Foreign Worker Flat Tax Rate Korea 2026: 19% for 20 Years, But Only If You Apply

Bottom line: This is for foreign employees transferred to Korea with their families by their company, especially higher-earning expatriates — not for short-term tourists or ordinary international students. Foreign workers in Korea can elect a flat 19% income tax rate on their wages instead of the regular progressive tax schedule, for any tax year ending within 20 years of the date they first started working in Korea (this was extended from 5 years to 20 years by a late-2022 amendment, effective from January 1, 2023). The catch: choosing the flat rate means giving up most deductions and credits, so it tends to help higher earners with few deductions more than it helps everyone. You have to actively elect it by submitting a "Flat Tax Rate Application for Foreign Workers" form at your year-end tax settlement or final return — tax tribunal cases show that if you forget to file it, it's hard to fix later through an amended claim.

If you didn't know: As an illustration, a foreign employee with a taxable base of 150,000,000 won a year who forgets to elect the flat rate pays regular progressive tax of about 37,060,000 won (using the 35% bracket with its 15,440,000 won deduction), plus a 10% local income tax, for a total of roughly 40,770,000 won. Elect the 19% flat rate instead, and the same income comes to 28,500,000 won plus local tax, or about 31,350,000 won total — a difference of roughly 9,420,000 won depending on whether you file one extra form. (This is the editorial desk's own example calculation using the official rates; your actual tax depends on your income and deductions, and the flat rate isn't always the cheaper option.)

This article summarizes official information and is not legal, medical, or financial advice.

Journey stage: During the trip · Verified 2026-11-02