How Korean inheritance tax is worked out
Korea taxes the whole estate of the deceased (not each heir separately), and the heirs share the bill. For someone who lived in Korea, including a foreign resident, the steps are:
- Taxable estate = assets − debts and public charges − funeral costs
- Tax base = taxable estate − deductions (lump-sum, spouse, financial assets, co-residence home)
- Tax = tax base × bracket rate − progressive deduction
- Payable = tax − 3% credit for filing on time
Funeral costs of ₩5M are allowed even without receipts and at most ₩10M is allowed, plus up to ₩5M for a columbarium or natural burial site.
2026 deductions and rates
| Deduction | Amount |
|---|---|
| Lump-sum | ₩500M, or basic ₩200M + personal deductions if that is larger |
| Personal | ₩50M per child; minors ₩10M × years until 19; ₩50M per heir or dependant aged 65+ |
| Spouse | What the spouse actually inherits, capped by the statutory share and ₩3bn, never less than ₩500M |
| Financial assets | All of the first ₩20M of net financial assets, then 20% (at least ₩20M, at most ₩200M) |
| Co-residence home | 100% of a home a child shared with the deceased for 10+ years, up to ₩600M |
Rates run 10% up to ₩100M, 20% up to ₩500M, 30% up to ₩1bn, 40% up to ₩3bn and 50% above. As of October 2026 these amounts and rates are unchanged; bills to raise the deductions are pending in the National Assembly.
Worked examples
Spouse and two adult children, estate ₩1.5bn (₩200M in deposits), debts ₩100M, funeral ₩12M: taxable estate ₩1.39bn; lump-sum ₩500M; spouse deduction ₩600M (statutory share 1.5 ÷ 3.5 of ₩1.4bn); financial deduction ₩40M; tax base ₩250M; tax ₩40M; after the 3% credit ₩38.8M payable.
Two children, no spouse, one aged 15, estate ₩1bn (₩100M deposits), funeral ₩8M: taxable estate ₩992M; basic + personal is ₩340M so the ₩500M lump-sum applies; financial deduction ₩20M; tax base ₩472M; tax ₩84.4M; after the credit ₩81,868,000 payable.
Things foreign residents ask
- The return is due within six months from the end of the month of death (longer if an heir lives abroad). Filing on time earns the 3% credit; without a return only the ₩500M lump-sum is allowed.
- If the spouse is the only heir, the lump-sum deduction is not available, but the spouse deduction usually covers the estate.
- Prior gifts within 10 years, bequests to non-heirs, disability and family-business deductions and the generation-skipping surcharge are not modelled. Property is valued at market value, which can differ a lot from the official assessed price, so check with a Korean tax accountant before filing.
For lifetime gifts see the gift tax calculator; for the yearly tax on an inherited home see the property tax calculator.