Korean Home Acquisition Tax: 1–3% Rates, Multi-Home Surcharges and First-Home Relief

When the tax is due and what it is based on

Whenever you buy a home in Korea you pay acquisition tax (취득세), a local tax collected by the city, county or district office. The tax base is normally the actual transaction price written in your sale contract.

The acquisition date is usually the day you pay the balance (잔금, the final payment). If the ownership transfer is registered before the balance is paid, the registration date counts instead. From that date you have 60 days to file and pay. In practice, buyers pay the tax first and attach the receipt to the ownership registration documents, often through a judicial scrivener who handles the registration.

Your bill actually contains three items:

• Acquisition tax itself: price × tax rate
• Local education tax: a surtax added to the acquisition tax
• Rural special tax: only for homes with more than 85㎡ of exclusive floor area

Standard rates for one home: 1% up to ₩600M, 3% above ₩900M

The standard rates apply when a household buys its only home, or buys a second home outside a regulated area.

The sliding formula between ₩600M and ₩900M

Between ₩600M and ₩900M the rate rises gradually instead of jumping. The formula is (price × 2 ÷ ₩300M − 3) ÷ 100, rounded at the fifth decimal place.

• ₩750M: (7.5 × 2/3 − 3) ÷ 100 = 2%
• ₩800M: (8 × 2/3 − 3) ÷ 100 = about 2.333%

Because of this formula, squeezing a price just under ₩600M saves far less than it did under older rules.

The add-on taxes: local education tax and rural special tax

Local education tax equals 10% of the acquisition tax rate when standard rates apply, so 0.1% of the price at a 1% rate and 0.3% at a 3% rate. When a surcharge rate (8% or 12%) applies, it is calculated as 0.4% of the price.

Rural special tax applies only when the exclusive floor area exceeds 85㎡. Do not confuse this with the larger "supply area" used in advertisements. Most typical family apartments marketed as "34 pyeong" have around 84㎡ of exclusive area and are therefore exempt.

Surcharges for multiple homes and regulated areas

The rate depends on how many homes your household will own after the purchase (including the new one) and whether the new home is in an adjustment-target (regulated) area (조정대상지역), a zone the government designates to cool an overheated market.

Points to watch when counting homes:

• Homes are counted per household as registered. A spouse, and as a rule unmarried children under 30, count as the same household even if they live elsewhere.
• Presale rights, redevelopment occupancy rights and residential officetels acquired after 12 August 2020 can count as homes.
• Homes with an official price of ₩100M or less are generally excluded, with exceptions such as redevelopment zones.
• If you buy a new home before selling the old one when moving, it can be treated as a temporary second home: you get the one-home rate on condition that you sell the old home within the allowed period. Miss the deadline and the surcharge is collected later.

Regulated-area designations change from time to time. Check the latest Ministry of Land announcement before signing, and ask the district tax office about transition rules if a designation took effect around your contract date.

First-home buyer relief

If neither you nor your spouse has ever owned a home, you may qualify for first-home relief. As of October 2026:

• The home must cost ₩1.2B or less
• Up to ₩2M is deducted from the acquisition tax (the full tax if it is ₩2M or less)
• You must move in within 3 months and live there for at least 3 years
• If you rent it out, sell it or move out early, the relief is reclaimed

The relief applies to the acquisition tax only; local education tax is still payable. You can check other programs you may qualify for on the support finder.

Worked examples

These figures follow the same logic as our acquisition, capital gains and holding tax calculator, with amounts rounded down to the won.

The same ₩800M apartment costs about ₩20.5M in tax for a one-home buyer but ₩67.2M as a second home in a regulated area, more than three times as much.

How to file and pay

1. Mark the 60-day deadline from your balance date in your calendar.
2. Prepare the sale contract, your ID and, if relevant, the first-home relief application with proof that your household has never owned a home.
3. File on Wetax yourself or through the scrivener handling your registration.
4. Use the receipt to register the ownership transfer. You can check the result on the Internet Registry Office.

Late filing triggers a non-filing penalty of 20% of the tax plus a daily late-payment charge. A delayed mortgage does not move the acquisition date, so plan the timeline carefully.

Common mistakes

• Using supply area for the 85㎡ test instead of exclusive area.
• Forgetting a spouse's home when counting homes.
• Renting out a first home too soon, which triggers repayment of the relief.
• Budgeting only for the tax: add brokerage fees (see the brokerage fee calculator), scrivener fees, housing bond discount costs and moving costs.

After buying, you will pay property tax every year and capital gains tax when you sell. Read our guides on property tax and comprehensive real estate tax and the one-home capital gains exemption, and talk to a tax professional if your situation is complex.