Progressive income tax
Korean income tax is tax base × rate − progressive deduction. The base is your total income minus deductions.
The 2026 brackets run 6% to 45% across eight steps (6% up to 14M KRW, then 15%, 24%, 35%, 38%, 40%, 42%, and 45% above 1B). Actual tax also subtracts credits and adds penalties; a 10% local income tax applies on top. See the VAT calculator or salary calculator.
Income tax for foreigners in Korea
Switch to Foreigner: 19% flat vs regular and enter your gross salary to see both options side by side.
- Who can use the flat tax: foreign employees (not daily workers) who first started working in Korea on or before December 31, 2026, for income received up to the tax year that ends within 20 years of their first working day (Restriction of Special Taxation Act, Art. 18-2).
- How it works: income tax is 19% of your total salary — non-taxable allowances, deductions and tax credits are ignored — plus 10% local tax, so 20.9% in total. Ask your employer to withhold at 19% each month, or choose it at year-end settlement.
- When it helps: roughly when your regular effective rate would be higher than 19%, which usually means a high salary with few deductions.
Resident or non-resident? You are a tax resident if you have a domicile in Korea or have stayed for 183 days or more; residents are taxed like Koreans. Employees settle the year’s tax at year-end settlement with the February payslip; other income is filed in May. Confirm your situation with the National Tax Service (126).