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Korea tax refund for tourists: limits, steps and airport counters
Numbers checked against the official source on 2026-10-19
Tourists in Korea can get the VAT and Individual Consumption Tax back on shopping, as long as each purchase is at least ₩15,000 and the goods leave the country within 3 months. There are two routes: an immediate refund at the shop (the tax is taken off the price, for a single transaction under ₩1 million and ₩5 million in total) and a general refund where you pay the full price and collect the tax later at a refund counter, kiosk, mailbox or mobile site.
Eligibility checker
This checks your answers against the limits on the VISITKOREA tax refund guide. It does not calculate a refund amount, because the pages do not give a refund rate.
Not covered: the goods themselves (the page excludes cooked food, services customs cannot see, items banned by law and duty-free items), accommodation refunds, and whether a particular shop takes part. The guide has a separate section on tax refund shops.
Limits at a glance
| Route | Limit stated |
|---|---|
| Immediate refund | KRW 15,000 or more; refundable if the single transaction is under KRW 1 million and the total transaction amount is KRW 5 million or less |
| General refund, downtown | KRW 15,000 or more; eligible if a single transaction is KRW 6 million or less |
| General refund, airport | KRW 15,000 or more |
| General refund, mailbox | KRW 15,000 or more |
| General refund, mobile | KRW 15,000 or more |
Who qualifies, and what qualifies
- Eligible people: foreigners staying in Korea up to 6 months, and overseas Koreans who have lived abroad for 2 years or more and have stayed in Korea 3 months or less.
- Not eligible: people staying 6 months or more; diplomats, US military personnel in Korea and people employed in Korea; purchases under a corporate name or by an agent.
- Eligible goods: all taxable goods including VAT, such as clothing, shoes, bags, accessories, cosmetics, perfume, home appliances, ginseng and red ginseng.
- Not eligible goods: items prohibited by law (firearms, swords, explosives, cultural properties, narcotics); services customs cannot verify visually (cooked food, massage); opened or used items; duty-free items.
- Hotel stays: VAT-inclusive room charges at a special accommodation facility can be refunded for up to 30 nights for individual tourists (breakfast included in the room rate counts). Stays over 30 nights, separately bought breakfast and service charges, and group package tours do not qualify. You must leave Korea within 3 months of the date the accommodation was provided.
Immediate refund: steps
- Verify eligibility. The shop checks your passport.
- Pay the price with the tax deducted.
- Leave Korea from the port of departure within the 3-month limit.
General refund at the airport: steps
- Buy at a tax refund store and get a tax refund voucher. Write the refund method and other details on the voucher.
- Customs export confirmation. At departure, show the purchased items, the voucher and your passport to customs. The customs page says the goods must be unopened and unused, and lists the passport, the certificate of sale and the goods as required. Airports with unmanned kiosks let you enter the passport and sales confirmation there; if you are selected for inspection, visit the customs inspection team. Airports without kiosks send you to the customs inspection team.
- Collect the refund at the tax refund counter or unmanned kiosk in the airport, after immigration. Where an airport has no counter or kiosk, use the mailbox.
Downtown refund reverses steps 2 and 3: after buying, you request the refund at a downtown refund center or unmanned kiosk (passport, voucher and credit card required), and then present the goods, voucher and passport to customs at departure. Mailbox and mobile refunds follow the airport steps up to customs; you then submit the export-confirmed voucher through the mailbox at the port of departure or through the mobile refund site or the tax refund service provider's app.
Airport refund counters
| Airport | Staffed counter hours | Staffed counter currencies | Unstaffed kiosk |
|---|---|---|---|
| Incheon T1 (near Gate 28, 3rd floor) | 07:00–22:00 | KRW, USD, CNY, JPY | Open 24 hrs; KRW, Alipay, WeChat Pay |
| Incheon T2 (near Gates 225, 249 and 274, 3rd floor) | 07:30–21:30 | KRW, USD, CNY, JPY | Open 24 hrs; KRW, Alipay, WeChat Pay |
| Gimpo (near Gate 36, 3rd floor) | 06:30–20:00 | KRW, USD, JPY, Alipay | Open 24 hrs; KRW, Alipay, WeChat Pay |
| Gimhae (near Gate 4, 2nd floor) | 06:30–21:00 | KRW, USD, JPY, Alipay | Open 24 hrs; KRW, Alipay, WeChat Pay |
| Jeju (near Gate 16, 3rd floor) | 06:00–22:00 | KRW, USD, CNY, Alipay, Wechat Pay | Not listed |
The page says harbors other than the airports listed operate mailboxes instead of tax refund counters, and that the airport information is for reference only; contact the airline for exact details. Customs sits near the E and J counters on Incheon T1's 3rd floor and near the F and G counters on T2's 3rd floor.
Where the sources differ
| Topic | Source A | Source B | What it means |
|---|---|---|---|
| Immediate refund limits | Korea.net, Nov 28, 2023: the limit was "KRW 500,000 for an immediate tax refund and KRW 2.5 million combined", doubled to KRW 1 million and KRW 5 million from Jan. 1 (2024). | VISITKOREA: single transaction under KRW 1 million, total KRW 5 million or less. | No conflict today. Older articles quoting ₩500,000 and ₩2.5 million refer to the pre-2024 limits. |
| "Duty-free shops" | Korea Customs Service page: refunds of VAT on "goods purchased at duty-free shops", confirmed by customs before departure. | VISITKOREA: "Duty-free items are not eligible for refund". | The two pages use "duty-free" for different things, or one is loosely worded. The refund is for goods bought at tax refund stores. We cannot tell from the pages which meaning the customs page intends, so look for the tax refund sign in the shop. |
| Customs timing | Customs page: duty-free items must be taken out within 3 months from the date of purchase. | VISITKOREA: purchased goods must be sent overseas within 3 months. | The same 3 months. |
Official sources
- VISITKOREA (Korea Tourism Organization) — Comprehensive Tax Refund Guide — eligibility, ₩15,000 minimum, immediate and general refund limits and steps, accommodation refunds, airport counter hours; page shows 10/20/2025 under its title (checked 2026-10-19)
- Korea Customs Service — Tax Refund — export confirmation at departure, kiosks, 3-month rule, refund after immigration (no date on the page) (checked 2026-10-19)
- Korea.net — Immediate tax refund limit for foreign visitors to be doubled in 2024 — news article of Nov 28, 2023 on the old ₩500,000 / ₩2.5 million limits and the increase to ₩1 million / ₩5 million (checked 2026-10-19)
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