Tax service issues reminder for 700,000 foreign taxpayers

Foreign employees in Korea have until Jan. 15 to enroll in the simplified document service for the year-end tax settlements due in February, the National Tax Service said Wednesday, though it requires their employer to register them by Saturday.

Some 700,000 foreign workers must settle taxes on wages and salaries earned in 2025, with the process for foreign taxpayers largely the same as for Korean workers.

Year-end tax settlement adjusts how much tax an employee owes on wages and salaries, based on income, taxes already withheld, and qualified deductions. Workers may receive a refund if too much tax was withheld, or be required to pay additional tax if too little was withheld.

The NTS offers a one-stop simplified filing service to make the process easier, but must inform their employers in advance in order to use it. Employers are required to register eligible employees on the tax agency's online platform, Hometax, by Saturday.

Employees covered by the one-stop service can begin submitting documents after Jan. 17, once notified by their employers. Those not enrolled can download their tax and deduction records directly from Hometax from Jan. 17, with updated records available from Jan. 20. Final submission deadlines vary by employer, with the overall deadline set for the end of February.

Foreign workers who qualify as tax resident in Korea — those with a registered address or who stayed in Korea for more than 183 days — largely follow the same filing process as Korean nationals, though there are several benefits specific to foreign residents.

Starting this year, foreigners married to Korean nationals are eligible for deductions tied to home-purchase savings accounts. Previously, the benefit was limited to those recognized as “heads of households” under the Resident Registration Act, a status unavailable to non-citizens.

Under the revised rules, foreign residents earning 70 million won ($48,000) or less a year and married to a non-home-owning head of household may deduct up to 40 percent of their 2025 deposits into a home-purchase savings account, capped at 3 million won annually.

Additional incentives are available for highly skilled foreign professionals in the tech sector. Tech specialists may qualify for a 50 percent income tax reduction on their wages for up to 10 years if they provide technical services in Korea under an engineering technology licensing agreement, or if they hold at least a bachelor’s degree in science or engineering with overseas research and development experience.

Those classified as “outstanding overseas talent” under the Special Act on High-Tech Industry Talent Innovation can receive the tax reduction on wages received from Feb. 28, 2025, onward.