How much can you bring back into Korea without paying duty? Article 48(2) of the Enforcement Rule of the Customs Act sets the allowance for one traveller’s carried or separately shipped goods at a total customs value of US$800 or less (the “basic allowance”). Article 48(3) counts alcohol, tobacco and perfume separately: alcohol up to 2 litres and US$400, 200 cigarettes, 100 millilitres of perfume. Goods above US$800 are taxed at the Decree’s simple rate (15% for general goods). Declare them on the form and 30% comes off (up to 200,000 won); get caught without declaring and a 40% penalty is added. Here are the provisions as written, with a calculator.
1. US$800 basic allowance — alcohol, tobacco and perfume counted separately (2 litres and US$400; 200 cigarettes; 100 mL).
2. Above it, the simple rate — 15% for general goods, 18% for leather or textile clothing and shoes.
3. Declare and the tax is cut 30% (up to 200,000 won); don’t and 40% is added — 60% from the second time in 2 years.
The US$800 basic allowance — Rule Art. 48(1)–(2)
| Type | What the source says | Worth noting (ours) |
|---|---|---|
| Scope (1) | Goods a traveller normally wears or carries, a non-resident’s tools of trade, goods re-imported after customs confirmed export, and goods that by nature, quantity, price and use are normally a traveller’s carried or separately shipped goods | Delegated by Customs Act Art. 96(1)1 |
| Limit (2) | Total customs value of one traveller’s goods US$800 or less | Goods taken out of Korea and re-imported goods are left out |
| Duty-free shop (2) | Domestic goods bought at departure duty-free shops are deducted from the allowance at their purchase price | So shop purchases count toward the 800 (our reading) |
| Farm goods (2, proviso) | For farm and livestock goods named by the Customs Commissioner, a separate limit may apply | We did not read that notice |
| Shipped goods (6) | Must arrive within 6 months of entry, barring force majeure | — |
US$800 is not per item but the total one person brings in. The words “one traveller” read as applying per person, but how customs treats one person carrying another’s goods is not in this article.
Alcohol, tobacco, perfume — Rule Art. 48(3)
| Type | What the source says | Worth noting (ours) |
|---|---|---|
| Alcohol | Up to 2 litres in volume and US$400 in price | On top of the 800 |
| Tobacco | 200 cigarettes, 50 cigars, 200 heated-tobacco sticks, 20 mL nicotine liquid, 110 g other e-cigarette types, 250 g other tobacco | Only one type if you bring more than one |
| Perfume | 100 millilitres | — |
| Under 19 | No exemption for alcohol and tobacco brought by anyone under 19 (except those who have reached 1 January of the year they turn 19) | Perfume is not in this proviso |
| Over the limit | When taxed, the price of that item is the customs value | The whole item, not just the excess (our reading) |
If the goods include alcohol, tobacco or perfume bought at a duty-free shop, those quantities are deducted from the separate allowance. Buy 1 litre of spirits at the departure shop and only 1 more litre bought abroad is exempt on return (our example).
Calculator
Updates as you type. Our simplification: the US$800 is taken off the total, the rest is converted at the rate you enter and taxed at one simple rate. Goods exempt from or not eligible for the simple rate (Decree Art. 96(2)) and the formula items for jewellery, luxury watches and bags are not computed. Below 1 won is dropped.
30% off for declaring, 40% for not — Customs Act Arts. 96(2), 241(5)
| Type | What the source says | Worth noting (ours) |
|---|---|---|
| Reduction (Act Art. 96(2)) | If a traveller self-declares carried or shipped goods in the prescribed way, 30/100 of the duty (for simple-rate goods, the tax at the simple rate) may be reduced, up to 200,000 won | Not for goods already exempt under Art. 96(1)1 |
| How (Rule Art. 49-2) | Fill in the traveller’s declaration form — Form 42 by air, Form 43 by sea — and hand it to a customs officer | Amended 2 January 2026 |
| Penalty (Act Art. 241(5)) | Where carried goods are taxed because they were not declared: 40/100 of the tax due (customs and internal taxes) | — |
| Repeat (Decree Art. 247(4)) | Penalised for the same reason twice or more within 2 years before the entry date: 60/100 | What “repeatedly failing to declare” means |
Side by side the gap is large. On 126,000 won of tax, declaring takes off 37,800 won, leaving 88,200 won; not declaring adds 50,400 won, making 176,400 won (our example below). The reduction is capped at 200,000 won; no cap is written for the penalty.
Simple rates — Act Art. 81, Decree Art. 96 and Schedule 2
| Item (Schedule 2) | Simple rate | Worth noting (ours) |
|---|---|---|
| 1(a) Goods subject to individual consumption tax — gaming machines and other amusement goods | 47% | — |
| 1(b) Gems, pearls, tortoiseshell, coral, amber, ivory and their products; precious-metal goods | 721,200 won + 45% of the amount over 4,808,000 won | Formula item — not in the calculator |
| 1(c) Luxury watches, luxury bags | 288,450 won + 45% of the amount over 1,923,000 won | The schedule does not define “luxury” |
| 3(a) Base duty 10% or more, no consumption tax — fur clothing and fur goods | 19% | — |
| 3(b) Leather or composition-leather clothing and accessories, textiles and textile goods, footwear | 18% | Clothes and shoes |
| 3(c) Deer antler | 21% | — |
| 4. Anything not in items 1–3 | 15% | Excludes luxury furs, rugs and furniture, passenger cars, hunting guns, alcohol and tobacco |
The simple rate is one rate built from the customs, temporary import surtax and internal tax rates (Act Art. 81(3)). Decree Art. 96(2) excludes duty-free or duty-reduced goods, specific-duty goods, goods the Commissioner names (commercial quantities, high-value items) and goods where the owner asks not to use it. Those are taxed item by item, so the calculator will differ. Schedule 2 is the version amended 28 February 2023.
Worked cases — our examples
| Case (our example, 1,400 won per dollar) | Tax to pay | Worth noting (our sum) |
|---|---|---|
| Clothes US$1,300, declared | 88,200 won | 500 × 1,400 = 700,000 won × 18% = 126,000 won − 30% (37,800 won) |
| Same clothes, not declared (first time) | 176,400 won | 126,000 won + 40% (50,400 won) |
| Same, second time in 2 years | 201,600 won | 126,000 won + 60% (75,600 won) |
| General goods US$5,000, declared | 682,000 won | 4,200 × 1,400 = 5,880,000 won × 15% = 882,000 won; 30% would be 264,600 won, capped at 200,000 |
| General goods US$750 | 0 won | Within 800 |
The examples take US$800 off the total in one go, which is our simplification. Which item the 800 comes off first and which exchange rate on which day applies are not in the provisions we read; customs decides.
Checklist
- ☐ Do goods bought abroad plus duty-free shop purchases exceed US$800?
- ☐ Alcohol 2 litres and US$400 combined; one type of tobacco; perfume 100 mL
- ☐ Under 19: no alcohol or tobacco exemption
- ☐ Over the limit? Declare on the form — 30% off, up to 200,000 won
- ☐ Meat products such as sausages need a quarantine declaration, separate from tax — fines for bringing meat into Korea
Questions that remain
If I am just over US$800, is only the excess taxed?
The allowance is “US$800 or less on the total customs value”. The calculator taxes only the excess, which is our simplification; customs decides which goods are taxed.
How is this different from the US$150 for online shopping?
Online orders arrive by post or courier and follow Rule Art. 45 (US$150 of goods, US$200 from the US). That is in overseas shopping into Korea. Goods you carry yourself fall under the US$800 here.
What if I lost my card on the trip?
Separate from tax, liability for misuse before and after reporting is in lost or stolen credit card abroad.
Sources
- Korean law database (law.go.kr) — Enforcement Rule of the Customs Act Arts. 48, 49-2 — source (effective 31 July 2026, Ministry of Economy and Finance Ordinance No. 42; checked 29 October 2026). Exempt goods items 1–5, the US$800 allowance and duty-free shop deduction, farm goods proviso, the alcohol/tobacco/perfume table and under-19 proviso, 6 months for shipped goods, declaration forms.
- Korean law database — Customs Act Arts. 81, 96, 241 — source (effective 2 October 2026, Act No. 21490; checked 29 October 2026). Simple rates, traveller exemption and the 30% (200,000 won cap) reduction, simplified declaration, 40% and 60% penalties.
- Korean law database — Customs Act Enforcement Decree Arts. 96, 247 and Schedule 2 — source (effective 1 July 2026, Decree No. 36140; Schedule 2 amended 28 February 2023). Exclusions from the simple rate, repeat non-declaration (twice in 2 years), the rate table.
- Not read. The Commissioner’s notice on farm goods limits, the customs exchange rate (Art. 1-2), Korea Customs Service traveller guidance.
- What we added. The “worth noting” column and the Korean everyday gloss.
Where to check further
- Korea Customs Service, airport customs — item rates, farm goods limits, the exchange rate used.
- The traveller’s declaration form — handed out on board or in the arrivals hall.
Written on 29 October 2026. The content is from the source; the glosses are ours.
