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Flat 19% income tax option for foreign workers in Korea: who can choose it, for how long, and how to apply
Numbers checked against the official source on 2026-10-19
Korea lets certain foreign employees pay income tax on their salary at a flat 19% instead of the normal progressive rates. The law (Article 18-2 of the Restriction of Special Taxation Act) says the option is open to a foreign officer or employee who starts working in Korea for the first time on or before 31 December 2026, and it covers wages received in tax years ending within 20 years of the first working day in Korea. You have to ask for it with a form; it does not apply automatically.
Law text: Restriction of Special Taxation Act, Article 18-2 and Enforcement Decree, Article 16-2, as shown on the National Law Information Center. Both pages print "[시행 2026. 9. 18.]" (in force 2026-09-18); the Act page shows "[법률 제21467호, 2026. 3. 17., 타법개정]" and carries a "시행예정법령" (scheduled-to-take-effect) label. We read both on 2026-10-19. This page explains the rule; it is not tax advice. Confirm with the National Tax Service or your employer's payroll team before choosing.
Who can choose the flat 19% (steps)
- You are a foreign "officer or employee". The Act names a foreign officer (임원) or employee (사용인) and says day labourers (일용근로자) are excluded. The Decree adds that you must not hold Korean nationality at the end of the tax year you apply for.
- You start working in Korea for the first time on or before 31 December 2026. The Act ties the option to the person who "begins providing labour in Korea for the first time" by that date. Later starters are outside the text as it stands today. Parliament has changed this provision before (the amendment marks on the article run from 2010 to 2023), so check whether the date has been extended if you start late.
- You are not working for a "specially related" company. Work for a specially related enterprise is excluded, except for foreign-invested enterprises that the Decree names. The Decree defines "specially related" through the Framework Act on National Taxes: a family relationship or a management-control relationship with the company you work for.
- Regional headquarters. If you work at a regional headquarters defined in the Decree, the Act has a separate clause giving you the same 19% for the same 20-year window.
- Apply on time (next section). The Act says a worker who wants the flat rate "must apply" ("신청을 하여야 한다"), so do not assume your payslip is already on it.
How the 19% works
- Rate: the Act sets the tax at the employment income multiplied by 19/100 ("해당 근로소득에 100분의 19를 곱한 금액"). In plain terms, tax = pay x 19%, instead of the progressive calculation in Article 55(1) of the Income Tax Act.
- Period: it covers employment income received up to the end of the tax years that finish within 20 years of the day you first worked in Korea ("국내에서 최초로 근로를 제공한 날부터 20년 이내에 끝나는 과세기간까지").
- No deductions: while using the flat rate, the Income Tax Act and the Special Taxation Act provisions on non-taxable income, deductions, reductions and tax credits do not apply to this income. The Act carves out one exception: the non-taxation of certain welfare-type benefits that the Decree identifies (Income Tax Act Enforcement Decree, Article 17-4, item 1) is not switched off.
- Kept separate: the income is not added to your comprehensive income tax base.
- Monthly withholding: your employer may withhold 19% of each month's pay ("원천징수할 수 있다" — may, not must).
How to apply
| What you want | What the Decree says |
|---|---|
| Flat rate at year-end settlement or in your own May return | When you do the year-end tax settlement or file the comprehensive income tax return, attach the "foreign employee flat-rate application" (외국인근로자단일세율적용신청서) to your employee income/tax deduction report, and hand both to your withholding agent, tax association or the district tax office. |
| 19% withheld from each monthly paycheque | Submit the "flat-rate withholding application" (단일세율적용 원천징수신청서) through your employer by the 10th of the month after the month you worked ("근로를 제공한 날이 속하는 달의 다음달 10일까지"). |
| Stop the monthly flat-rate withholding | Submit the withholding waiver form (단일세율적용 원천징수포기신청서) through your employer. From the next tax period the monthly flat rate no longer applies. |
The National Tax Service's English forms page lists "Application of Flat Tax Rate for Foreign Employees" among its downloadable forms (HWP and Word). The English form page prints no revision date; we read it on 2026-10-19.
Flat-rate side calculator
This works out only the flat-rate half: pay x 19%. It does not calculate the progressive alternative, because we did not fetch the official rate table. To compare, enter the tax you would owe under normal rates from your payslip, your employer's payroll team, or the National Tax Service's own calculator.
Not covered: the progressive rate table, local income tax, social-insurance contributions, the exact rounding rule (the Act text does not state one), or whether any part of your pay counts as non-taxable. Under the flat rate the Act says deductions and credits do not apply, so a lower normal-rate tax can come from those deductions, and a flat 19% can come out lower or higher depending on your pay and family situation.
Read before choosing
- The flat rate is an option ("할 수 있다", may), not an obligation. You can stay on normal rates.
- Because deductions and credits fall away under the flat rate, the choice depends on your own numbers. Run both versions before filing.
- Hand the forms to your employer's payroll team in time: the monthly route has a hard date, the 10th of the next month.
- Residence rules are separate. For how foreign workers register their residence, see Alien registration in Korea; for the wage floor see minimum wage in Korea.
Official sources
- National Law Information Center — Restriction of Special Taxation Act, Article 18-2 (Special taxation for foreign workers) — who, 19%, 20 years, withholding; page header: in force 2026-09-18, Act No. 21467 (checked 2026-10-19)
- National Law Information Center — Enforcement Decree of the Restriction of Special Taxation Act, Article 16-2 — application forms and deadlines, definitions; page header: in force 2026-09-18, Presidential Decree No. 36587 (checked 2026-10-19)
- National Tax Service (English) — Forms — lists the Application of Flat Tax Rate for Foreign Employees form; no revision date printed (read on 2026-10-19) (checked 2026-10-19)
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