Same ₩1.3B in homes, comprehensive real estate tax of ₩69,121 vs ₩923,682: the order of the calculation

Two people each own homes with an official assessed price of ₩1.3B. Youngsook owns one ₩1.3B home; her friend Mikyung owns two, ₩800M and ₩500M, for ₩1.3B in total. Same value, yet the comprehensive real estate tax is more than 13 times apart: ₩69,121 for Youngsook, ₩923,682 for Mikyung. The order of the calculation made the difference, not the price. The comprehensive real estate tax is a national tax on people who own expensive homes. Property tax is paid to the city or district for each home; this tax adds up every home one person owns and is paid to the national government. This year it is paid from December 1 to 15. There are four steps: who pays, how much is deducted, what rate applies, and how much is taken off at the end.

Step 1: who pays. The tax is paid by whoever owns the home on June 1, the assessment date. Sell on May 31 and collect the balance, and you do not pay that year's tax; the owner on June 1 is the buyer. The calculation uses the official assessed price published every year, not the market price, and the assessed price is usually lower. It is also calculated per person, not per family: a couple splitting one home does not add their shares together. Miss this and you might set the closing date for June 2, then pay a full year's tax on a home you sold one day too late.

Step 2: how much is deducted. The tax does not apply to the whole assessed price; a basic deduction comes off first. If only one person in the household owns exactly one home, it is ₩1.2B; otherwise ₩900M per person. One home assessed at ₩1.2B or less owes nothing. Then 60% of what remains, the fair market value ratio, becomes the tax base.

Step 3: what rate applies. A tax base up to ₩300M is taxed at 0.5%. Larger amounts climb into higher brackets, up to 2.7% for two homes or fewer and up to 5% for three or more. Only the part in a higher bracket gets the higher rate. Youngsook's ₩60M and Mikyung's ₩240M are both in the first bracket at 0.5%: ₩300,000 and ₩1.2M. You pay property tax and this tax on the same home, but not twice on the same part: the overlapping property tax is subtracted. Entering Mikyung's case in the Hometax simulator subtracts ₩430,265, leaving ₩769,735. The rural development tax then adds 20% of the tax.

Step 4: what is taken off at the end. Only households with exactly one home get this. Age 60 and over takes 20%, 65 and over 30%, 70 and over 40%; holding 5 years or more takes 20%, 10 years 40%, 15 years 50%. The two add up, to a maximum of 80%. Youngsook is 65 and has held 10 years: 30 plus 40, so 70% off. Mikyung owns two homes, so nothing comes off at this step.

A couple splitting one home can apply to be treated as one person owning one home and get this credit. But then the deduction changes from ₩900M each to a single ₩1.2B, which can actually create a tax. Calculate both before applying.

That is the tax paid this December. On August 3, 2026 the government announced a plan to overhaul the tax from 2027, but it is a government proposal that has not passed the National Assembly. For someone who owns one home and lives in it, the deduction would rise from ₩1.2B to ₩1.4B, the ratio would rise from 60% to 70% or more, and the credit would be based on years actually lived there instead of years held. The numbers can change in the Assembly, so this page's calculation is for this year's bill; next year's must be redone once the law is final.

Two things to do now. First, look up this year's assessed price of your home on the official real estate price portal. Second, count how many homes your household owned on June 1. These figures follow the law as of October 2026 for the tax paid this December. The actual bill can differ slightly because of local reductions or the cap that keeps the tax from rising too much over the previous year, so check with the tax office if the amount is large. The gap between ₩69,121 and ₩923,682 came from the order of the calculation, not the price.