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TAX BASE AND DEDUCTIONS
A. Basic Rules for Calculating the Tax Base
SUBSTANCE OVER FORM
The provisions governing calculation of taxable income are applicable on the basis of the 
real contents thereof.
CLASSIFIED CALCULATION
The tax base shall be calculated for global income, retirement income, timber income and 
capital gains, respectively. However, any losses or losses carried over within 5 years in 
real estate rental, business or timber income may be offset against the amount of global 
or timber income on the basis of the summing up calculation.
GLOBAL INCOME TAX BASE
The global income tax base is the amount remaining after deducting personal exemptions 
from the aggregate of taxable global incomes such as interest income, dividend income, 
real estate income, business income, wage and salary income, and other income.
NON-INCLUSION IN GLOBAL INCOME
The following incomes are not included in the global income but are either assessed 
separately or are non-taxable:
¡© Non-taxable income
¡© Wage of workers paid on a daily basis
¡©  Interest and dividend income subject to separate taxation which is eligible for reduced 
withholding rates
¡©  Excessive refund of the workplace mutual-aid association as prescribed in the Income 
Tax Law 
¡©  Other income of not more than 3 million Won per year as prescribed in the Law
¡© Annuity income subject to separate taxation pursuant to the provisions of the Law
TAX BASE OF INCOME SUBJECT TO SEPARATE TAXATION
The tax base of retirement income, timber income or capital gains is the amount 
remaining after deducting personal exemptions from the respective income amount (the 
personal exemption may be deducted if there is any residual after deducting from global 
income).
TAXABLE PERIOD FOR RECEIPTS AND EXPENSES
The taxable period for gross receipts and necessary expenses of a resident is the period to 
which the receipts and expenses should be attributed and reported. 
TAXABLE PERIOD 
Generally individual taxpayers use the calendar year as tax year; January 1 through 
 December 31
January 1 through the date of death, in the case of death of a resident
January 1 through the date of leaving Korea, in the case of a resident who becomes a 
non-resident
B. Calculation of Taxable Income
interest income : amount of income as determined above
dividend income
Actual dividend and distribution : Amount of income
Deemed dividend
¡©  The amount in excess of the investment received by an investor through decreasing the 
capital of a corporation. ;
¡©  The value of stock dividends or any other corporate rights received by stockholders or 
investors by capitalizing corporate surplus except for capital reserves or reserves for 
assets revaluation. ; and so on
real estate rental income
Taxable income  
¡©  Total amount of income in each taxable period remaining after deduction of necessary 
expenses and losses carried over within 5 years from gross receipts
Gross receipts  
¡© Aggregate of receipts accruing from lease of real estate
¡©  If key money or deposit is received as a rent and the tax base is determined by 
estimation or the deposit is used as prescribed in the Presidential Decree, the amount 
calculated by multiplying the key money or deposit exceeding the construction expenses 
of the rental estate by the interest rate for a time period maturing in one year as of the 
closing date of the taxable period makes an amount of gross receipts.
 
Necessary expenses 
¡©  Aggregate of expenses required to produce the total amount of income earned during 
the taxable period
¡©  If the tax base is determined on the basis of estimation, the standard expenses determined 
by the Government are regarded as necessary expenses.
business income
Total amount of income in each taxable period remaining after deduction of necessary 
expenses and losses carried over within 5 years from an amount of gross receipts. 
wage and salary income
The total amount of income remaining after the deduction of the following amount used to 
calculate the tax base for wage and salary income, after the deduction described herein 
has been made for that taxable period. Deduction for wage and salary income are as 
computed in the table described below.(80,000 Won per day for a daily worker).
  Deduction amount on Wage and Salary Income
 Wage and salary amount  Deduction amount
up to 5 million Won Total amount
5 million ~ 15 million Won 5 million Won + 50% of the salary exceeding 5 million Won
15 million ~ 30 million Won 10 million Won + 15% of the salary exceeding 15 million Won
30 million ~ 45 million Won 12.25 million Won + 10% of the salary exceeding 30 million Won
Over 45 million Won 13.75 million Won + 5% of the salary exceeding 45 million Won
pension income
Total amount of income remaining after the deduction of the following amount with the 
deduction ceiling of 6 million won.
  Deduction amount on Pension Income
 Wage and salary amount  Deduction amount
up to 2.5 million Won Total amount
2.5 million ~ 5 million Won 2.5 million Won + 40% of the salary exceeding 2.5 million Won
5 million ~ 9 million Won 3.5 million Won + 20% of the salary exceeding 5 million Won
Over 9 million Won 4.3 million Won + 10% of the salary exceeding 9 million Won
retirement income
Taxable income is calculated as follows ;
Taxable income 
 =  retirement pay + honorable retirement allowance + group retirement insurance proceeds 
  -  basic deduction for retirement income
  -  deduction by the length of service
That means, the total amount of income remaining after deduction of the following 
amounts
¡© Basic Deduction for Retirement Income  
 ¡¤50% of retirement pay
¡© Additional Deduction by the Length of Service
  Deduction by the length of service
 Number of service years  Deduction amount in Won
up to 5 years 300,000 per service year
5 ~ 10 years 1,500,000 + 500,000 * (No. of service years - 5)
10 ~ 20 years 4,000,000 + 800,000 * (No. of service years - 10)
Over 20 years 12,000,000 + 1,200,000 * (No. of service years - 20)
capital gains
Income arising from the transfer of land, buildings, or rights thereon, stocks, and other 
assets specifically enumerated in the Income Tax Law shall be taxed separately from 
global income. This separation was created to stabilize real estate prices and for tax 
purposes.
    
 taxable gains  
 =  transfer amount 
  -  1) necessary expenses
  -  2) special deduction for long-term holding
  -  3) standard deduction for capital gains
¡©  "Necessary expenses" includes acquisition costs, costs of installations or improvements, 
and other capital expenditures. 
1) necessary expenses
 = acquisition amount 
 + capital expenditure
 + extablishing and improving expense
 + expenses for transfer
The special deduction for long-term possession of land or real estate is as follows: 10% 
of the capital gain if the possession period is longer than three years but does not exceed 
five years, 15% of the capital gain if the possession period exceeds five years but does 
not exceed ten years, and 30% of the capital gain if the possession period is over ten 
years. 
2) special deduction for long-term holding
 = (transfer amount - necessary expenses)
 x 10% (in the case of holding 3~5 years)
    or 15% (5~10 years) or 30% (10 years or longer)
¡©  A capital gains deduction of 2.5 million Won is given without regard to the amount. 
     3) standard deduction for capital gains
 = 2,500,000 Won 
However, the special deduction for long-term possession or capital gain deduction is not 
allowed for unregistered real estate.
timber income
Aggregate amount of income in each taxable period remaining after deducting expenses for 
forestation, acquisition, management and lumbering of the forest, a special deduction of 
6,000,000 Won per year and losses carried over within 5 years from the gross receipts.
other income
Aggregate amount of income less necessary expenses. For the types of other income 
enumerated in the Article 87 of Presidential Decree of Income Tax Law, i.e. Remuneration 
from a lecture of an independent nature and similar incomes, are given deduction of 80% 
thereof as necessary expenses.
C. Exemptions and deduction for global income
A non-resident who does not have a domestic business place has earned 
wage and salary income in Korea, most of the provisions concerning the tax base and tax 
amount of residents shall apply to him/her. In terms of calculation of the tax base and tax 
amount, a non-resident is not entitled to basic deduction(except for himself), additional 
deduction(except for himself) and special deduction. A brief on the income deductions are 
addressed below. There are four exemptions and deductions related to global income. 
basic exemptions
 
Residents with global income are entitled to annually deduct an amount equivalent to 1 
million Won multiplied by the number of persons in the taxpayer's family, as determined 
below.
¡© A resident taxpayer oneself
¡©  A spouse with income of less than 1 million Won per year, excluding interest, 
dividends, and income from real estate
¡© Dependents living in the same household with the taxpayer
*   A dependent eligible for the Exemption is a lineal ascendant aged sixty or older 
(fifty-five for females), a lineal descendent of the resident aged twenty or less(there is 
no age restriction for a handicapped person), a sibling aged under twenty or over sixty, 
and all other members of the household supported by the resident.
additional exemption
When a person who is qualified for Basic Deduction¡²oneself, his/her spouse, dependent
s¡³falls under any of the following situation, the amount calculated by multiplying the 
number of persons by the amount below, shall be deducted each year from the taxpayer's 
income under each case.
 ¥¡) where the person is 65 years old or more: £Ü1,000,000 per capita
   - 70 years old or more: £Ü1,500,000 per capita
 ¥¢) where the person is handicapped, as prescribed by the Presidential decree: 
£Ü1,000,000 per capita 
 ¥£) where the person is a married woman having her spouse, or a head of family having 
dependents having no spouse: £Ü500,000 per capita
 ¥¤) where every employees who has lineal descendant under the age of 6 years: 
£Ü1,000,000 per capita
additional exemption for a Small Household (Smaller Basic Exemption)
A resident with wage and salary income(excluding daily workers), if the number of 
persons eligible for basic exemption is one or two, may deduct 1 million Won or 0.5 
million Won respectively. 
Standard deduction
Alternatively, a taxpayer may elect to choose an annual standard deduction of 600,000 
Won if he or she fails to claim deductions in question or accrues only global income 
without any wages or salaries earned.
¡Ø Scope of Persons Eligible for Personal Exemptions and Determination of Eligibility  
Persons eligible for spousal exemption, dependent exemption, or exemption for handicapped 
or aged persons must be (i) a spouse and/or unmarried lineal descendant and (ii) family 
members who are listed on the registration card of the resident actually living at the 
domicile or residence. A person who has temporarily left the taxpayer's domicile or 
residence for reasons of schooling, medical treatment, business, or work may still be 
entitled to an exemption. The determination of eligibility shall be made based on the 
existing conditions at the close of the tax period in question.
National pension contribution deduction
Pursuant to the Article 51-3 of the Income Tax Law, the total of following pension 
contribution paid for pension insurance in the name of the taxpayer him/herself is 
deducted.
¡©  Pension insurance contribution paid by the taxpayer him/herself based on National 
Pension Law
¡©  Contribution paid by the taxpayer him/herself based on Soldier Pension Law, Civil 
Service Pension Law etc.