You can't set the house price, but you choose the sale date — ₩64.35M at 1.5 years, ₩0 at 2
A household with only one home pays no capital gains tax if it has owned the home for 2 years or more and sells for ₩1.2B or less. Held for 1 to 2 years, a home is taxed at 60% of the tax base. A home bought for ₩400M and sold for ₩500M after a year and a half owes ₩64.35M including local income tax; at 2 years it owes ₩0. A home bought in a regulated (adjustment-target) area must also have been lived in for 2 years.
Conditions used in the video
- Exemption
- household with only one home · owned 2 years or more · sold for ₩1.2B or less
- Bought in a regulated area
- if in an adjustment-target area when bought, must also have lived there 2 years
- Sold within 2 years
- under 1 year 70% · 1 to 2 years 60% (homes)
- Example
- bought ₩400M, sold ₩500M · non-regulated · no expenses
- Sale date
- the day the balance is paid (not the contract date)
- Basis
- 소득세법 제89조 · 제98조 · 제104조 · 시행령 제154조
Results
- Sold after 1.5 years
- ₩64.35M
- At 2 years
- ₩0 (exempt)
- Short-term rate
- 1 to 2 years 60% · under 1 year 70%
- Tax base
- ₩97.5M (₩100M gain − ₩2.5M basic deduction)
- Tax breakdown
- income tax ₩58.5M + local income tax ₩5.85M
At a glance
Only home · non-regulated · no expenses · including local income tax.
- 1.5 years₩64.35M
- 2 years₩0
Why it works this way
Nobody knows whether house prices will rise or fall. What you do control is the sale date. The same home owes more than ₩50M or ₩0 depending on whether you reach 2 years. The example below owes ₩64.35M.
소득세법 제104조 and 시행령 제154조.
- Under 1 year70% of the tax base
- 1 to 2 years60% of the tax base
- 2 years or moreexempt if it is your only home (₩1.2B or less)
A home bought in a regulated (adjustment-target) area must also be lived in for 2 years.
Bought for ₩400M and sold for ₩500M after a year and a half, the ₩100M gain less the ₩2.5M basic deduction is ₩97.5M, taxed at 60%, or ₩64.35M with local income tax. Wait six more months to reach 2 years and the tax is zero.
Checked with the capital-gains engine.
- 1.5 years₩64.35M
- 2 years₩0
- Difference₩64.35M
The sale date is the day the balance is paid. Signing the contract after 2 years does not help if the balance is paid before.
The legal basis
Drawn from government announcements and the statutes themselves as primary sources, covering only the relevant part.
소득세법 시행령 제154조 ① (one-home exemption)
In force Current (checked 2026-09-27, version effective 2026-07-01)
One home per household owned 2 years or more. A home in an adjustment-target area at purchase must be owned 2 years or more and lived in 2 years or more.
What this means
Two years is the door to the exemption. In a regulated area, you also have to live there.
소득세법 제104조 ① 2·3호 (short-term rates)
In force Current (checked 2026-09-27)
Homes held under 1 year are taxed at 70% of the tax base; 1 year to under 2 years, 60%.
What this means
Sell before 2 years and more than half the gain goes in tax.
소득세법 제98조 (time of transfer)
In force Current (checked 2026-09-27)
The time of transfer and acquisition is, in principle, the day the price is fully paid.
What this means
Count to the balance payment date, not the contract date.
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 Single-Home Exemption Checker
Frequently asked
How are the 2 years counted?
From the day you paid the balance when buying to the day you receive the balance when selling. Not the contract dates.
What if it sells for more than ₩1.2B?
The gain attributable to the part above ₩1.2B is taxed. The example here sells for ₩500M, so it is fully exempt.
I bought in a regulated area but rented it out.
If it was in an adjustment-target area when you bought it, you must have lived there 2 years or more. Owning it for 2 years without living there does not qualify.
I own two homes and sell one.
This exemption does not apply as is unless the household owns only one home. Exceptions such as a temporary second home have their own conditions.
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.