Child tax credit age rises from 9 to 10 — from 1 January 2027 | 13 by 2030
The qualifying age for the child tax credit rises from 9 to 10 on 1 January 2027. The amended main provision put the age at 13, but the supplementary provisions raise it one year at a time over four years, so it passes through 11 in 2028 and 12 in 2029 and reaches 13 from the 2030 tax year. The credit amounts stay as they are: ₩250,000 for one child, ₩550,000 for two, and ₩400,000 more per child from the third.
Conditions used in the video
- Effective date
- 2027-01-01 (from the 2027 tax year)
- Qualifying age
- 9 or older → 10 or older
- Credit amount
- ₩250,000 for one · ₩550,000 for two · ₩400,000 more per child from the third (unchanged)
- Age in the main provision
- 13 (from the 2030 tax year)
- Example
- one child aged 9 that year
Results
- 2026 tax year · one child aged 9
- ₩250,000
- 2027 tax year · one child aged 9
- ₩0
- Qualifying age in 2027
- 10 or older
- Qualifying age in 2030
- 13 or older (main provision)
- Credit amount
- unchanged
At a glance
The credit for one child is ₩250,000. From the 2027 tax year the child must be 10 or older.
- 2026 tax year · 9 or older₩250,000
a 9-year-old qualifies
- 2027 tax year · 10 or older₩0
a 9-year-old drops out
Why it works this way
The qualifying age for the child tax credit rises from 9 to 10. The 소득세법 amendment made this April applies from 1 January 2027.
For the 2026 tax year, children aged 9 or older qualify. One child gives ₩250,000, two give ₩550,000, and from the third a further ₩400,000 is added per child.
소득세법 제59조의2제1항 · 부칙 <제21548호> 제2조제2항 (amendment promulgated 2026-04-21).
- 2026 tax year9 or older (today)
- 2027 tax year10 or older
- 2028 tax year11 or older
- 2029 tax year12 or older
- From the 2030 tax year13 or older (the main provision)
The amended main provision raised the age to 13, but the supplementary provisions raise it one year at a time over four years. Each year one more year-group falls out.
The credit amounts stay as they are and only the age moves. A child who is 9 in 2027 falls out of the credit, and ₩250,000 becomes ₩0.
소득세법 제59조의2제1항. You count the children and grandchildren who are at or above the qualifying age.
- One child₩250,000
- Two children₩550,000
- From the third₩550,000 plus ₩400,000 per additional child
A child below the age line is not counted. It is not the amount table that shrinks but the number of children you may put into the count.
It passes through 11 in 2028 and 12 in 2029 and reaches the main provision's 13 from the 2030 tax year. One more year-group falls out each year.
부칙 제2조제3항 says that paragraph 2 does not apply to children born in 2017. Whether the main provision's 13 or the previous standard is left when it does not apply cannot be settled from the text alone, so this page and the calculator do not take a position on it. If you have a child born in 2017, please confirm before your year-end settlement.
This video and page cover a measure that has been promulgated but has not yet taken effect. The detailed standards may change through enforcement decrees or notices, and the effective date itself may change.
In short, from 1 January 2027 the qualifying age for the child tax credit rises from 9 to 10, and the credit amounts stay as they are. From the 2030 tax year the main provision's 13 applies.
The legal basis
Drawn from government announcements and the statutes themselves as primary sources, covering only the relevant part.
소득세법 제59조의2제1항 (child tax credit)
In force Amendment promulgated 2026-04-21 (the main provision's 13 arrives from the 2030 tax year, after the transitional rule)
For children who are basic-deduction dependants (including adopted and foster children) and for grandchildren, aged 13 or older, ₩250,000 is credited against the computed tax for one, ₩550,000 for two, and for three or more ₩550,000 plus ₩400,000 for each child beyond two.
What this means
The age in the main provision rose from 8 to 13. But that 13 does not apply at once. The supplementary provisions raise the age one year at a time. The credit amounts did not change.
소득세법 부칙 <제21548호> 제2조제2항 (transitional rule on the age standard)
In force Effective 2027-01-01 (amendment promulgated 2026-04-21)
The age standard under the amended Article 59-2(1) is 9 for the 2026 tax year, 10 for 2027, 11 for 2028 and 12 for 2029, and the main provision's 13 from the 2030 tax year.
What this means
🔴 From the 2027 tax year a 9-year-old falls out. For a household whose only child is 9 that year, ₩250,000 in 2026 becomes ₩0 in 2027.
소득세법 부칙 <제21548호> 제2조제3항 (children born in 2017)
In force Amendment promulgated 2026-04-21
The transitional rule in paragraph 2 does not apply to children born between 1 January and 31 December 2017.
What this means
Whether the main provision's 13 or the previous standard is left when the rule does not apply cannot be settled from the text alone. The calculator keeps this paragraph out of its arithmetic and asks you on screen to confirm.
Run it on your own numbers
The calculator opens with these conditions already filled in. Change the figures and your own case comes straight out.
Open the Child Tax Credit Calculator
Frequently asked
Do the credit amounts fall as well?
No. ₩250,000 for one child, ₩550,000 for two and ₩400,000 more per child from the third all stay the same. Only the age at which a child can be put into the count rises.
Our child is 9 in 2026. Do we lose the credit?
No. A child who is 9 in 2026 turns 10 in 2027, so the credit continues. Those who fall out are children who are 9 in 2027, that is, born a year later. Because the age standard rises by one year each year, one year-group newly falls out annually.
What if our child is 9 in 2027?
The 2027 tax year covers children aged 10 or older, so they fall out. If that child is your only child, the credit is ₩250,000 for 2026 and ₩0 for 2027.
I heard it changes to 13.
It is true that the amended main provision says 13. But the supplementary provisions raise the age one year at a time over four years, so it passes through 10 in 2027, 11 in 2028 and 12 in 2029 and becomes 13 from the 2030 tax year.
What about a child born in 2017?
부칙 제2조제3항 says the transitional rule does not apply to children born in 2017, and which age standard is left as a result cannot be settled from the text alone. This page does not take a position on it, so please confirm before your year-end settlement.
A baby born during the year is too young to qualify. Is there nothing at all?
The birth and adoption credit does not depend on age. For a child born or registered as adopted during the year you receive ₩300,000 for the first, ₩500,000 for the second and ₩700,000 from the third, separately from the child tax credit (소득세법 제59조의2제3항). These amounts are not changed by this amendment either.
Results are estimates based on the inputs and on the rules as at the stated date. They may differ from a lender's actual assessment, and the rules change often. Take professional advice before any decision that matters.