Income Tax Exemption

Citizens of the following countries can claim exemption from paying taxes on their income for the first two consecutive years* of working in Korea:

• Australia

• New Zealand

• Republic of South Africa

• United Kingdom

• United States of America

In order to be income tax exempt, you will need to submit an original Tax Residency Certificate that states you are a resident of your respective country for tax purposes. One certificate is valid for the duration of the exemption period e.g. a 2021 certificate exempts you from taxes starting Feb 2021 through Feb 2023. It is advisable to obtain the Residency Certificate from your home country before you arrive in Korea. It is possible, although more difficult, to obtain the Residency Certificate after you have already arrived in Korea. 

Please submit the original certificate to the GET Program Manager by either mailing it to the office or delivering it in person. Please do this as soon as possible upon arriving in Gwangju. The financial officer will submit this to the relevant tax authorities to ensure you are exempt. 

If you submit the Residency Certificate a few months after you have already been working in Gwangju, the financial officer will apply for a tax refund as you would have been taxed up until that point. You will receive the refund along with your monthly salary after submitting the Residency Certificate. However, if too much time has passed, the financial officer may not be able to process your refund and you will need to visit the tax office yourself.

*For example, if you started working in Korea in 2018, your tax exemption only applies for 2018 and 2019. If you left Korea in 2019 and returned to work in Korea in 2020, your exemption period will have expired by 2020 and you will have to pay taxes even though you were not physically in Korea during the second year of your exemption period.

Claiming Exemption for Past Years

Although it is much easier to submit your Tax Residency Certificate when you first arrive in Korea, it is possible to submit it later and reclaim tax payments retroactively. This must be done within 5 years of first arriving in Korea. Please note that depending on how much time has passed and your employment status, you may be responsible for this yourself and the GMOE will not be able to assist.

In order to do this, you will need to visit your district tax office and bring the following:

• Your ARC number

• Residency Certificate

At the office you will need to fill out the application for tax exemption.

The following resources can assist you with this process:
National Tax Service (NTS)
NTS Helpline for Foreigners: 1588-0560