South Korea public holidays 2026, VAT rate and tax data
South Korea: VAT rate 10% since 1 Jul 1977; 22 public holidays in 2026 (next: Christmas Day (기독탄신일), 25 Dec 2026); corporate tax rate 25%; minimum wage 10320 KRW/hour; policy interest rate 3%; inflation rate (CPI) 2.9% , year-on-year.
12 series, each cited to the official source it was verified against; most recently verified 28 Oct 2026. Currency KRW.
verified recentlyre-verification due soonstaleColour is the age of the last check against the series' own update cycle.
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{ "country": "KR", "series": "vat", "value": 10, "unit": "percent", "effective_from": "1977-07-01", "last_confirmed": "2026-07-20", "source": { "name": "부가가치세법 (Value-Added Tax Act) Article 30", "url": "https://www.nts.go.kr/nts/cm/cntnts/cntntsView.do?mi=2275&cntntsId=7696" } }
Excerpt, from the same data as this page. This endpoint is $0.003 a call by x402 or MPP, no signup. With a free key, try POST /v1/answers/vat {"country":"kr","amount":1000}.
South Korea public holidays 2026
22 days in 2026; next: Christmas Day (기독탄신일) on 25 Dec 2026. Official source: 관공서의 공휴일에 관한 규정 (Regulations on Public Holidays of Government Offices), Presidential… · last verified 20 Jul 2026
Fixed by law 4 Confirmed 14 Substitute 4
| Date | Holiday | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Jan 2026 Thu | New Year's Day (신정) | Fixed by law | 관공서의 공휴일에 관한 규정 (Regulations on Public… |
| 16 Feb 2026 Mon | Seollal holiday (설연휴) | Confirmed | 관공서의 공휴일에 관한 규정 (Regulations on Public… |
| 17 Feb 2026 Tue | Seollal — Korean Lunar New Year (설날) | Confirmed | 관공서의 공휴일에 관한 규정 (Regulations on Public… |
| 18 Feb 2026 Wed | Seollal holiday (설연휴) | Confirmed | 관공서의 공휴일에 관한 규정 (Regulations on Public… |
| 1 Mar 2026 Sun | Independence Movement Day (삼일절) | Confirmed | 관공서의 공휴일에 관한 규정 (Regulations on Public… |
| 2 Mar 2026 Mon | Substitute holiday for Independence Movement Day (대체공휴일) | Substitute | 관공서의 공휴일에 관한 규정 (Regulations on Public… |
| 1 May 2026 Fri | Labour Day (노동절) | Fixed by law | 관공서의 공휴일에 관한 규정 (Regulations on Public… |
| 5 May 2026 Tue | Children's Day (어린이날) | Confirmed | 관공서의 공휴일에 관한 규정 (Regulations on Public… |
| 24 May 2026 Sun | Buddha's Birthday (부처님오신날) | Confirmed | 관공서의 공휴일에 관한 규정 (Regulations on Public… |
| 25 May 2026 Mon | Substitute holiday for Buddha's Birthday (대체공휴일) | Substitute | 관공서의 공휴일에 관한 규정 (Regulations on Public… |
| 3 Jun 2026 Wed | Local election day — 9th nationwide simultaneous local elections (제9회 전국동시지방선거일) | Confirmed | 관공서의 공휴일에 관한 규정 (Regulations on Public… |
| 6 Jun 2026 Sat | Memorial Day (현충일) | Confirmed | 관공서의 공휴일에 관한 규정 (Regulations on Public… |
| 17 Jul 2026 Fri | Constitution Day (제헌절) | Confirmed | 관공서의 공휴일에 관한 규정 (Regulations on Public… |
| 15 Aug 2026 Sat | Liberation Day (광복절) | Fixed by law | 관공서의 공휴일에 관한 규정 (Regulations on Public… |
| 17 Aug 2026 Mon | Substitute holiday for Liberation Day (대체공휴일) | Substitute | 관공서의 공휴일에 관한 규정 (Regulations on Public… |
| 24 Sep 2026 Thu | Chuseok holiday (추석 연휴) | Confirmed | 관공서의 공휴일에 관한 규정 (Regulations on Public… |
| 25 Sep 2026 Fri | Chuseok — Korean harvest festival (추석) | Confirmed | 관공서의 공휴일에 관한 규정 (Regulations on Public… |
| 26 Sep 2026 Sat | Chuseok holiday (추석 연휴) | Confirmed | 관공서의 공휴일에 관한 규정 (Regulations on Public… |
| 3 Oct 2026 Sat | National Foundation Day (개천절) | Confirmed | 관공서의 공휴일에 관한 규정 (Regulations on Public… |
| 5 Oct 2026 Mon | Substitute holiday for National Foundation Day (대체공휴일) | Substitute | 관공서의 공휴일에 관한 규정 (Regulations on Public… |
| 9 Oct 2026 Fri | Hangeul Day (한글날) | Confirmed | 관공서의 공휴일에 관한 규정 (Regulations on Public… |
| 25 Dec 2026 Fri | Christmas Day (기독탄신일) | Fixed by law | 관공서의 공휴일에 관한 규정 (Regulations on Public… |
Status is read from the record: fixed by law follows from a standing rule (a fixed date or the Easter computus); confirmed is dated in the cited official calendar and not flagged provisional; estimated is provisional or moon-sighting dependent; substitute stands in for a statutory day that fell on a weekend or was moved. Hover a status for the reason.
Every current South Korea value
Rate schedules and breakdowns
Statutory interest (법정이율)
5 percent · in force from 1960-01-01 · Official source: 민법 제379조 (Civil Act art. 379): statutory interest 5%/yr; 상법 제54조 (Commercial… · last verified 10 Aug 2026
Variants
| Variant | Value | Applies to | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Civil obligations (Civil Act art. 379) (headline) | 5 | Money obligations under civil law with no agreed rate. | — |
| Commercial obligations (Commercial Act art. 54) | 6 | Obligations arising from commercial activities. | — |
| Post-service litigation rate (Expedition Act art. 3(1)) | 12 | Money claims from the day after the complaint was served, within a 40%/yr statutory cap; rate set by Presidential Decree — cut from 15% to 12% effective 1 June… | — |
Withholding tax rates
15.4–22% across 4 withholding taxes — no single rate · in force from — · Official source: National Tax Service (국세청), withholding-tax rate table for domestic-source… · last verified 10 Aug 2026
Rates by payment type
| key | label | rate | applies to | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| dividends | Dividends (배당소득) | 22 | Korean-source dividends paid to foreign corporations and non-resident individuals without a Korean permanent establishment; 20% national withholding plus local income tax of 10% of the tax | NTS rate table: 배당 20% (dividends 20%… |
| 22% = 20% national x 1.1 local surtax. | ||||
| interest | Interest - general (이자소득) | 22 | Korean-source interest (other than bond interest) paid to foreign corporations and non-resident individuals without a Korean permanent establishment; 20% national plus 10% local surtax on the tax | NTS rate table: 이자 20% (interest 20%… |
| 22% = 20% national x 1.1 local surtax. | ||||
| interest-bonds | Interest on bonds (채권이자) | 15.4 | interest on bonds paid to foreign corporations and non-resident individuals without a Korean permanent establishment; 14% national plus 10% local surtax on the tax | NTS rate table: 채권이자 14% (bond interest… |
| 15.4% = 14% national x 1.1 local surtax. From 1 January 2023 qualifying non-residents and approved overseas financial institutions are exempt on prescribed Korean government bonds and monetary stabilization bonds. | ||||
| royalties | Royalties (사용료소득) | 22 | Korean-source royalties paid to foreign corporations and non-resident individuals without a Korean permanent establishment; 20% national plus 10% local surtax on the tax | NTS rate table: 사용료 20% (royalties 20%… |
| 22% = 20% national x 1.1 local surtax. Korean-source personal/independent service income of non-residents is likewise withheld at 20% national (22% combined) under the same articles; Korea has no separate technical-fee withholding head. | ||||
Personal income tax (종합소득세) schedule
6–45% across 8 bands · in force from 2023-01-01 · Official source: 소득세법 (Income Tax Act) Article 55(1), bracket schedule as amended by Act No… · last verified 20 Jul 2026
| min | max | rate |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | 14000000 | 6 |
| 14000000 | 50000000 | 15 |
| 50000000 | 88000000 | 24 |
| 88000000 | 150000000 | 35 |
| 150000000 | 300000000 | 38 |
| 300000000 | 500000000 | 40 |
| 500000000 | 1000000000 | 42 |
| 1000000000 | — | 45 |
Statutory social-insurance contributions
0–9.5% across 7 contribution branches · in force from 2026-01-01 · Official source: 국민연금법 art. 88 as amended by the pension reform Act promulgated 20 March 2025… · last verified 11 Aug 2026
| key | label | rate total | rate employee | rate employer | unit | base | currency |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| gukmin_yeongeum | National Pension / 국민연금 (gungmin yeon-geum) | 9.5 | 4.75 | 4.75 | percent | 기준소득월액 (standard monthly income) — the employee's monthly earned income rounded down to the nearest 1,000 won and then clamped between a statutory floor and ceiling notified annually by the Minister of Health and Welfare. For the year 1 July 2026 to 30 June 2027 the ceiling is 6,590,000 won and the floor is 410,000 won per month (up from 6,370,000 and 400,000 for the preceding year). The band is re-fixed every 1 July on the movement in the A값, the three-year average income of all insured persons. | KRW |
| THE 9% FIGURE THAT HAS STOOD SINCE 1998 IS NO LONGER CORRECT. The March 2025 reform Act began an eight-year escalator on 1 January 2026: 9.5% in 2026, then +0.5 percentage points every year to 13% in 2033. An engine still carrying 9% under-deducts the employee by 0.25 percentage… | |||||||
| geongang_boheom | National Health Insurance / 건강보험 (geon-gang boheom) | 7.19 | 3.595 | 3.595 | percent | 보수월액 (monthly remuneration) — total taxable remuneration for the year divided by the months of service, reconciled annually in April against actual pay (연말정산). The result is capped and floored by a notified PREMIUM cap rather than a wage cap: for 2026 the maximum monthly 보수월액보험료 is 9,183,480 won (employee share 4,591,740 won) and the minimum monthly premium is 20,160 won. | KRW |
| RATE ROSE ON 1 JANUARY 2026 from 7.09% to 7.19%, ending a two-year freeze — an engine carrying 7.09% under-deducts the employee by 0.05 percentage points. THE CAP IS EXPRESSED AS A PREMIUM AMOUNT, NOT A WAGE CEILING, and this is the trap: the notice fixes a maximum monthly… | |||||||
| jangi_yoyang_boheom | Long-Term Care Insurance / 장기요양보험 (janggi yoyang boheom) | 0.9448 | 0.4724 | 0.4724 | percent | LEVIED ON THE HEALTH-INSURANCE PREMIUM, NOT ON SALARY. The statutory rate is 13.14% of the month's health-insurance premium for 2026. Because the health premium is itself 7.19% of 보수월액, the effective rate on salary is 7.19% × 13.14% = 0.9448%, which is the figure served in rate_total. Every ceiling and floor that binds the health premium therefore binds this branch automatically. | KRW |
| THE NESTING IS THE TRAP, AND IT IS THE SINGLE MOST MISMODELLED ITEM IN KOREAN PAYROLL. The statutory rate 13.14% is a percentage OF THE HEALTH-INSURANCE PREMIUM, not of salary. An engine that applies 13.14% to gross pay over-deducts by a factor of roughly fourteen. The… | |||||||
| goyong_boheom_silup | Employment Insurance — unemployment benefit portion / 고용보험 실업급여 | 1.8 | 0.9 | 0.9 | percent | 보수총액 — total remuneration as defined for employment-insurance purposes, essentially taxable earned income excluding statutory non-taxable allowances. NO CEILING and NO FLOOR on the contribution base: the rate applies to every won of remuneration. | KRW |
| This is the ONLY part of Korean employment insurance the employee ever pays — 0.9%. UNCHANGED FOR 2026, in contrast to pension, health and long-term care, all three of which rose on 1 January 2026. NO CEILING, unlike pension and health: a high earner pays 0.9% on their whole… | |||||||
| goyong_boheom_anjeong | Employment Insurance — employment stabilisation and vocational skills development / 고용안정·직업능력개발사업 (employer-only, stepped by employer size) | 0.25 | 0 | 0.25 | percent | 보수총액, the same uncapped base as the unemployment-benefit portion. The rate served is the smallest-employer step, for a business with fewer than 150 employees. | KRW |
| EMPLOYER-ONLY — never a payroll deduction, and the reason the Korean employment-insurance total is asymmetric. FOUR STEPS, KEYED ON HEADCOUNT AND PRIORITY-SUPPORT STATUS, NOT ONE RATE: (1) fewer than 150 employees — 0.25%; (2) 150 or more employees but a 우선지원대상기업… | |||||||
| sanjae_boheom | Industrial Accident Compensation Insurance / 산재보험 (sanjae boheom) — employer-only, risk-rated by industry | — | 0 | — | percent | 보수총액 — total remuneration paid to all workers, uncapped. Two components are added together: the industry-specific 사업종류별 산재보험료율 and the flat all-industry 출퇴근재해요율 for commuting accidents. | KRW |
| NO SINGLE NATIONAL RATE — rate_employer is deliberately null. The 2026 average across the economy is 1.47%, unchanged from 2025, and that average already INCLUDES the commuting component. THE FULL 2026 TARIFF, READ DIRECTLY OFF THE MINISTRY'S NOTICE (per mille of 보수총액): MINING —… | |||||||
| imgeum_chaegwon_bojang | Wage Claim Guarantee Fund employer levy / 임금채권보장기금 사업주부담금 (employer-only) | 0.09 | 0 | 0.09 | percent | 보수총액 — the same total-remuneration base as industrial accident insurance, uncapped. Collected together with the industrial accident premium. | KRW |
| EMPLOYER-ONLY and routinely omitted from Korean payroll models, which typically stop at the four 4대보험 lines. It funds the 대지급금, the state advance of unpaid wages and severance when an employer becomes insolvent. RATE ROSE 50% ON 1 JANUARY 2026, from 0.06% to 0.09% of total… | |||||||
Tax filing deadlines
6 deadline rules · in force from — · Official source: 6 rules, each cited to its own official source; series-level citation is the… · last verified 28 Oct 2026
| key | tax | obligation | label | frequency | applies to | confidence | last confirmed | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| vat-return-quarterly-corporate | vat | return_and_payment | VAT (부가가치세) preliminary (예정) and final (확정) returns and payment — corporate businesses, every quarter | quarterly | 법인사업자 (corporate businesses): 예정신고 for Jan–Mar and Jul–Sep, 확정신고 for the 1기 (Jan–Jun) and 2기 (Jul–Dec) taxable periods | primary | 2026-10-28 | 부가가치세 개요 |
| NTS table: 1기 예정 4.1.~4.25., 1기 확정 7.1.~7.25., 2기 예정 10.1.~10.25., 2기 확정 다음해 1.1.~1.25. — i.e. the 25th of the month after each quarter end. Small corporations (prior-period supply value under ₩150 million) are instead billed a preliminary notice (예정고지) and do not file a… | ||||||||
| vat-return-semiannual | vat | return_and_payment | VAT (부가가치세) final return (확정신고) and payment — individual general taxpayers and small corporations | semiannual | 법인·개인 일반사업자 — 확정신고 for 제1기 (1.1~6.30) and 제2기 (7.1~12.31) | primary | 2026-10-28 | 부가가치세 개요 |
| 2기 final return is due 25 January of the following year (page: 다음해 1.1.~1.25.). Individual general taxpayers also pay a 예정고지 bill (50% of the prior period's tax) in April and October; that is an assessment notice with its own stated due date, not modelled. Corporations should… | ||||||||
| withholding-monthly | paye | return_and_payment | Withholding tax (원천세) — monthly return (원천징수이행상황신고서) and payment | monthly | 원천징수의무자 (withholding agents) — 일반 | primary | 2026-10-28 | 원천세 신고납부기한 |
| Period = month in which the income was paid. Payment statements (지급명세서) for employment income are due 10 March of the following year — not modelled. | ||||||||
| withholding-semiannual | paye | return_and_payment | Withholding tax (원천세) — semiannual return and payment (반기납부) | semiannual | 원천징수의무자 approved for 반기납부 (small employers per 소득세법 시행령 제186조) | primary | 2026-10-28 | 원천세 신고납부기한 |
| Due 10 July (Jan–Jun) and 10 January (Jul–Dec). | ||||||||
| cit-return-annual | cit | return_and_payment | Corporate income tax (법인세) return and payment | annual | 납세의무가 있는 내국법인 (domestic corporations) | primary | 2026-10-28 | 법인세법 제60조(과세표준 등의 신고) |
| Measured from the last day of the month containing the business-year end, so day 'last' is exact for any year end. Corporations submitting a 성실신고확인서 have 4 months. Externally audited corporations whose accounts are not finalised may get a 1-month extension (제60조제7항) with… | ||||||||
| cit-interim-prepayment | cit | provisional_payment | Corporate income tax interim prepayment (중간예납) | annual | 내국법인 whose business year exceeds 6 months (excluding newly established corporations' first year and SMEs whose computed amount is under ₩500,000) | primary | 2026-10-28 | 법인세법 제63조(중간예납 의무) |
| 중간예납기간 = first 6 months of the business year; payment within 2 months after it ends. For a 12-month year starting on the 1st this is the last day of the 8th month (31 August for calendar-year corporations). Encoded as nth_month_of_year month 8 day 'last'. | ||||||||
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Compare each figure with the other Asian countries: Policy interest rate · Statutory interest rate · VAT rate · VAT registration threshold · Minimum wage · Public holidays · Inflation rate (CPI) · Corporate tax rate · Withholding tax rates · Income tax rates · Social contributions · Tax filing deadlines
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Every value above names the official instrument it came from and the date it takes effect, and we record when we last checked it. Where a value could not be verified against its own statute we do not publish an estimate — the series is simply absent. Where a question falls outside what we hold, the API refuses and explains, free of charge, rather than returning a number that looks right.