Taxes
Important Tax Resources
Hometax Website - Korean only.
English Tax Helpline: 1588-0560
Gwangju Tax Offices
There are three tax offices located in Gwangju:
(1) Buk-gu - 북광주세무서
(2) Dong-gu - 광주세무서
(3) Seo-gu - 서광주세무서
How to create a digital certificate necessary for accessing the hometax website
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C3aRg13lYAY&ab_channel=KatharineHolmes
This link will give you a brief overview of what a digital certificate is, as well as give you instructions towards how to get started with creating one. Many of the banks in Korea have this information available in English, so you should be able to create your certificate without too much hassle. The main thing you need for this is your bank transfer card (the one with all the numbers), your banking account information (including your username and passwords), and your ARC.
Income Tax Exemption
Citizens of certain countries may claim a two year tax exemption by submitting an original Residency Certificate to us. Please see Tax Exemption for more information.
Calculating Income Tax
If you are a new teacher with the GICCE and not tax exempt, your monthly tax contribution will be estimated based on your pay level. If you are interested in calculating your estimated monthly tax contribution, click here to use the NTS's "withholding tax calculator".
After the end of the fiscal tax year (December 31st), all taxes will be calculated and any contributions adjusted. This is referred to as the Year End Tax Adjustment (YETA). During this time, GETs may submit documents to claim tax deductions and credits.
The way in which taxes are calculated is somewhat complicated. This is a simplified breakdown of how it's done:
Total Annual Income (all money received in the year, including extra pay, housing allowance, etc.) - Non-taxable Income = Gross Earnings
Gross Earnings - Deduction for Wage & Salary Income (based on a progressive scale and subject to change yearly) = Adjusted Wage & Salary Income
Adjusted Wage & Salary Income - Deductions = Taxable Income
Taxable Income X Tax Rate (based on a progressive scale and subject to change yearly) = Calculated Income Tax
Calculated Income Tax - Tax Credits = Final tax liability
Final tax liability X 10% for resident surtax = Final taxes to be paid for the year
The following video explains a bit more about how taxes are caluculated:
A document called "Receipt for Wage & Salary Income Tax Withholding/ Statement on Wage & Salary Income Payment - 근로소득 원천징수영수증 (근로소득 지급 명세서)" will be created for each GET after the YETA. This document will have a breakdown of your income and taxes for the year. You may request this from the GET Program Manager from the beginning of March. This document is only available in Korean, so please see the translation below to better understand the calculations.
YETA English Translation.pdf
Tax Deductions & Credits
During the YETA, GETs may submit documents in order to claim tax deductions and credits.
Tax deductions include:
Domestic credit and debit card usage
Domestic cash purchases*
Dependents
Pension contributions
National Health Insurance
Tax credits include:
Private Insurance
Medical expenses
Educational expenses
Charitable donations
Dependents
Monthly rent**
Documents to claim tax deductions can be submitted in January. The GET Program Manager will contact GETs with detailed instructions on how to do this during the YETA period. The quickest and easiest way to gather documents is to use the HomeTax website. Take a look at the following video which will take you through the steps of doing this:
*Claiming Tax Deductions on Cash Purchases
You are only eligible for a deduction for cash purchases if you register for this on the tax portal. This process is only available in Korean. Take a look at the following video which will take you through the steps of doing this:
**Claiming Tax Credit for Monthly Rent
This is only applicable to those on the housing allowance who pay their monthly rent themselves. As of 2021, we are eligible to claim this without the cash-receipts workaround. You'll need to provide your rent payment records (bank transaction history), clean scans of your ARC with the correct address printed on the back, and your housing contract.
Tax Filing in your Home Country
Each country has different rules and regulations on taxation and it is your responsibility to know the requirements of your home country. Be cognizant of anti-money-laundering and tax-evasion-prevention schemes like FATCA and CRS regulations.
Please ask the GET Program Manager if you need a statement of your earnings for the year in order to carry out this process.