Korea Local Income Tax: The 10% Surtax, Who Pays It, and How to File

What local income tax actually is

Korea taxes income in two layers. The national income tax goes to the central government through the National Tax Service. On top of it sits the local income tax — jibang sodeukse (지방소득세) — which goes to the city or province where you are registered.

The key rule: local income tax is 10% of your national income tax, not 10% of your income. If your national income tax for a year is 3,000,000 won, your local income tax is 300,000 won.

The rate is set within a published band (the law allows local governments to adjust it between 5% and 15%), and the rate applied across the country is 10%. Because it is a percentage of the national tax, the progressive structure of the national tax carries through: a higher bracket means proportionally more local tax too.

Who pays it, and how it is withheld

In principle, anyone who owes Korean income tax owes the local income tax that accompanies it. In practice the payment route differs by income type:

• Salaried employees — the local income tax is withheld in payroll as part of your monthly deductions. It is calculated as 10% of the national income tax withheld, and it is reconciled again at year-end settlement. Most employees never file it separately — it is simply handled with the national tax on the payslip.
• Business and freelance income — when you file a comprehensive income tax return (종합소득세 신고) in May, the local income tax on that assessed income is filed separately. For assessed (rather than withheld) income, the local portion follows a progressive schedule on the same taxable base as the national income tax.
• Rental and investment income — income beyond salary that is reported on the May return carries the same 10% local surtax on the resulting national tax.

The separate administration is the main trap: because the local portion is filed through a different portal from the national tax, people who file their own returns sometimes pay the national tax and miss the local one.

Filing through Wetax

Local income tax is filed through Wetax (위택스), the local government tax portal, rather than through Hometax. For the May comprehensive income tax return, Hometax offers a data-transfer link that carries your figures into the Wetax filing — accepting that option avoids re-entering numbers.

Practical steps for someone with assessable income:

1. Prepare your comprehensive income tax figures on Hometax first, as usual.
2. Use the Wetax link (or the district office portal) to file the local income tax on the same income.
3. Keep the withholding tax receipts from every employer — they are what your year-end settlement and any May return are built on.
4. If you are not sure whether local tax was withheld, check your payslip for a 지방소득세 line — it should appear alongside the national income tax.

The deadlines for the local portion follow the same season as the national filing (the May filing window for the previous calendar year). Because dates can shift with weekends and published extensions, confirm the current deadline on the official portal in the filing year.

How it fits with the rest of your Korean tax

Local income tax is one layer in a stack that also includes social insurance contributions. Comparing tax rates alone understates what comes out of a Korean salary, because national pension, health insurance and employment insurance are deducted alongside tax.

Two points worth keeping straight:

• The 19% flat rate includes local tax as a separate layer. Foreign employees who elect the flat rate on employment income pay 19% national plus the local surtax on it — the effective combined figure is therefore higher than 19%.
• Residency determines the scope. Residents are taxed on worldwide income, non-residents on Korean-source income only. Local income tax follows the same base, so residency status shapes both.

For the wider picture, see Korean income tax rates and resident versus non-resident tax treatment. This article focuses on the local layer that those guides mention only in passing.

Note — local income tax rules, the 10% rate and filing deadlines are set by tax law and local ordinances and are revised periodically. This article is general information as of August 2026 and is not tax advice — check the current rules on Wetax or the National Tax Service, or consult a qualified tax professional.