Two people on ₩4M a month can take home ₩100,000 apart
The tax withheld each month comes from the simplified withholding table, and that table is split by the number of dependants as well as by pay. On the same ₩4M, the tax runs from ₩169,260 down to ₩74,560.
Conditions used in the video
- Monthly pay before tax
- ₩4M
- Tax-free
- ₩200,000 (meals)
- Figure used to look it up
- ₩3.8M
- Social insurance
- ₩369,261
- Local income tax
- 10% of the income tax
Results
- Living alone
- ₩169,260
- Four dependants
- ₩74,560
- Difference
- ₩94,700
- Take-home, alone
- ₩3.44M
- Take-home, four
- ₩3.55M
At a glance
₩4M before tax, less ₩200,000 tax-free, looked up as ₩3.8M.
- 1 dependant₩169,260
living alone, that is you
- 2₩141,400
- 3₩87,680
- 4₩74,560
44% of the figure for one
Why it works this way
Tables of “this salary means this take-home” are everywhere. What they rarely say is that almost all of them assume a single person.
The tax an employer withholds each month is looked up in the simplified withholding table (소득세법 시행령 별표 2).
Down the side and across the top of 별표 2.
- Down: monthly pay646 bands from ₩770,000 to ₩10M
- Across: dependants counted1 to 11
- The cell you land onis the tax for that month
Looking only at pay reads half the table. Land on the wrong column and the figure changes entirely.
Take someone on ₩4M with a ₩200,000 meal allowance. The figure used to look it up is ₩3.8M.
Living alone, the count is one and the tax is ₩169,260. With a spouse it is two, at ₩141,400. With two children as well it is four, at ₩74,560.
The same salary, ₩94,700 apart in income tax alone. Add local income tax and social insurance and take-home splits between ₩3.44M and ₩3.55M.
Note 2 to 별표 2.
- Living aloneone
- With a spousetwo
- With two children as wellfour
The provision counts you and a spouse each as one. Read it as “people I support” and you drop yourself, which shifts you a whole column.
There is one more thing people get wrong. The figure you look up is net of anything tax-free.
별표 defines monthly pay as excluding tax-free items and study allowances.
- Looked up as ₩3.8M₩169,260
- Looked up as ₩4M₩195,960
- Difference₩26,700 every month
Meal allowances are tax-free up to ₩200,000 a month and carry no insurance either. Check the payslip for what is actually tax-free and take it out first.
Where there are children aged 8 to 20, a further amount comes off the figure found in the table: ₩20,830 for one, ₩45,830 for two. If the result is negative the tax is zero.
And now the part that matters most.
The table is what is set aside each month.
- Every monthwithheld per the table
- The following Februarysettled at year-end
- Medical, education, donations, rent, pension savingscounted then
The table reflects only the earned income deduction, basic deduction, pension contribution deduction and part of the special deductions. Anyone with many deductions pays less than this and gets the difference back.
So: take-home is not settled by salary alone. Match the dependant count and the tax-free portion, and remember that even then, this is money set aside, not tax finally owed.
The legal basis
Drawn from government announcements and the statutes themselves as primary sources, covering only the relevant part.
소득세법 제134조제1항 (monthly withholding)
In force in force
When paying monthly earned income, a withholding agent withholds income tax in accordance with the simplified withholding table for earned income.
What this means
The employer does not choose the figure. It is looked up. The table is 별표 2 of the Enforcement Decree.
소득세법 시행령 [별표 2] simplified withholding table
In force amended 2026-02-27
Cells are set by monthly pay (excluding tax-free items and study allowances) and by the number of dependants counted. Pay runs in bands from ₩770,000 to ₩10M and dependants from 1 to 11. Above ₩10M the tax is the figure at ₩10M plus a fixed amount and a rate on the excess.
What this means
🔴 Two axes, not one. And the pay figure is **net of anything tax-free**.
같은 별표 비고 2·비고 3 (notes 2 and 3)
In force in force
In counting dependants, the worker and a spouse each count as one. Where there are dependants aged 8 to 20, ₩20,830 for one, ₩45,830 for two, and from three ₩45,830 plus ₩33,330 per additional child is deducted from the figure in the table. Where the result is negative the tax is zero.
What this means
Leave yourself out of the count and you are a column off. The child amount comes off after the lookup.
지방세법 제103조의13제1항 (local income tax)
In force in force
A withholding agent must collect, at the same time as the income tax, an amount equal to 10 hundredths of the income tax withheld, as individual local income tax.
What this means
Ten per cent goes out alongside the income tax, which is why the payslip shows two lines.
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 Monthly Take-Home Pay
Frequently asked
Why does this differ from take-home tables online?
Those generally assume one person and no tax-free portion. The table is split by pay and by dependants, so entering the real count and tax-free amount changes the figure.
Do I count myself among the dependants?
Yes. Note 2 to 별표 2 counts you and a spouse each as one. Living alone is one; with a spouse it is two.
What about a meal allowance?
Take it out before looking the table up. 별표 defines monthly pay as excluding tax-free items, so including a ₩200,000 meal allowance costs an extra ₩26,700 a month on ₩4M of gross pay.
Is the tax shown here what I actually owe?
No. It is set aside monthly. The real figure is settled at year-end and, once medical, education, donation, rent and pension savings deductions are counted, is usually lower. The difference comes back the following February.
Can I have less withheld each month?
소득세법 시행령 제194조제1항 (proviso) lets you ask your employer for 80, 100 or 120%. The yearly total is unchanged. Only the monthly amount and the year-end settlement move.
How much do children reduce it?
₩20,830 for one child aged 8 to 20, ₩45,830 for two, and from three ₩45,830 plus ₩33,330 per additional child, taken off the figure found in the table. Children also count towards the dependant number, so they show up twice.
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.