#Year-end Tax
Related posts · 29 posts
Tax Refund Claim Deadline Calculator (Korea) — Five Years From 10 March for Year-End Settlement, 31 May for Income Tax Returns
A Korean refund claim (gyeongjeong cheonggu) must be made within five years after the statutory deadline. For employees with only year-end settlement that is the payment deadline of the settled tax, usually 10 March of the next year; for income tax filers it is 31 May. Tax year 2021 settlements can be claimed until 10 March 2027.
Year-End Tax Settlement in Korea (2026 Income) — What to Do Before 31 December, in January and in February
Card spending, pension savings, donations and subscription deposits close on 31 December, and the 500,000 won marriage credit needs registration by 31 December 2026. January is for what the tax feed leaves out, February for splitting a bill, and five years for anything missed. 30 guides on a calendar.
Is Unemployment Benefit Taxable in Korea? — Jobseeker's Allowance, Parental Leave and Maternity Pay Are Tax-Free and Left Out of Total Pay (Income Tax Act Art. 12)
Korean Income Tax Act Art. 12(3)(e) makes unemployment benefit, parental leave benefit, reduced-hours benefit and maternity-related leave benefits under the Employment Insurance Act tax-free. They are left out of total pay: 24 million won of salary plus 9 million of parental leave benefit is 24 million (our example).
Disability Tax Breaks in Korea — No Age Limit, an Extra 2 Million Won, 15% Insurance Credit and No 7 Million Won Medical Cap
Korea's Income Tax Act puts disabled dependants in the basic deduction with no age limit (Art. 50), adds 2 million won a year (Art. 51), credits disability-only insurance at 15% and leaves disabled medical costs outside the 7 million won cap (Art. 59-4).
Year-End Tax Settlement When You Leave a Job in Korea — Done with Your Final Pay, Only Your Own Deduction Without a Declaration, May Return If No New Job
Article 137 of Korea's Income Tax Act has leavers settled when paid for the month they leave, applying only the personal basic deduction and standard credit without a declaration. A new employer in the same year re-settles (Art. 138); otherwise the May return is the window.
Korea's Marriage Tax Credit of 500,000 Won — Register by 31 December 2026, Once Only, 1,000,000 Won if Both Spouses Claim
Article 92 of Korea's Restriction of Special Taxation Act deducts 500,000 won, once only, from a resident's global income calculated tax for the year in which a marriage is registered on or before 31 December 2026. The test is the registration date, not the wedding, and two spouses together get 1,000,000 won. The government's reform plan would abolish it.
Why Korean Employees Skip the May Tax Return — Wage Income Only, With Two Employers or a Missed Year-End Settlement Outside the Exception
Article 73 of Korea's Income Tax Act says people with wage income only, retirement income only, public pension income only and certain others need not file a final tax base return. The exception does not apply to pay from two or more employers, or where the employer did not withhold through the year-end settlement.
Social Insurance Premium Deductions in Korea — National Pension, Health and Employment Insurance Premiums Deducted in Full Under Two Provisions
Article 51-3 of Korea's Income Tax Act deducts public pension premiums from global income, and Article 52 deducts the employee's share of health, employment and long-term care insurance premiums from wage income. No cap appears in the text. Paying 1.8 million and 1.5 million won takes 3.3 million off income.
Wage Income Deduction in Korea — 70% of the First 5 Million Won, Then 40, 15, 5 and 2%, a 20 Million Won Cap, 150,000 Won a Day for Daily Workers
Article 47 of Korea's Income Tax Act deducts 70% of total pay up to 5 million won, 3.5 million plus 40% up to 15 million, 7.5 million plus 15% up to 45 million, 12 million plus 5% up to 100 million and 14.75 million plus 2% beyond, capped at 20 million won. On 40 million won the deduction is 11.25 million.
Wage Income Tax Credit in Korea — 55% Up to 1.3 Million Won, Caps of 740,000 to 200,000 by Pay, and the 130,000 Won Standard Credit
Article 59 of Korea's Income Tax Act credits 55% of calculated tax on wages up to 1.3 million won and 30% above, capped at 740,000 won for total pay up to 33 million won, at least 660,000 up to 70 million, at least 500,000 up to 120 million and at least 200,000 beyond. Employees claiming no special deductions get a 130,000 won standard credit.
Child Tax Credit in Korea — 250,000 Won for One Child 13+, 550,000 for Two, 950,000 for Three, Plus 300,000 to 700,000 in the Year of Birth
Article 59-2 of Korea's Income Tax Act credits 250,000 won for one dependent child or grandchild aged 13 or over, 550,000 won for two, and 400,000 won more for each beyond two. In the year of birth or adoption a separate credit of 300,000 won for a first child, 500,000 for a second and 700,000 for a third or later applies.
Income Tax Reduction for SME Employees in Korea — Youth 90% for 5 Years, Others 70% for 3 Years, 2 Million Won a Year, Jobs Started by End-2026
Article 30 of Korea's Restriction of Special Taxation Act cuts income tax by 90% for 5 years for young people who join an SME by 31 December 2026, and by 70% for 3 years for people 60+, with disabilities or returning from a career break, capped at 2 million won per tax year. Youth means 15 to 34 at contract, with up to 6 years of military service deducted.
Choosing 80% or 120% Withholding on Korean Wages — Employees Pick the Table Rate, the Year's Tax Is the Same
Article 194 of Korea's Income Tax Decree lets employees ask for withholding at 120/100 or 80/100 of the simplified table amount. Year-end settlement evens out the year's tax: on 150,000 won a month, 80% withholds 360,000 won less a year but trims the February refund or adds to the bill by the same amount.
Insurance Premium Tax Credit in Korea — 12% for Protection, 15% for Disability-Dedicated, Up to 1 Million Won Each, Rent Guarantees Included
Article 59-4(1) of Korea's Income Tax Act credits wage earners 12% of protection-type premiums and 15% of protection premiums dedicated to people with disabilities, each up to 1 million won a year. That caps the credits at 120,000 and 150,000 won, and the decree includes rent deposit return guarantee fees for deposits of 300 million won or less.
Donation Tax Credit in Korea — 15%, 30% Above 10 Million Won, and a 10-Year Carry-Forward
Article 59-4(4) of Korea's Income Tax Act credits 15% of donations and 30% of the part above 10 million won. General donations are limited to 30% of income (a separate formula with religious giving), excess carries forward 10 years, and political and hometown love donations earn 100/110 up to 100,000 won.
Korea's Housing Subscription Deduction — a 1.2m Won Deduction Hands You 198,000 Won
40% of up to 3 million won a year comes off your income, not your tax, so only your rate returns. And closing within five years repays 2.27 times what the 6% band ever saved.
Deductions Korea's Tax Feed Leaves Out — and Why
It was the Decree, not the tax office, that removed glasses and hearing aids. One proviso explains it.
Korean Housing Fund Deduction Calculator — One Shared Cap
Rent loan and savings share 4m won, and both sit inside the mortgage interest cap.
Korean Medical Expense Tax Credit Calculator — The 3% Floor
The 7m won cap sits on paragraph 1 only. Whose return a parent's bills go on is decided right there.
Korean Year-End Tax Settlement Calculator — Refund or Bill
The rates do not apply to gross pay. Two subtractions come first. And the child credit now starts at 13.
Monthly Rent Tax Credit Calculator (Korea) — Four Thresholds, and Rent Counted by Days
In February 2026 the way the rent itself is counted changed - days rented, not months paid.
Pension Savings and IRP Tax Credit Calculator (Korea) — Two Caps, and You Need Tax to Owe
The same 9m won lands differently by where it went, and short of tax the rest simply disappears.
Korean Card Deduction Calculator (2026) — Start With How Far to the Threshold
The card deduction closes on 31 December, so checking it in January changes nothing. This calculator answers one question instead: have you cleared the threshold, and if not, how much is left?
Korea's Medical and Education Tax Credits — What That Parenthesis Releases, and What It Doesn't
The medical credit is not one rate but three, fertility treatment is 30%, and the two age tests are measured from opposite ends of the year.
Amended Returns — Reclaiming Missed Deductions Within Five Years
We opened Framework Act on National Taxes art.45-2 — and found two three-month clocks running alongside the five years.
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.
Get up to ₩1.48M Back Just for Saving: Pension Savings & IRP (2026)
The common line that an IRP needs “six months of treatment plus 12.5% of wages” does not match the text. The 12.5% test belongs to DC plans; the general IRP article carries no such threshold. Articles 2, 14 and 18 of the Decree, side by side.
Korea Dependent Deduction Explained — Income & Age Rules (2026)
1.5M won each. The 1M-won income and age rules, plus avoiding sibling double-claims — with cases.
Korea's Year-End Tax Settlement: the Credit-Card Rule Is Half Wrong
We ran the National Tax Service's own formula. Filling the 25% threshold with a credit card is worth exactly zero in tax.