Korean Property Tax and Comprehensive Real Estate Tax: Rates, Deadlines, Examples
How Korea's annual home taxes work: the June 1 assessment date, July, September and December bills, fair market value ratios, the ₩1.2B one-home allowance and worked examples.
This guide reflects the rules as of October 2026. Fair market value ratios and allowances are set yearly or changed by law, so check Wetax and Hometax before your bills arrive. It is general information, not personal tax advice.
Two annual taxes on homes
Owning a home in Korea means two possible yearly taxes:
- Property tax (재산세): a local tax every owner pays, billed by the city, county or district office
- Comprehensive real estate tax (종합부동산세): a national tax only for people whose total official home prices exceed an allowance, billed by the tax office
Both are based on the official price (공시가격) that the government publishes each year, not on market value. You can look up your home's official price on the official price portal, and owners can submit objections during the public viewing period each spring.
The June 1 assessment date and payment months
Whoever owns the home on 1 June pays the whole year's tax. If you sell on 2 June, you still pay that year; if the buyer pays the balance on 31 May, the buyer pays. Keep this date in mind when agreeing on a closing date.
| Tax | When | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Property tax (housing) | July 16–31 (half) | If the annual amount is ₩200,000 or less it may be billed in full in July |
| Property tax (housing) | September 16–30 (other half) | |
| Comprehensive real estate tax | December 1–15 | Instalments are possible above ₩2.5M |
Some comprehensive tax options, such as the one-home treatment for co-owning spouses or exclusions for certain homes, must be applied for during a window in September, so check early if they apply to you.
What the fair market value ratio does
Tax is not charged on the full official price. It is multiplied first by a fair market value ratio to get the tax base.
| Case | Ratio |
|---|---|
| Property tax, one-home owner, official price up to ₩300M | 43% |
| Property tax, one-home owner, up to ₩600M | 44% |
| Property tax, one-home owner, over ₩600M | 45% |
| Property tax, multiple homes | 60% |
| Comprehensive real estate tax | 60% |
How property tax is calculated
- Tax base = official price × fair market value ratio
- Property tax = tax base × rate − progressive deduction
| Tax base | Rate | Progressive deduction |
|---|---|---|
| Up to ₩60M | 0.1% | 0 |
| Up to ₩150M | 0.15% | ₩30,000 |
| Up to ₩300M | 0.25% | ₩180,000 |
| Over ₩300M | 0.4% | ₩630,000 |
- A one-home owner whose official price is ₩900M or less gets a reduced rate, 0.05 percentage points lower in each band.
- Then add the urban area levy (0.14% of the tax base, for homes in urban zones) and local education tax (20% of the property tax).
Real bills can also include a regional resource facility tax, and a cap on year-on-year increases can make the bill lower than the formula suggests.
Comprehensive real estate tax: ₩1.2B for one home, ₩900M otherwise
This tax is calculated per person by adding up the official prices of all homes nationwide and subtracting an allowance:
- One-household, one-home owners: ₩1.2B allowance
- Everyone else: ₩900M allowance (spouses who co-own each get ₩900M)
Tax base = (total official price − allowance) × 60%
| Tax base | Rate (up to 2 homes) | Progressive deduction |
|---|---|---|
| Up to ₩300M | 0.5% | 0 |
| Up to ₩600M | 0.7% | ₩600,000 |
| Up to ₩1.2B | 1.0% | ₩2.4M |
| Up to ₩2.5B | 1.3% | ₩6M |
| Up to ₩5B | 1.5% | ₩11M |
| Up to ₩9.4B | 2.0% | ₩36M |
| Over ₩9.4B | 2.7% | ₩101.8M |
Property tax already charged on the same base is credited, and rural special tax of 20% of the remaining comprehensive tax is added. Owners of three or more homes with a tax base above ₩1.2B face higher rates.
One-home owners can also receive age and long-term ownership credits (from age 60 and from five years of ownership), together up to 80%. The examples below leave these credits out, so eligible owners will pay less.
Worked examples by official price
Calculated the same way as our holding tax calculator, assuming an urban home and no credits or caps.
| One-home official price | Property tax | Urban levy | Education | Comprehensive + rural | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ₩300M | ₩99,000 | ₩180,600 | ₩19,800 | 0 | ₩299,400 |
| ₩500M | ₩260,000 | ₩308,000 | ₩52,000 | 0 | ₩620,000 |
| ₩1B | ₩1,170,000 | ₩630,000 | ₩234,000 | 0 | ₩2,034,000 |
| ₩1.5B | ₩2,070,000 | ₩945,000 | ₩414,000 | ₩348,000 + ₩69,600 | ₩3,846,600 |
For the ₩1.5B home, ₩300M above the allowance × 60% gives a comprehensive tax base of ₩180M; after the property tax credit, the comprehensive tax is ₩348,000.
What changes with more than one home
- The same ₩500M home owned by a two-home owner uses the 60% ratio and standard rates, so the holding tax on that home becomes ₩1,104,000, about 1.8 times the one-home figure.
- Two homes with official prices of ₩800M and ₩600M (₩1.4B total): after the ₩900M allowance the tax base is ₩300M, giving about ₩1,039,000 of comprehensive tax plus about ₩208,000 of rural special tax. Property-related taxes on each home (about ₩2.22M for the ₩800M home) are billed separately.
Things to check before trying to reduce the bill
- Closing date: buyers benefit from paying the balance after 1 June; sellers from closing before it.
- One-home status: inherited homes and some low-priced regional homes may be excluded from the count; check the September application window.
- Spousal co-ownership: couples can choose between ₩900M each (₩1.8B combined) and the one-home ₩1.2B allowance plus credits.
- Official price objections: if the price looks too high compared with nearby sales, object during the viewing period.
Property tax can be viewed and paid on Wetax, and comprehensive real estate tax on Hometax. For taxes when buying, see the acquisition tax guide; for taxes when selling, see the one-home capital gains exemption guide. If you own several homes, a tax professional can help you choose the best structure.
Frequently asked questions
Q. If I sell in June, who pays the property tax?
Whoever owns the home on 1 June pays that year's property tax and comprehensive tax. Close before 1 June and the buyer pays; close on 2 June or later and the seller pays.
Q. At what official price does a one-home owner pay comprehensive tax?
One-household, one-home owners get a ₩1.2B allowance, so the tax starts above that. Other owners pay on the amount by which their total official prices exceed ₩900M.
Q. Why is property tax split between July and September?
Housing property tax is billed half in July and half in September. If the annual amount is ₩200,000 or less, it may be billed in full in July.
Tools for this topic
This article is general information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change, so confirm with official sources or a professional before you sign or apply.