The heavy capital gains rate is not set by house count alone — regulated area and sale date decide it

A home bought for ₩1B and sold for ₩1.5B: a ₩500M gain after ten years. One seller paid ₩146.36M in capital gains tax and another ₩354.54M. Same home, same gain, same holding period. The reasons for a gap of over ₩200M were three: how many homes the seller held, whether the home was in a regulated area, and when it was sold. The heavy rate is not set by house count alone. All three conditions must meet at once, and if one is missing it does not apply. Most people either fear the heavy rate on any second home or, hearing of the suspension, set a settlement date at ease; either way hundreds of millions go wrong, setting a settlement date without knowing what was missed. Looking only at the rate is common, but the lost deduction is bigger. As of 2026-09-05 the 2027 temporary relief proposal has not passed.

Step ② The regulated area. If the home sold is not in a regulated area, there is no heavy rate. The test is on the sale date, not the purchase date. Outside a regulated area it is 40% with the 20% deduction, ₩146.36M; inside, ₩299.81M, so one designation moves over ₩150M. The government designates and lifts, and coverage starts on the designation date. Regulated status at purchase affects the residence requirement for the exemption, while status at sale affects the heavy rate, which is where people get confused. Not knowing, you cross a designation date into the heavy rate or sell in a hurry not realizing it was lifted.

Step ④ What disappears is the long-term holding deduction. Under the heavy rate the deduction is excluded entirely. Twenty percent for ten years was a ₩100M cut from the ₩500M gain, and under the heavy rate that ₩100M stays in the base. A second home without the heavy rate is ₩397.5M × 40% = ₩146.36M; with it, ₩497.5M × 60% = ₩299.81M, and the ₩153.45M difference is first the lost deduction. The longer held, the bigger the cost: at 15 years the lost deduction is 30%. Not knowing, you estimate low trusting the deduction and lose it all. The pre-sale sheet is three lines: ① the household's homes on the sale date, and if two or more, the order of sale; ② whether the home sold is in a regulated area on the sale date; ③ if the contract predates 9 May, the settlement deadline, otherwise the resumed heavy rate. One missing means no heavy rate; all three means +20/30 points and no deduction. With three lines, sale preparation is done; for one home, see the five steps of the exemption lecture.

All four steps are passed: house count, regulated area and sale date meeting, and the deduction disappearing before the rate. The same ₩500M gain split into ₩146.36M and ₩354.54M on three conditions. Without an order, over ₩200M; one day misses the transitional deadline; delaying on the proposal leaves a rate that has not fallen. Two things to do now: record the household's homes and regulated status as of the sale date, and compare the contract and settlement dates against 9 May, 9 September and 9 November. House-count exclusions vary by timing and the 2027 relief proposal has not passed the Assembly, so for gains in the hundreds of millions consult a tax adviser.