Korea Inheritance Tax: Who Is Taxed, the Rates, Deductions and Filing Deadlines

Who is taxed and on what

Korean inheritance tax applies under the Inheritance and Gift Tax Act (sangsokse mit jeungyeosebeop, 상속세 및 증여세법). The key question is the residence status of the deceased at the time of death, not your passport:

• If the deceased was a tax resident of Korea, the estate is taxed on worldwide assets.
• If the deceased was a non-resident, only assets located in Korea are taxed.

So a foreigner inheriting a Korean apartment from a parent who had moved abroad is taxed on that Korean asset, while a Korean resident’s estate is taxed on everything wherever it sits. Foreign heirs have the same inheritance rights as Korean heirs under the Civil Act, and the tax applies to the estate as a whole, paid by the recipients.

The rates: 10% to 50%

Inheritance tax is charged on the taxable base at progressive rates (Article 26 of the Inheritance and Gift Tax Act):

Taxable base	Rate
Up to 100 million won	10%
100 million – 500 million won	20%
500 million – 1 billion won	30%
1 billion – 3 billion won	40%
Over 3 billion won	50%

A single Seoul apartment can easily fall into the 30–40% brackets, so for many overseas families the deductions — not the headline rate — determine the real bill.

Deductions: residence decides how much relief

The deductions available differ sharply by the deceased’s residence status:

Resident decedent — the estate can claim a substantial package:

• Basic deduction of 200 million won, or a lump-sum deduction of 500 million won (elected instead)
• Spouse deduction: a minimum of 500 million won, up to 3 billion won depending on the statutory share
• Deductions for children (50 million won each), minors, elderly dependants and the disabled
• Financial-asset deductions within limits

Non-resident decedent — the relief is far narrower. In general only the 200 million won basic deduction is available; the lump-sum, spouse and financial-asset deductions are oriented to resident decedents. Debts and funeral charges are deductible only on narrow terms, typically where a debt is secured against the Korean property itself. The result is that an overseas family inheriting Korean property can face tax on close to its full value.

Filing deadlines

The inheritance tax return must be filed, and the tax paid, with the tax office having jurisdiction over the deceased’s domicile within 6 months of the end of the month in which the inheritance began. Where the deceased or any heir has a domicile outside Korea, the deadline is extended to 9 months.

Separate deadlines matter for the family too: heirs who want to decline the inheritance generally have 3 months from the date they learned of the inheritance to decide, so check the deadlines as soon as possible after a death. If you are also dealing with the broader estate process, our inheritance overviews and tax guides cover the wider picture.

Practical notes for foreign heirs

• Residence records decide the scope. Keep the deceased’s Korean tax-residence status straight — it determines whether worldwide or Korea-only assets are in scope, and how much can be deducted.
• Gifts shortly before death are added back. Gifts given to heirs within 10 years of death (5 years for non-heirs) are added back into the estate, so last-minute gifting does not escape the tax.
• Tax treaties may help. Korea’s double-taxation treaties can provide a foreign tax credit where the same inheritance is also taxed in another country — check with a tax adviser if the estate crosses borders.
• Get a tax professional involved. Cross-border estates combine Korean inheritance rules, residence questions and treaty relief; a Korean tax practitioner (semusa, 세무사) is usually the practical first step.

Note — rates, deduction ceilings and deadlines are revised periodically. Confirm the current provisions with the National Tax Service (guksecheong, 국세청) and your tax adviser before relying on the figures in this guide.