This Korea income tax calculator for foreigners 2026 estimates your annual income tax under both the progressive bracket schedule (6%–45%) and the optional 19% flat rate, including the 10% local income surtax in each case. Enter your estimated annual taxable income and the calculator instantly shows your tax under both methods and which one is lower—exactly the comparison most foreign employees need before they elect the flat rate. It is a planning tool; your final tax is settled in the year-end settlement.
Use the Korea income tax calculator for foreigners below, then read the bracket table and worked example to understand the numbers behind it.
The calculator applies Korea's progressive marginal brackets to your taxable income, summing the tax owed in each band, then multiplies by 1.10 to add the 10% local income surtax. Separately it computes the 19% flat rate (also grossed up by the local surtax to about 20.9%) on your full income, and reports which method is lower. This mirrors the real choice a foreign employee faces in the year-end settlement.
| Taxable Income Band (KRW) | National Marginal Rate |
|---|---|
| Up to 14,000,000 | 6% |
| 14,000,001 – 50,000,000 | 15% |
| 50,000,001 – 88,000,000 | 24% |
| 88,000,001 – 150,000,000 | 35% |
| 150,000,001 – 300,000,000 | 38% |
| 300,000,001 – 500,000,000 | 40% |
| 500,000,001 – 1,000,000,000 | 42% |
| Over 1,000,000,000 | 45% |
A 10% local income surtax applies on top of the national tax, so the combined top rate is about 49.5% and the flat-rate option about 20.9% all-in.
For a taxable income of 60,000,000 KRW, the progressive national tax is computed band by band:
The flat 19% on 60,000,000 = 11,400,000 KRW national, or 12,540,000 KRW with surtax (~20.9%). Here the progressive scale is lower, which is typical for mid-range salaries. The flat rate tends to win only at much higher incomes.
| Income Level | Usually Better |
|---|---|
| Lower / mid salary | Progressive scale (with deductions) |
| High salary | Often the 19% flat rate |
| Many deductions available | Progressive scale |
| Few deductions / time-limited eligibility | Consider the flat rate |
Remember the flat rate forgoes most deductions. To see how deductions and the year-end process work, read our Korea year-end tax settlement for foreigners 2026 guide.
This Korea income tax calculator for foreigners uses taxable income and the bracket schedule, but your real liability depends on the earned-income deduction, personal and dependent deductions, card-spending and housing credits, and more. Those are applied in the year-end settlement. If you input gross salary instead of taxable income, the estimate will overstate your tax because it skips the earned-income deduction.
The biggest reason a Korea income tax calculator for foreigners can overstate your bill is that tax applies to taxable income, not gross salary. In Korea, your gross employment income is first reduced by the earned-income deduction (a sliding allowance that is larger as a percentage at lower incomes), then by personal and dependent deductions, and by various credits in the year-end settlement. Only what remains is run through the bracket schedule. So if you input your full gross salary, the calculator treats it as taxable income and shows a higher figure than you will actually pay. For a more realistic estimate, subtract a rough earned-income allowance first, or simply treat the calculator's output as an upper bound and expect your post-deduction tax to be lower.
A common confusion is mixing up your marginal rate and your effective rate. Your marginal rate is the bracket your last won of income falls into—say 24%—while your effective rate is your total tax divided by your income, which is always lower because the earlier bands are taxed at 6% and 15%. In the 60,000,000 KRW example above, the marginal rate is 24% but the effective rate (with surtax) is under 16%. This is why a salary increase that pushes you into a higher bracket does not tax your entire income at the new rate—only the portion above the threshold. The calculator reports the effective percentage so you can see your true average tax burden, not just the headline bracket.
Income tax is only part of what leaves your paycheck. Korean employees also pay mandatory social-insurance contributions—national pension, national health insurance, employment insurance, and long-term care—each a percentage of salary, shared with the employer. These are separate from income tax and are not in this calculator, but they meaningfully affect your take-home pay. Many of these contributions are also deductible in the year-end settlement, which lowers your income tax. So your real net salary is gross minus income tax (estimated here) minus social-insurance contributions, plus any refund from over-withholding settled in February. Factor in the contributions when budgeting, and remember they double as deductions that reduce the income tax this calculator estimates.
The Korea income tax calculator for foreigners 2026 estimates your annual income tax by applying the progressive bracket schedule (6% to 45%) to your taxable income, then adds the 10% local income surtax. It also compares this to the 19% flat-rate option so you can see which is lower for your salary.
Korea's national income tax brackets run from 6% on the lowest band up to 45% on the highest, applied progressively to taxable income, with a 10% local income surtax added on top of the national tax.
The 19% flat rate (about 20.9% with local surtax) usually benefits high earners because it caps the effective rate, but it forgoes most deductions. Lower and mid earners often pay less under the progressive scale with deductions. The calculator shows both so you can compare.
Yes. The calculator adds the 10% local income surtax to the national income tax under both methods, giving a more realistic total. The combined top progressive rate is therefore about 49.5%, and the flat rate about 20.9%.
No. It is an estimate. Your actual tax is finalized in the year-end settlement (yeonmaljeongsan), which accounts for your specific deductions, credits, and dependents. Use the calculator to plan, not to file.
Enter your estimated annual taxable income. For a quick estimate you can use gross salary, but your true taxable income is gross minus the earned-income deduction and other allowances, so the calculator may overstate tax if you input gross only.
Non-residents are taxed on Korea-source income and may face flat withholding on certain income types. This calculator targets resident-style employment taxation; non-residents should confirm their specific withholding treatment.
It is a planning estimate based on the bracket schedule and local surtax. It does not include every deduction, tax credit, or special case, so your final liability after the year-end settlement may differ.
Eligibility for the 19% flat rate is time-limited from when you first start working in Korea. While eligible, you can elect it each year if it produces a lower tax than the progressive method.