🧾 South Korea Home Acquisition Tax Calculator
Work out the acquisition tax plus local education tax and rural special tax you pay when buying a home in Korea. Based on the 2026 Local Tax Act.
How to use
- Enter the purchase price written in the sale contract (the acquisition value).
- Pick the number of homes your household will own after this purchase, counting the one you are buying. Korea counts homes per household (sede), so a spouse’s home counts too. Pre-sale rights (bunyanggwon), redevelopment occupancy rights and residential officetels bought after 12 August 2020 can also count as homes.
- Choose whether the home is in a regulated area (jojeong daesang jiyeok — currently all of Seoul and parts of Gyeonggi), whether its exclusive floor area is over 85㎡ (about 915 sq ft), and whether first-time buyer relief applies. The result updates instantly.
What is acquisition tax in Korea?
Acquisition tax (chwideukse, 취득세) is a one-off local tax paid when you acquire real estate, cars and some other assets in South Korea. It applies to foreign nationals exactly as it does to Korean citizens — there is no separate foreign-buyer stamp duty like in Singapore or parts of Canada and Australia. You must report and pay within 60 days of the balance payment date (or the registration date, if earlier); paying late adds a penalty tax. Two surtaxes ride on top: the local education tax on every home, and the rural special tax on homes larger than 85㎡ of exclusive area. That is why the amount you actually pay is 0.1–1.4 percentage points higher than the headline rate.
How the tax is calculated
For a household that ends up with one home, the rate is 1% up to ₩600 million and 3% above ₩900 million. Between the two, the rate rises smoothly with the price:
Rate (%) in the ₩600M–₩900M band = price in units of ₩100M × 2/3 − 3
For a ₩700M apartment: 7 × 2/3 − 3 = 1.6667%, rounded to four decimal places of the rate (0.0167) = 1.67%, so acquisition tax is ₩11.69M. At ₩800M the rate is 2.33%, and at exactly ₩900M it reaches 3%.
- Local education tax — one tenth of the acquisition tax rate under standard rates (0.1–0.3%), or a flat 0.4% when a surcharge rate applies
- Rural special tax — only on homes over 85㎡: 0.2% normally, 0.6% with the 8% surcharge, 1.0% with the 12% surcharge
Korean home acquisition tax rates (2026)
| Situation | Acquisition tax | Total, ≤85㎡ | Total, >85㎡ |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 home · up to ₩600M | 1% | 1.1% | 1.3% |
| 1 home · ₩600M–₩900M | 1–3% | 1.1–3.3% | 1.3–3.5% |
| 1 home · over ₩900M | 3% | 3.3% | 3.5% |
| 2 homes · non-regulated | 1–3% | 1.1–3.3% | 1.3–3.5% |
| 2 homes · regulated (not temporary) | 8% | 8.4% | 9.0% |
| 3 homes · non-regulated | 8% | 8.4% | 9.0% |
| 3 homes · regulated / 4 or more | 12% | 12.4% | 13.4% |
When do the multi-home surcharges apply?
Under the Local Tax Act as of October 2026, buying a home in a regulated area that makes you a two-home household costs 8%, and becoming a three-home household there costs 12%. Outside regulated areas, two homes still get standard rates, three homes pay 8% and four or more pay 12%. A temporary two-home situation — for example, you buy the new place before selling the old one when moving — gets standard rates as long as you sell the previous home within the deadline. Homes with an official price of ₩100M or less (outside redevelopment zones), and since 2025 homes outside the capital region with an official price of ₩200M or less, are excluded from the surcharge. The list of regulated areas is set by Ministry of Land notice and changes, so check it before signing.
First-time buyer relief
If neither you nor your spouse has ever owned a home, buying one priced at ₩1.2 billion or less reduces acquisition tax by up to ₩2 million (₩3 million in some depopulating areas). The relief has been extended to the end of 2028. You must move in within three months; selling or renting the home out within three years claws the relief back. Overseas homes count when judging “never owned”, so foreigners who own a house abroad generally do not qualify.
Extra steps for foreign buyers
- Reporting — foreigners can buy Korean property, but the purchase must be reported under the Real Estate Transaction Reporting Act, and buying from abroad usually involves a foreign exchange bank declaration for the funds.
- Permit zones — in August 2025 Seoul and parts of Gyeonggi and Incheon were designated land transaction permit zones for foreign buyers of homes, requiring prior permission and two years of owner occupancy. Check whether the designation still applies to your area.
- Upfront cash — budget acquisition taxes, the agent fee and judicial scrivener (beopmusa) fees on top of your down payment.
This calculator does not model temporary two-home rulings, special house-count rules (pre-sale rights, officetels, inherited homes) or acquisition by gift (12% in regulated areas at ₩300M+). Rates and relief deadlines can change with new legislation.
This calculator is for estimates only and is not tax advice. Your actual tax depends on how and when you acquire or hold the property, exemptions you qualify for and local ordinances. Confirm with Wetax (wetax.go.kr), the tax office of your city/district (si·gun·gu), or a Korean tax accountant (세무사, semusa).