How do I file income tax in Korea as a foreign worker?

Foreign workers in Korea file income tax with the National Tax Service (NTS) under the same brackets as Koreans, ranging from 6 percent on income up to 14 million won to 45 percent on income above 1 billion won. There's also a local income tax of 10 percent of your national tax bill. The tax year is January 1 to December 31, and most employees go through year-end settlement (연말정산) in February through their employer, which handles 90 percent of the work for you.

The key foreigner-specific options to know about are the 19 percent flat tax rate, which can be elected for the first 5 years if you're not a permanent resident and find it more favorable than the progressive brackets, and the foreign engineer or researcher tax exemption (50 percent for 10 years) for those qualifying. If you have side income, freelance work, or rental income, you must file May 1 to 31 at Hometax (hometax.go.kr), which has English support. The NTS English helpline is 1588-0560, and they offer free in-person filing help at the Yongsan Foreign Taxpayer Service Center. Keep all medical receipts, donation slips, education expenses, and credit card statements for deductions, since these can reduce your taxable income significantly.