the mortgage — two different numbers. Renewal is due two months before expiry.
Rent Turns on 1.2 Billion, Jeonse on 300 Million — Two Different Provisions
For a two-home owner the jeonse threshold is ₩1.2 billion, not ₩300 million. The Act sets only a floor and delegates the figure; the Decree puts it at ₩1.2 billion — a provision inserted only last year.
Korea's Monthly Rent Tax Credit — Registration Is the Gateway
We opened Article 95-2 of the Restriction of Special Taxation Act. The 17% band carries a separate ₩45M aggregate-income test, and a clause inserted on 23 December 2025 lets a spouse claim as well — though the ₩10M cap is measured across both.
Buying an Apartment in Korea, Step by Step — Contract to Registration
A false transaction report is fined at up to 10% of the price, not a flat sum — on a ₩1B deal that ceiling is ₩100M.
US Mortgage Guide 2026 — Rates, Conforming Limit, PMI, Down Payment
PMI does not just end at 78% — it also ends at the midpoint of the schedule, year 15 on a 30-year loan. The 2026 conforming limit is $832,750.
US Housing Market 2026 — +2.0% Nationally, +0.2% to +4.4% by Division
Up 2.0% nationally — but +0.2% to +4.4% once you split it by division. And the 19% jump in housing starts is printed with a ±15.9% band.
Refinance Your Mortgage to Cut Interest — Minutes in an App
Still on an old high rate? Refinance in-app to save millions a year. Costs and watch-outs included.