This Korea inheritance tax calculator for foreigners estimates the inheritance tax due on a Korean estate using the country's progressive 10%–50% schedule. Enter the gross estate value, the heir's relationship, resident or non-resident status, the number of children, and any debts and funeral costs, and the tool returns the taxable base, your marginal bracket, the gross inheritance tax in KRW and USD, and the effective rate. Korea has one of the highest inheritance taxes in the world, so cross-border heirs urgently need a "how much inheritance tax korea" answer — and the law-firm pages that rank for it offer prose, not a working Korean inheritance tax rate calculator. This page offers both.
Use the korea estate tax foreigner 2026 estimator below, then read the brackets, the deductions, and the non-resident rules.
The calculator follows the statutory sequence:
It then reports the marginal bracket, the gross tax, and the effective rate so you see both the headline rate and what you actually pay across the estate.
Korea's inheritance tax is steeply progressive. Each band carries a progressive deduction so you can compute the tax in one line: tax = 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 |
So a 1.47 billion won base sits in the 40% bracket: 1,470,000,000 × 40% − 160,000,000 = 428,000,000 KRW.
Deductions are where most of the planning happens, and they can dwarf the tax. For a resident estate you take the larger of:
The spousal deduction is the big lever: when a spouse inherits, a large share can be deduction-protected, which is why surviving spouses often owe far less than children do on the same estate. (A reform raising the per-child deduction substantially has been proposed for later years; this calculator uses the established statutory figures.)
Take a 2,000,000,000 KRW resident estate passing to children, with 30,000,000 KRW of debts and funeral costs, using the 500 million basic deduction (plus the personal allowance the calculator applies):
Notice the effective rate (21%) is well below the 40% marginal rate, because the lower bands and the deduction soften the average. A surviving spouse inheriting the same estate could owe dramatically less thanks to the larger spousal deduction.
Where the deceased was a non-resident, Korean inheritance tax applies only to Korea-situs assets — property, accounts, or shares located in Korea — not to their worldwide estate. The trade-off is that deductions are far more limited: a non-resident estate generally gets only a basic deduction, not the full spouse and child itemized deductions a resident estate enjoys. For a foreigner who owned a Korean apartment but lived abroad, this means the Korean tax is confined to the Korean asset, but with less deduction relief on it.
Residency status changes both the scope and the deductions:
| Resident decedent | Non-resident decedent | |
|---|---|---|
| Assets taxed | Worldwide | Korea-situs only |
| Deductions | Full (lump-sum or itemized spouse/child) | Limited (basic only) |
| Typical heir | Family resident in Korea | Overseas heir of a Korean asset |
Because the gap is large, establishing whether the deceased was a Korean tax resident is the first question any cross-border inheritance must answer.
Inheritance tax is generally reported and paid within 6 months of the date of death for a resident decedent (extended to 9 months if the decedent or an heir lived abroad). Filing on time can earn a small voluntary-filing credit, while late or under-reporting triggers penalties. For large liabilities, Korea allows installment payment (yeonbu-yeonnap) over several years, and in some cases payment in kind with property, easing the cash burden of a 40%–50% bill.
With a top marginal rate of 50%, Korea sits among the highest inheritance-tax jurisdictions in the world — comparable to Japan and well above most Western economies. Historically, large controlling-shareholder estates faced effective rates even higher because of valuation surcharges on managed company shares. This is precisely why wealthy Korean families and cross-border heirs plan years ahead, and why a reform shifting the tax from the whole estate to each heir's share — which would change how the brackets bite — has been debated for implementation in later years. Until any change takes effect, the schedule above applies.
Korea taxes lifetime gifts under a separate gift tax with the same 10%–50% schedule but different deductions (for example a 600 million won spousal gift deduction and a 50 million won adult-child deduction over a rolling 10 years). Gifts made within 10 years before death are added back into the estate to prevent deathbed gifting from escaping inheritance tax. If you are planning transfers to family, model both: our companion gift-tax calculator handles the lifetime side.
The tax turns on valuation, and Korea generally values estate assets at market value as of the date of death. Real estate is typically assessed using recent comparable sales or the officially published price where a market value is hard to establish; listed shares use a market-price average around the valuation date; and certain assets, like a controlling stake in a company, have special valuation rules that historically pushed values (and tax) higher. Foreign-situs assets of a resident decedent are also valued and included. Because a higher valuation means a higher base and a higher marginal bracket, valuation disputes are common — keep professional appraisals for hard-to-value assets.
Cross-border heirs worry about being taxed twice. Korea provides a foreign tax credit mechanism so that inheritance tax paid to another country on the same assets can, within limits, be credited against the Korean tax — relieving double taxation on a resident decedent's overseas assets. Conversely, if you inherit a Korean asset and your home country also taxes worldwide estates, your home jurisdiction may credit the Korean tax. The interaction depends on each country's rules and any estate-tax treaty (Korea has few), so for a genuinely cross-border estate, coordinate advisers in both countries to avoid paying full tax twice.
A 40%–50% bill can exceed the cash in an estate, so Korea offers relief on how you pay. Installment payment (yeonbu-yeonnap) lets large liabilities be spread over several years with interest, easing the squeeze when the estate is mostly illiquid property. In limited cases, payment in kind (mulnap) — handing over property such as real estate or securities to settle the tax — is permitted when cash and the usual options are insufficient. These mechanisms are especially relevant for heirs of a Korean apartment who do not want to fire-sale it to pay the tax. Apply for installment relief at filing, not after the deadline.
The Korea inheritance tax calculator for foreigners subtracts debts, funeral costs, and deductions (the lump-sum basic deduction of 500 million won, or itemized spouse and child deductions, whichever is larger) from the gross estate to find the taxable base, then applies Korea's progressive schedule of 10% to 50% with bracket deductions. It outputs the taxable base, your marginal bracket, the gross inheritance tax in KRW and USD, and the effective rate.
Korea's inheritance tax is progressive: 10% on a tax base up to 100 million won, 20% up to 500 million, 30% up to 1 billion, 40% up to 3 billion, and 50% above 3 billion. Each bracket carries a progressive deduction (10M, 60M, 160M, 460M respectively) so the marginal rate applies cleanly.
A resident estate gets a basic lump-sum deduction of 500 million won, or you may itemize. The spousal deduction is at least 500 million won and can reach about 3 billion won depending on the spouse's statutory share, and a child deduction applies per child. You take whichever of the lump-sum or itemized deductions is larger.
Yes, but only on Korea-situs assets. If the deceased was a non-resident, Korean inheritance tax applies to property located in Korea, and the available deductions are more limited than for a resident estate (generally only the basic deduction, not the full spouse/child itemized deductions).
It depends on the estate size after deductions. For example, a 2 billion won estate with 30 million in debts and the 500 million basic deduction has a taxable base of about 1.47 billion, falling in the 40% bracket, for roughly 428 million won of tax, an effective rate near 21%. The calculator gives the figure for your numbers.
Yes. With a top marginal rate of 50% (and an effective rate that can be higher for the largest estates with certain surcharges historically), Korea has one of the highest inheritance tax burdens among major economies, which is why cross-border heirs plan carefully. A reform shifting toward taxing each heir's share is under discussion for later years.
Inheritance tax must generally be reported and paid within 6 months of the date of death for a resident decedent (9 months if the decedent or heir resided abroad). Filing on time can earn a small credit, while late filing triggers penalties. Installment payment is available for large liabilities.