Most missed tax payments aren't refusals — they're oversights. The notice never arrived, or it did and vanished into a drawer. And a single day late adds penalties.
Here's Korea's tax year on one page. Nearly every date repeats annually, so bookmark this and check it monthly.
1. What being late costs. Local taxes add 3% the day after the deadline, with monthly additions above a threshold. National taxes carry 20% for non-filing, 10% for under-reporting, plus a late-payment charge accruing daily — it starts on day one.
2. What people miss. Not receiving the notice does not remove the obligation. Moved without updating your address, or the post went astray — the penalty still applies. And a separate set of taxes has no fixed date at all (acquisition and capital gains run from the event).
3. How to use this. The widget above shows this month's items automatically. Set up electronic notices and auto-payment on Wetax and Hometax (some local governments discount for it), and put only the items that apply to you into your calendar as recurring events.
Deadlines falling on weekends or holidays usually move to the next business day, and rules change. Confirm on Hometax (national taxes) or Wetax (local taxes) before paying.
The year at a glance
National taxes go through Hometax; local taxes through Wetax (Etax in Seoul).
| Month | Taxes · who |
| January | VAT final return (25th) · automobile tax prepayment (16–31, best discount) · settlement documents |
| February | Year-end settlement appears in payroll |
| March | Payment statements (10th) · corporate tax (31st) · prepayment window 2 |
| April | VAT interim return or assessed payment (25th) |
| May | Comprehensive income tax (1–31) · tax credit applications |
| June | ★ June 1 assessment date · automobile tax (16–30) |
| July | Property tax, part 1 (16–31) · VAT final return (25th) |
| August | Resident tax (16–31) · first-half stock gains |
| September | Property tax, part 2 (16–30) · exclusion filings · final prepayment window |
| October | VAT interim return or assessed payment (25th) |
| November | Interim income tax (30th) · comprehensive tax notices |
| December | Comprehensive real estate tax (1–15) · automobile tax (16–31) · planning deadline |
★ June 1 is the year's most consequential date. Whoever owns property that day pays the entire year's property and comprehensive real estate tax. For a spring transaction, which side of June 1 your closing lands on can be worth millions of won (see property tax).
The dates above are the rule, not a promise. When a deadline falls on a weekend or public holiday it moves to the next business day, and local governments sometimes extend it further. In 2026 alone, car tax prepayment ran to 2 February, the first car tax instalment to 3 July, and income tax to 1 June. Set your reminder a few days early.
Event-based deadlines
| Bought property or a car (acquisition tax) | 60 days from acquisition |
| Sold property (capital gains) | 2 months from month-end of sale |
| Received a gift (inheritance and gift tax) | 3 months from month-end |
| Inheritance (inheritance tax) | 6 months from month-end |
| Renouncing an inheritance | 3 months from learning of the death |
| Missed a deduction (amended return) | 5 years from the filing deadline |
The three-month renunciation window is the shortest and irreversible — critical when debts exceed assets.
“N months from the end of the month” and “N days from the event” sound alike but run different lengths. We counted the days for January 2026.
By situation
Employees
| December | Final chance for deductible contributions (preparation) |
| Jan–Feb | Submit documents; result lands in February payroll |
| May | File if you have side income (thresholds) |
| Anytime | Reclaim missed deductions within five years |
Freelancers and businesses
| Jan 25 · Jul 25 | VAT final returns (twice yearly for individuals) |
| Apr 25 · Oct 25 | Interim returns or assessed payments |
| May | Income tax return — check for a 3.3% refund (how) |
| Nov 30 | Interim prepayment (half the basis — not May's tax alone) |
Property owners
| June 1 | Assessment date — that day's owner pays the year |
| July · September | Property tax, split in halves for housing |
| Dec 1–15 | Comprehensive real estate tax |
| May | Rental income if you collect rent |
Missing a deadline
| Local taxes | 3% penalty the next day, with monthly additions on larger bills |
| Failure to file | 20% penalty (higher for evasion) |
| Under-reporting | 10% penalty |
| Late payment | Daily late-payment charges |
Not receiving the notice doesn't excuse the payment. Moving without updating your address, or lost mail, still incurs penalties. Checking Wetax and Hometax directly is the safe habit.
Three ways not to miss one
- Enable electronic notices and auto-payment — some local governments even offer small discounts.
- Put the relevant dates in your calendar as annual repeats — pick only the ones that apply to you.
- Local taxes carry no card fee, so interest-free installments can spread the cost.
Three things the notices leave out
Tax calendars are usually built from local-government notices. Read the Comprehensive Real Estate Holding Tax Act and the Local Tax Act and three things turn up that the notices leave out — the instalment threshold, when the notice is actually sent, and what happens when a deadline falls on a holiday.
Comprehensive real estate tax — 1 to 15 December
Comprehensive Real Estate Holding Tax Act, Article 16(1) — The head of the competent tax office shall … impose and collect the tax from 1 December to 15 December of the relevant year (the “payment period”).
- The notice must be issued “no later than five days before the payment period begins” (para. 2) — so watch the post from around 26 November.
- You may elect to self-assess instead (para. 3): file within the same 1–15 December window and “the determination under paragraph 1 shall be deemed not to have been made.” That is the route when the assessed notice does not match reality.
Property tax — “half in July, half in September” applies to housing only
This article already said “buildings in July, land in September” in the Q&A, and the statute confirms it. But there is a proviso the summaries omit.
| Asset | Deadline (Local Tax Act, Art. 115(1)) |
|---|---|
| Land | 16–30 September — September only |
| Buildings | 16–31 July — July only |
| Housing | Half on 16–31 July, the other half on 16–30 September But where the year's assessment is ₩200,000 or less, a municipal ordinance may levy it all in July |
| Ships and aircraft | 16–31 July |
“No bill arrived in September” can be perfectly normal. Where housing property tax for the year is ₩200,000 or less, the ordinance may settle it in July in one go (Art. 115(1)3, proviso). The familiar “housing is split between July and September” leaves this out.
Paragraph 2 adds that where something was omitted, unlawful or mistaken, the authority “may impose and collect at any time” — so a bill can arrive outside both windows.
Put the four lines of the statute on the due-date grid and only one of them splits.
Car tax prepayment — the statutory ceiling is “within 10 per cent,” not 5%
Citing the Seoul notice, this article said the prepayment discount is “5% of the eleven months from February to December.” The statute reads:
Local Tax Act, Article 128(3) — Where a taxpayer wishes to pay the annual amount at once … they may self-assess the annual tax after deducting an amount calculated under the following formula, within 10 per cent of the annual tax. <amended 31 Dec. 2019, 31 Dec. 2025>
What the statute fixes is a ceiling of 10 per cent; the actual rate comes from the formula. Seoul's 5% is the formula's output, not a number written into the law.
This paragraph was amended again on 31 December 2025. Treat the prepayment discount as a figure to re-check every year.
We have now read the formula — the equations are embedded as images and do not come out as text, but the alt text of those images carries them in full. The formula differs by filing window.
Instalments are in the statute (Art. 128(1), proviso): apply to pay in quarters and half of the first instalment is collected 16–31 March and half of the second 16–30 September. That proviso is why March and September exist alongside the June and December windows.
| Filing window | Discount formula | Of the annual tax |
|---|---|---|
| 16–31 January | annual tax × (days from the day after the deadline to 31 December ÷ 365) × the rate | about 4.6% |
| 16–31 March | the same formula, with fewer days left | about 3.8% |
| 16–30 June | second-half tax × the rate | 2.5% |
| 16–30 September | second-half tax × (days left ÷ 184) × the rate | about 1.3% |
| The formula in Local Tax Act art. 128(3), published as an image. The "rate prescribed by Presidential Decree" is 5 per cent (Decree art. 125(6), amended 31 December 2024). In a leap year, 366 replaces 365. | ||
"A 10% discount for paying early" is not what the statute now says. The 10% is a ceiling; the actual discount is 5% a year, prorated over the days remaining — so even a January filing returns a little over 4.6% of the annual tax. The ceiling never binds.
| Instalment | Period covered | Payment window |
|---|---|---|
| First | January to June | 16–30 June |
| Second | July to December | 16–31 December |
| The table in Local Tax Act art. 128(1), also an image inside the article and read from its alt text. | ||
Instalment thresholds — three provisions side by side
A long-standing gap on this page. All three are in the statutes, and the «periods» differ.
| Tax | Threshold | How long you can spread it | Provision |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property tax | Over ₩2.5M | Within 3 months after the payment deadline | Local Tax Act art. 118 |
| Comprehensive real estate tax | Over ₩2.5M | Within 6 months after the payment deadline | Comprehensive Real Estate Holding Tax Act art. 20 |
| Capital gains tax | Over ₩10M | Within 2 months after the payment deadline | Income Tax Act art. 112 |
Same threshold, twice the time. Property tax and comprehensive real estate tax both open at ₩2.5M, but you get 3 months for one and 6 months for the other. Both are “may”, not automatic, and you must apply by the payment deadline (Local Tax Act Decree art. 116(2); CRET Act Decree art. 16(2)).
How much can be deferred is set by the two Decrees in almost the same words.
Local Tax Act Enforcement Decree art. 116(1) / CRET Act Enforcement Decree art. 16(1)
1. Tax of ₩5 million or less: the amount over ₩2.5 million
2. Tax over ₩5 million: no more than 50/100 of the tax
So on a ₩4M bill you can defer ₩1.5M (4 − 2.5), and on ₩10M up to ₩5M. Apply, and the bill is reissued as two (para. (3) of each) — it is not “splitting it yourself”; the assessment itself is divided.
Resident tax (individual) — the dates are in the statute too
Local Tax Act, Article 79 (collection) (1) The individual levy is collected by ordinary assessment …
(2) The assessment date is 1 July each year.
(3) The payment period is 16 to 31 August each year.
The assessment date and the payment period are more than a month apart — it is fixed by where you lived on 1 July, and the bill arrives in late August. Move in July and your 1 July address is the one that counts. Because it is assessed, there is nothing to file; you pay the bill when it comes.
What the calendar does not answer
What if a deadline falls on a weekend?
It generally moves to the next business day — but paying early is safer.
I lost the notice.
Look it up and pay on Wetax or Hometax; reissues are available.
The amount is too large to pay at once.
Instalments are available above set thresholds for property tax, comprehensive real estate tax and capital gains — see the table above — and inheritance tax can be spread over years.
Are the dates identical every year?
Mostly, but rule changes and holidays shift them. Check the official notices in the relevant month.
One credit to use before year-end — hometown love donations are credited against income tax at 100/110 up to 100,000 won (90,909 won on 100,000), 40% up to 200,000 won and 15% above (hometown love donation tax credit).
The August resident tax is not only the individual portion — the business-place portion (filed and paid 1 to 31 August) and the monthly employee portion, and who pays and who is excluded, are set out from the statute in the resident tax.
What is added when a local tax date on the calendar is missed is set out in penalties on local taxes — 3% on a bill plus 0.66% a month, and 20% for not filing a self-assessed tax.
If something makes a date on the calendar hard to meet — for national taxes an extension of the payment deadline can be requested up to 3 days before it expires (extending a tax payment deadline).
Sources and where to check
- Korea Ministry of Government Legislation, National Law Information Centre — Local Tax Act, Article 118 (instalments) and Decree Article 116. Source for “where the tax exceeds ₩2.5 million … within 3 months after the payment deadline”, the two deferral amounts, the application by the deadline and the reissued bills (checked 18 September 2026).
- National Law Information Centre — Comprehensive Real Estate Holding Tax Act, Article 20 (instalments) and Decree Article 16. The same ₩2.5M threshold as property tax, but 6 months.
- National Law Information Centre — Local Tax Act, Article 79 (collection). The individual resident tax’s ordinary assessment, 1 July assessment date and 16–31 August payment period.
- Korea Ministry of Government Legislation, National Law Information Centre — Comprehensive Real Estate Holding Tax Act, Article 16, in force 1 January 2026, Act No. 21224. Source for “1 December to 15 December,” the five-days-before notice rule, and the self-assessment election.
- National Law Information Centre — Local Tax Act, Article 115 (deadlines). Source for land in September, buildings in July, housing split in half, ships and aircraft in July, and the ₩200,000-or-less single July levy.
- National Law Information Centre — Local Tax Act, Article 128. Source for the 16–31 March and 16–30 September instalment split and the “within 10 per cent” prepayment ceiling (amended 31 December 2025). The period table and the formula are images inside the article; both were read from their alt text.
- Seoul Metropolitan Government — July property tax notice (July 2026). Due 31 July, 5 million bills issued, and a 3% surcharge the day after. Also confirms the split: July covers half the housing tax plus buildings, ships and aircraft; September covers the other half plus land.
- Seoul Metropolitan Government — annual car tax prepayment (January 2026). The 2026 window ran 16 January to 2 February, with a 5% discount on eleven months. March, June and September also allow it, but January saves the most.
- Seoul Metropolitan Government — income tax filing notice (May 2026). For 2025 income the deadline moved to 1 June because 31 May fell on a Sunday.
Written as of July 2026. The dates in the table are the rule, and they shift by a few days most years. In 2026 alone, car tax prepayment ran to 2 February, the first car tax instalment to 3 July, and income tax to 1 June. When a deadline falls on a weekend or public holiday it moves to the next business day. Property, car and income tax dates come from the Seoul city pages above; the comprehensive real estate tax dates are now confirmed from the statute. On 18 September the last three were filled from the statutes (this English page updated 20 September) — property tax instalments in Local Tax Act art. 118 (over ₩2.5M · 3 months), CRET instalments in CRET Act art. 20 (over ₩2.5M · 6 months), and the individual resident tax dates in Local Tax Act art. 79(3) (16–31 August, assessment date 1 July). The car tax period table and the prepayment formula are images inside the statute and were read from their alt text — the 5/100 rate is Decree art. 125(6). Confirm on Hometax (national) and Wetax (local) before filing. The January and July VAT returns can be estimated ahead with the VAT calculator — the simplified regime does not subtract input tax.
