This Korea gift tax calculator for foreigners estimates the gift tax due when money or property is given to family in Korea, using the progressive 10%–50% schedule and the all-important 10-year aggregation rule. Enter the gift amount, the donor-donee relationship, and any prior gifts in the last 10 years, and the tool returns the deduction used, the taxable base, the gift tax due in KRW and USD, and the effective rate — after applying the 3% on-time-filing credit. Whether you are sending money to family in Korea or transferring an apartment to your child, this Korean gift tax rate calculator answers the question the law-firm pages only describe in prose.
Use the gift tax deduction korea 2026 estimator below, then read the deductions, the 10-year rule, and a worked example.
The calculator follows the statutory order, and the 10-year rule is baked in:
Because the relationship deduction is a 10-year total, adding prior gifts is essential — it is what stops people from resetting the deduction every year.
Gift tax shares inheritance tax's progressive schedule, computed as base × rate − deduction:
| Taxable base (KRW) | Marginal rate | Progressive deduction |
|---|---|---|
| Up to 100,000,000 | 10% | 0 |
| 100,000,001 – 500,000,000 | 20% | 10,000,000 |
| 500,000,001 – 1,000,000,000 | 30% | 60,000,000 |
| 1,000,000,001 – 3,000,000,000 | 40% | 160,000,000 |
| Over 3,000,000,000 | 50% | 460,000,000 |
The deduction depends entirely on who gives to whom, and applies over a rolling decade:
| Relationship | Deduction over 10 years (KRW) |
|---|---|
| Spouse | 600,000,000 |
| Adult lineal ascendant / descendant | 50,000,000 |
| Minor lineal descendant | 20,000,000 |
| Other relatives (within 6th degree) | 10,000,000 |
| Unrelated person | 0 |
Note how different these are from inheritance deductions (where the spouse can shelter far more and a lump-sum 500 million basic applies). That difference is why gift and inheritance need separate calculators.
Suppose a parent gifts 100,000,000 KRW to an adult child, with no prior gifts in the last 10 years, filing on time:
If the same parent had already gifted 30,000,000 KRW two years earlier, the prior gift would be added in (130,000,000 − 50,000,000 = 80,000,000 base), raising the tax — the 10-year rule in action.
This single rule defeats most "split it up" strategies. Gifts from the same donor to the same donee are added together over a rolling 10-year window, and the relationship deduction is a 10-year total, not a fresh allowance each year. So gifting an adult child 50 million won this year uses up the entire decade's deduction; another gift within 10 years is taxed from the first won. The clock is per donor-donee pair, which is why grandparents and each parent can give separately, but no single giver can reset their own deduction by spacing gifts a year apart.
Unlike the United States, where the giver pays gift tax, in Korea the recipient (donee) is generally liable and must file the gift tax return. This matters for foreigners sending money to Korean family: the family member who receives the money is the one with the filing obligation. If the donee is a non-resident, the donor can be made jointly liable, and gifts of overseas assets to a Korean resident can also fall within Korean gift tax. Sort out who files before the transfer, not after.
Routine, reasonable living-cost support between close family — sending a parent money for everyday expenses, or supporting a student child — is generally not treated as a taxable gift. But a large lump-sum transfer that exceeds the relationship deduction over 10 years — say, a down-payment for a child's apartment — is a taxable gift, with the recipient liable to file. The line is between genuine support and a capital transfer; the bigger and more one-off the amount, the more likely it is a reportable gift. When in doubt, document the purpose and check the threshold.
Korean gift tax can reach across borders. A gift to a Korean resident donee is taxable in Korea even if the asset or the donor is overseas, because the resident donee is within the Korean tax net. A gift to a non-resident donee is generally taxable in Korea only for Korea-situs assets, but the donor may be jointly liable. For a foreigner gifting to family in Korea, the residency of the person receiving usually determines the scope — another reason to confirm status first.
The gift tax return is generally due by the end of the third month after the month of the gift. Filing on time earns a voluntary-filing credit of about 3% of the calculated tax — a small but free saving the calculator applies. Miss the deadline and you forfeit the credit and add under-reporting and late-payment penalties, which can be substantial. As with inheritance tax, large gift-tax liabilities may be eligible for installment payment.
Because gifts within 10 years before death are pulled back into the estate for inheritance tax, lifetime gifting and inheritance must be planned as one. Gifting early (more than 10 years before death) can move appreciation out of the estate, but uses the smaller gift deductions; waiting uses the larger inheritance deductions but keeps the asset in the estate. The right blend depends on the amounts, the relationship, and timing. Model the lifetime side here and the estate side with our companion inheritance-tax calculator.
Gift tax in Korea reaches further than a simple cash handover. Transactions that can be treated as deemed gifts include: buying property in a family member's name or paying for their asset; forgiving a debt; selling an asset to a relative at a below-market price (the discount can be a taxable gift); and a young person acquiring expensive property with no demonstrable income source, which the NTS may presume was funded by a gift. For foreigners helping Korean family onto the property ladder, the down-payment scenario is the classic trap — funding a child's apartment is a gift to the extent it exceeds the relationship deduction, even if no cash visibly changes hands between accounts.
Korea has expanded gift relief for family formation. In addition to the standard 50 million won adult-child deduction over 10 years, a marriage/childbirth gift deduction allows parents to give an additional amount (on the order of 100 million won) to a child around the time of marriage or the birth/adoption of a child, on top of the ordinary deduction — effectively letting a couple receive a larger tax-free gift from each set of parents when starting a family. The conditions (timing windows around the event, eligible relationships) are specific, so confirm the current rules, but this is a meaningful, legitimate way to transfer more to adult children tax-free.
Because the 10-year deduction is per donor-donee pair, families can plan transfers across multiple givers without evading anything. Each parent has their own 50 million won adult-child deduction, and grandparents have separate deductions to a grandchild (though gifts skipping a generation can carry a surcharge). So a married couple can, between them, give an adult child meaningfully more than a single parent could, each using their own allowance. This is different from the prohibited tactic of one donor splitting a gift over years to reset their own deduction — that does not work. Legitimate planning uses different donors' separate allowances, not artificial timing.
The Korea gift tax calculator for foreigners adds the current gift to any gifts from the same donor within the past 10 years, subtracts the relationship deduction (spouse 600 million won, adult lineal descendant 50 million, minor 20 million, other relatives 10 million), then applies the progressive 10% to 50% schedule with bracket deductions. It applies a 3% on-time-filing credit and outputs the taxable base, the gift tax due in KRW and USD, and the effective rate.
Korea's gift tax uses the same progressive schedule as inheritance tax: 10% up to a 100 million won base, 20% up to 500 million, 30% up to 1 billion, 40% up to 3 billion, and 50% above 3 billion, each with a bracket deduction (10M, 60M, 160M, 460M).
Over a rolling 10-year period you can gift, free of gift tax, up to 600 million won to a spouse, 50 million won to an adult lineal descendant (20 million to a minor), and 10 million won to other relatives. Amounts above the relationship deduction are taxed on the progressive schedule.
It can be. Transfers to family in Korea that exceed the relationship deduction over 10 years are gifts subject to gift tax, with the recipient (donee) generally liable to file and pay. Ordinary living-cost support between close family is usually not taxed, but large lump-sum transfers above the deduction are.
In Korea the recipient (donee) is generally the one liable for gift tax and must file the return, unlike some countries where the giver pays. If the donee is a non-resident, the donor can be made jointly liable, and gifts of overseas assets to a resident can also be taxable.
Gifts from the same donor to the same donee are added together over a rolling 10-year window. The relationship deduction (for example 50 million won to an adult child) is a 10-year total, not per gift, so splitting a large transfer into yearly pieces within 10 years does not multiply the deduction.
Yes. Filing the gift tax return within the deadline (generally the end of the third month after the month of the gift) earns a voluntary-filing tax credit of about 3% of the calculated tax. Late filing forfeits the credit and adds penalties.