Korean Acquisition Tax Relief Calculator
Works out the first-home and childbirth acquisition tax reliefs.
The rate does not change
Which relief
Result
From ₩5M of acquisition tax, ₩2M comes off, leaving ₩3M. The rate itself does not fall. A fixed amount comes off the tax.
Relief
₩2M
cap ₩2M
Acquisition tax after relief
₩3M
₩5M before relief
Total tax after relief
₩3.5M
including the education and rural surtaxes
| Acquisition price | ₩500M |
|---|---|
| Acquisition tax before relief | ₩5M |
| Relief | − ₩2M |
| Acquisition tax after relief | ₩3M |
| Local education and rural special tax | ₩500,000 |
| Tax actually payable | ₩3.5M |
Based on 지방세특례제한법 제36조의3제1항제2호. Both reliefs apply to homes acquired up to 31 December 2028, and the heavy rates do not apply to a home that qualifies. The figures here use the single-home standard rate. The two reliefs cannot be combined, so you take whichever is better. Where two or more people acquire jointly, the total relief across the whole home cannot exceed the cap (제36조의3제2항).
How this works
What it calculates
This calculator shows how much the first-home relief or the childbirth and childcare relief takes off the acquisition tax on a home, and what is left on the actual bill. Enter the price, the relief you are claiming and whether the unit is larger than 85㎡, and you get the tax before relief, the relief itself and the tax after relief side by side.
Neither relief lowers the rate. Both subtract a fixed amount from the tax that has already been computed. That is why the same relief can wipe out the acquisition tax on one home and shave only a fixed sum off another. The calculator exists to make that boundary visible.
Who uses it and when
First-time buyers, and parents moving home after a birth, use it before signing a contract. Relief is granted only if you claim it when filing the acquisition tax, so you need to know in advance which relief you qualify for and how much it is worth in order to prepare the filing properly.
Existing owners have a reason to look as well. The first-home relief requires that neither you nor your spouse has ever owned a home, but the childbirth relief only requires that you end up as a single-home household after the purchase, so it is available when you sell the home you live in and move. Comparing the two caps shows immediately which is better.
Legal basis and how the maths runs
The first-home relief is in 지방세특례제한법 제36조의3 and the childbirth relief in 제36조의5 of the same act. Both apply only to homes whose value at acquisition is ₩1200 million or less, and only to homes acquired by 31 December 2028. The cap is ₩2 million for a first home, ₩3 million for a first home that is a small multi-household unit of 60㎡ or less, an urban-style dwelling, a multi-unit house or a home in a depopulating area, and ₩5 million for the childbirth relief.
The steps are these. First the acquisition tax is computed at the standard single-home rate; relief cases are excluded from the heavier rates, so that is the right base. Then the computed tax is compared with the cap and the smaller of the two becomes the relief. If the tax is at or below the cap it is wiped out entirely; if it is above, it falls by exactly the cap. Finally the local education tax and the rural special tax are added back. Neither is covered by the relief, so they remain even when the acquisition tax itself is zero.
The childbirth relief requires the purchase within 5 years of the child's birth, and a purchase in the year before the birth also counts. In return, if you sell, give away or let the home within 3 years of acquiring it, the relieved tax is clawed back. The two reliefs cannot be stacked, and when spouses buy jointly the total relief on the home cannot exceed the cap.
A worked example
Take the default on screen: a first home of 85㎡ or less at ₩500 million. In the band up to ₩600 million the acquisition tax is 1%, which is ₩5 million, with ₩500,000 of local education tax on top. The first-home relief of ₩2 million brings the acquisition tax down to ₩3 million, and with the education tax the bill is ₩3.5 million. If the same home meets the small-home conditions, ₩3 million comes off instead, leaving ₩2 million of acquisition tax and a ₩2.5 million bill.
Buy the same home after a birth and the ₩5 million childbirth relief equals the ₩5 million computed tax, so the acquisition tax is zero and only the ₩500,000 education tax is due. At ₩700 million the computed tax rises to about ₩11.67 million, so after the ₩5 million relief about ₩6.67 million remains and the bill with education tax is about ₩7.86 million. A home at ₩1.3 billion is over the price limit, gets no relief at all, and pays the full ₩39 million.
Common mistakes
The most common misunderstanding is that relief lowers the rate. The rate stays put and a fixed amount comes off the tax, which is why the relief feels smaller the more expensive the home. The next is assuming that zero acquisition tax means paying nothing. The local education tax, and the rural special tax on homes over 85㎡, are charged regardless of the relief.
The first-home test also trips people up. It looks at your spouse as well as you. On the other hand, a co-owned share received by inheritance and since fully disposed of, a single home of 20㎡ or less, or a home with a standard value of ₩1 million or less does not count as prior ownership. Letting the home when you move within 3 years of a childbirth relief also triggers the clawback, so if you claimed it, plan any sale or tenancy for after that period.
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Common questions
- Does the relief lower the rate?
- No. It subtracts a fixed amount from the computed tax. The cap is ₩2M for a first home (₩3M for a small, multi-unit or depopulating-area home) and ₩5M for the childbirth relief. Where the computed tax is at or below the cap, it is wiped out entirely.
- Is there relief above ₩1.2bn?
- No. Both reliefs apply only to homes valued at ₩1.2B or less at the time of acquisition.
- Can I claim the childbirth relief if I already own a home?
- You need to be a single-home household after the purchase. Becoming one within three months of acquisition also counts. The purchase must fall within 5 years of the birth, and a purchase in the year before the birth also counts. One home per child.
- What if I sell after claiming?
- With the childbirth relief, selling, gifting or putting the home to another use such as letting within 3 years of acquisition triggers clawback of the relieved tax (transferring a share to your spouse is excepted).
- I once held an inherited share. Am I still a first-time buyer?
- If you held a co-ownership share by inheritance and have disposed of all of it, you are treated as never having owned a home. The same goes for a single home of 20㎡ or less, and a home with an assessed value of ₩1M or less (제36조의3제3항).
- Do a married couple each get the relief?
- No. Where two or more people acquire jointly, the total relief across the whole home cannot exceed the cap (제36조의3제2항).
- Can a foreign national claim the first-home relief?
- The provision does not make nationality a condition. But the “never owned a home” test is applied at household level, and the household is determined from the resident registration. The outcome therefore depends on how your household is constituted through alien registration or a domestic residence report. Owning a home in your own country is separate from any Korean ownership history, but practice can vary, so confirm with the local authority in advance.
Work out the full acquisition tax including the heavy rates
Explainers that cover this
The assumptions and the statutes behind them, written out.
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