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Korea Salary After-Tax Calculator

Your contract says one number. Your bank gets another. Find out what actually lands.

Work out your take-home pay

Enter what your contract says and see what reaches your account each month.

Salary period
Your pay

won

won

You, your spouse, and anyone else you support.

Counted from the dependents above. They lower your income tax.

Flat tax rate for foreign workers

Article 18-2 of the Restriction of Special Taxation Act. Open to foreign workers who apply for it.

Where does your pay sit against the national average wage?See more wage statistics on GData
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How it's worked out (2026 rates)

Take-home payTake-home=Gross salary−Four insurances−Income tax
DeductionYour shareNotes
National Pension4.75%Monthly income base capped at 6,590,000 won, floored at 410,000 won
National Health Insurance3.595%
Long-term care insurance13.14%Charged on your health premium, not your pay
Employment insurance0.9%
Industrial accident insurance-Your employer pays all of it
Local income tax10% of your income tax

The four major public insurances are charged on your taxable pay, which is your salary minus any non-taxable allowance. (2026 rates)

National Pension and employment insurance ratesHealth and long-term care insurance ratesNTS withholding tax table

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Reading the four lines on your payslip

Line on your payslipWhat it isWho pays
National PensionKorea's state pension. You may be able to claim it back when you leave.You and your employer, half each
National Health InsuranceCovers hospitals, clinics and pharmacies nationwide.You and your employer, half each
Long-term care insuranceNursing care for older people. Charged on your health premium, not on your pay.You and your employer, half each
Employment insuranceFunds unemployment benefits and job training.You and your employer, different rates

A fifth insurance, industrial accident cover, never appears on your side of the payslip. Your employer pays all of it.

Two deductions depend on who you are

DeductionWhat decides itWhat to do
National PensionYour nationality. If your home country does not require Korean nationals to join its pension scheme, you may be exempt.Check the country list published by the National Pension Service
Employment insuranceYour visa. Automatic on F-2, F-5, F-6, D-7, D-8 and D-9. On E visas, H-2 and F-4 you are covered only if you apply.Ask your employer whether you were enrolled

Being in the apply-first group is not the same as being shut out. It means nobody enrols you by default.

This calculator charges every deduction, which is the common case. If one of the two above does not apply to you, your take-home pay is higher than the figure here.

The 19% flat tax, and what it costs you

Progressive rates19% flat tax
Rate6% to 45%, rising with income19% on everything, plus local income tax - 20.9% in all
Deductions and tax creditsAll of them applyNone. Dependents and children stop counting
Non-taxable allowanceNot taxedTaxed like the rest of your pay
How you get itAutomaticYou file for it. It then runs for 20 years from your first day of work in Korea

Which one wins depends on your own salary, allowances and dependents, so the calculator above shows both figures side by side whichever you pick. A headline like 'better above 100 million won' ignores all three.

Where the numbers come from

Part of the calculationSource
Four insurance ratesThe rates published each year by the National Pension Service and the National Health Insurance Service
Income tax withheld monthlyThe National Tax Service withholding table, which factors in dependents and children aged 8 to 20
Local income taxA flat 10% of the income tax figure

What you see each month is an advance payment. Korea settles the real amount the following February in the year-end tax settlement, and you get money back or pay a little more.

FAQ ❓

The number on a Korean contract is gross pay. Four social insurances come out of it, then income tax and a local income tax worth 10% of that. Most salaries lose somewhere between 8% and 15%, and the share grows as pay rises.
National Pension, National Health Insurance, long-term care insurance, and employment insurance. Long-term care is the one that confuses people: it is charged on your health insurance premium rather than on your salary, so it is a percentage of a percentage. There is a fifth insurance, industrial accident cover, but your employer pays every won of it.
Usually yes. Anyone aged 18 to 59 working in Korea is enrolled the same way a Korean national is. The exception runs on reciprocity: if your home country does not require Korean nationals to join its own pension scheme, you may be exempt. It depends on your nationality, so check the country list published by the National Pension Service.
No, and this is the one deduction that turns on your visa. It is automatic on F-2, F-5, F-6, D-7, D-8, and D-9. On E visas, H-2, and F-4, you are covered only if you apply for it. Being in the apply-first group does not mean you are shut out, it means the enrolment is not automatic.
It is a choice you have to file for, not something applied automatically, and you keep it for 20 years from your first day of work in Korea. The catch is what you give up: choosing it wipes out every deduction, exemption and tax credit, and even your non-taxable allowance becomes taxable. With the local income tax on top the real rate is 20.9%. Whether it wins depends on your own numbers, not on a headline salary figure.
Sometimes. A lump-sum refund runs through one of three routes: your country grants the same right to Koreans, your country has a social security agreement with Korea, or you hold an E-8, E-9 or H-2 visa. Some agreement countries add your Korean coverage to your home pension instead of refunding it, so do not assume a payout.
No. Everything is worked out in your browser, nothing is sent anywhere, and there is no sign-up.

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