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Korea 19% Flat Tax Calculator for Foreigners (2026)

Some foreign workers in Korea can choose a flat 19% income tax instead of the regular progressive rates, if they qualify (see the checks below). Enter your yearly salary and the date you first worked in Korea to compare a full year of tax both ways. It covers 2026 income only.

Your total pay for 2026 before any deductions. Digits only; commas are added for you. Allowed: a whole number above ₩0 and up to ₩10,000,000,000. If you answer Yes to any social insurance, the premium estimate needs at least ₩1,000,000 (answer No to all of them to try a lower amount).

The flat tax needs this date to be on or before Dec 31, 2026 (regional headquarters are covered by a separate rule; see "Your situation").

Your situation: nationality, employer and social insurance

Defaults: you do not hold Korean nationality, you are a tax resident, you are not a daily worker, you do not work for a related company or a regional headquarters, and you pay all four social insurances (so B starts with their deductions counted). Change what does not fit you; if you do not pay them, B is higher.

The flat tax is for people who do not hold Korean nationality at the end of the tax year. Generally someone with no home in Korea and a stay of under 183 days. This calculator covers tax residents only. The exact rule is in Income Tax Act Art. 1-2; check with the NTS if unsure. Daily workers are excluded from the flat tax. A company with a family or management-control relationship with you, for example one where you hold about 30% or more of the shares (the NTS gives this as an example, not a test). Regional headquarters are covered by a separate rule; use the question below.
Does your employer work as a regional headquarters as defined in the Foreign Investment Promotion Act Enforcement Decree Art. 20-2(5) item 1 (our translation of the Special Taxation Act Enforcement Decree Art. 16-2(3))? If you choose Yes, the calculator skips the first-work-date deadline and the related-company exclusion, because the exception clause in Art. 18-2(2) does not contain them (the 20-year period still applies). This calculator cannot tell whether your employer is designated; ask your employer or the NTS. "Not sure" is treated as No.
Social insurance: which ones do you pay?

The employee share you pay is deducted from your income in the regular method (B) but not in the flat tax (A). "Not sure" is treated as "No" here, so B is not understated. Health, long-term care and employment premiums only count if deducting them beats the standard tax credit (see "Why this amount"); National Pension always counts.

Whether each one applies to you depends on your visa, your home country and what your employer has filed, so we cannot tell for you. The page starts with Yes for all three; change any that do not apply to you (if you do not pay one, B is higher). See the take-home pay calculator for how to tell.

Estimate only, not tax advice. Your tax is settled by your employer at year-end tax settlement, or by the National Tax Service (NTS) if you file yourself. This calculator applies the rates in the laws to the numbers you enter. It does not know your family, medical costs, rent, card spending or other deductions.

Legal basis

Each law is linked to its Korean original on law.go.kr, the Ministry of Government Legislation's site. English titles are our translation. The Korean text is what counts legally. For a reference translation, see the Korea Legislation Research Institute's English law site; it is a reference translation, not legally binding, and may not include every provision used here.

Law (our translation)ArticlesEffective dateLast checked

Official guidance read: NTS press release of Jan 7, 2026 on year-end tax settlement for foreign workers (Korean). It is guidance, not law.

Limitations: what this calculator does not cover

Please keep these four in mind first.

  1. The regular-rate figure (B) is a ceiling, if you pay the insurances you marked Yes in about the amounts shown (the premiums are estimated from your yearly pay divided by 12 and can differ from your real ones; see the insurance limitation in the full list below). We include only your own basic deduction and the insurance you marked Yes (all start as Yes; the health, long-term care and employment premiums only if deducting them beats the ₩130,000 standard tax credit, since the law does not allow both). Dependents, medical, education, rent, card, pension-savings and donation deductions or credits would lower it, so, under this assumption, your real regular-rate tax is the same or lower.
  2. NTS says the employer-paid health and employment insurance is not tax-free under the flat tax. The NTS does not say whether this means the share employers must pay by law or only amounts they pay on your behalf. If it counts, A is higher than shown and both break-even lines move up. We do not calculate this.
  3. The "where the flat tax starts to win" lines are rough estimates for one simple profile, not a rule. Your own deductions move them up.
  4. Current law only (checked Nov 5, 2026); the 21% proposal is not law and is not included. What we checked, and how, is in "Legal basis".
See all 13 limitations

What this calculator does

It compares your tax on one full year of 2026 pay in two ways. One is the 19% flat tax that some foreign workers can choose: one fixed rate on all your pay. The other is the regular progressive rates: the rate rises in steps as your taxable amount grows.

For the regular rates it shows a maximum (insurance assumption: see Limitations), because it cannot see your family or other deductions. It also checks whether you appear to qualify, and shows how to apply.

It uses Restriction of Special Taxation Act Art. 18-2 and its Enforcement Decree Art. 16-2 (effective Sep 18, 2026), and the Income Tax Act rates. The Effective date and Last checked date of each law are in "Legal basis". Every result is an Estimate.

How to fill in each input
  • Yearly salary before tax. Your total pay for 2026 before tax and insurance. The calculator treats all of it as taxable in both methods, including tax-free allowances such as meal pay.
  • First day you worked in Korea. The law uses the day you first started working in Korea. If you had earlier jobs here, ask the NTS which date counts for you. This date must be on or before Dec 31, 2026, unless you work at a regional headquarters (regional headquarters are covered by a separate rule).
  • Your situation. The defaults fit most people. Change an answer if it does not fit you: Korean nationality, tax non-resident, daily worker, working for a related company, or working at a regional headquarters. The first four can close the flat tax to you. For a related company, the NTS gives "holding 30% or more of the shares" as an example. The regional headquarters answer works the other way: Yes removes the deadline and related-company checks.
  • Social insurance. Choose Yes, No or Not sure for each one; all start as Yes, which counts their deductions in B. Your pay slip or payroll team can tell you. Under the regular rates, your own share lowers your taxable amount. "Not sure" counts as No, so the regular-rate figure is not set too low.

How to read the results
  • Open to you / not open. The label "Open to you on these answers" means your answers pass the checks. You still have to apply. If the flat tax is not open to you, the page says why and does not compare.
  • A and B. A is the 19% flat tax for the year. B is the regular rates and is a maximum under the insurance assumption: your real figure is the same or lower. The box with the thicker border is the cheaper one. If A is cheaper, the gap is "up to" that amount. If B is cheaper, it is that amount "or more".
  • Roughly where the flat tax starts to win. Rough salary lines for one simple profile. They are not a rule.
  • Step by step. Follow each row to see how A and B are worked out, with the article for each step.
  • Proposed, not law. The 21% box is for information. It is not used in any calculation.
  • Yearly, not monthly. The result is a yearly tax. Your monthly pay slip can differ. For monthly pay, use the take-home pay calculator.

Frequently asked questions

Who can choose the 19% flat tax?

You can if you are a foreign officer or employee (not a daily worker), you do not hold Korean nationality at the end of the tax year, and you first started working in Korea on or before Dec 31, 2026 (regional headquarters are covered by a separate rule).

The flat tax covers income for 20 years, counted from the tax year that includes your first day of work (NTS wording, our translation). The last year is therefore the year you first worked plus 19.

If you were already working in Korea on Jan 1, 2014, the NTS counts that date as your first day (guidance, not statute), so the last year is 2033. Check with the NTS if you are near the end.

Working for a related company is excluded; regional headquarters are covered by a separate rule, with no deadline date and no related-company exclusion, so use the regional headquarters question and ask your employer or the NTS whether you are one. (Restriction of Special Taxation Act Art. 18-2(2); our translation, Korean text)

Is the 19% flat tax always better?

No. It is one fixed rate on all your pay, with no deductions. It helps most when your income is high. For lower and middle incomes, the regular rates with the earned income deduction and tax credits usually cost less. The NTS says which is better differs from person to person. The calculator shows both for your salary, and a rough line where the flat tax starts to win. Your own deductions move that line up.

What do I give up if I choose it?

All income-tax exemptions, deductions, reductions and tax credits stop applying. The one exception in the law is the benefit of employer-provided housing, which stays tax-free for certain people receiving company housing as set by a ministry rule. So you lose the earned income deduction, family deductions, the insurance premium deduction, and credits for children, medical and education costs. By our reading, the monthly meal allowance exemption is lost too; ask the NTS about single pay items. In return, the pay is taxed separately and is not added to your other income. (Art. 18-2(3); Enforcement Decree Art. 16-2(5))

How do I apply?

You must apply. It is not automatic. There are two applications. At year-end tax settlement (or when you file your own return), you attach the flat tax application form to your deduction declaration. To have 19% withheld from each month's pay, you apply through your employer by the 10th of the month after the month you worked. Your employer "may" withhold 19%, so it is not required. If you do not apply monthly, tax is withheld by the simplified tax table and settled at year-end. The law does not say what happens if you apply after the 10th; ask the NTS. The year-end form is the Application for Flat Tax Rate for Foreign Workers (Form No. 8). The monthly form is the Application for Flat Tax Rate Withholding (or Waiver) (Form No. 8-2). These are our translations of the Korean form names (Special Taxation Act Enforcement Rule Art. 61 items 9 and 9-2). (Enforcement Decree Art. 16-2(4) and (6); Act Art. 18-2(4) and (5))

Can I switch back to the regular rates?

This is not clear. The law says you apply to use the flat tax. It does not say how a choice is changed or withdrawn. The Enforcement Decree (Art. 16-2(4)) has you hand in the application at each year-end tax settlement or tax return, but has no rule for changing a choice. The only withdrawal rule is for the monthly withholding application, and it takes effect from the next tax year (Enforcement Decree Art. 16-2(7)). NTS to confirm: ask your employer's payroll team or the NTS (English line 1588-0560, or 126) before you decide.

Does the flat tax change my pension and health insurance?

By our reading, Art. 18-2 covers income tax only (and the local income tax that follows it), so it does not change what you pay for social insurance. You still pay the social insurances that apply to you. The difference is in tax: under the regular rates your own share of the premiums lowers your taxable income, and under the flat tax it does not. Employer-paid health and employment insurance premiums are not tax-free under the flat tax (NTS press release, Jan 7, 2026); the NTS does not say whether this covers the share employers must pay by law.

What if I first started working in Korea in 2027 or later?

As the Special Taxation Act stood when checked on Nov 5, 2026, the flat tax needs a first day of work on or before Dec 31, 2026 (regional headquarters are covered by a separate rule). Otherwise a later start is not covered. A government proposal would extend that date, but it is not law.

Will the flat tax rate go up to 21%?

Proposed, not law. The government's 2026 tax-reform plan would raise the rate to 21% for income from Jan 1, 2027, and extend the first-work deadline to Dec 31, 2029. The National Assembly has not passed it. This calculator uses 19% and current law only. It does not change the tax on your 2026 income. Whether people who already use the flat tax would also move to the higher rate is not clear from the available sources (law firm and tax-firm notes, not the official text).

See also

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