Korea Year-End Tax Preview: How Foreign Workers Can Use Hometax

Who this guide is for

• Foreign employees preparing a Korean payroll year-end settlement
• Workers who changed jobs or expect a year-end bonus
• HR staff helping foreign employees check forecast inputs

Key points

• The announced 2026 preview period is October 28 to December 18.
• Use annual taxable pay and withholding figures, rather than take-home pay.
• Separate confirmed records from estimates and retain both.
• A preview estimate does not establish eligibility for a deduction or complete a filing.
• Foreign-worker flat-tax treatment requires a separate comparison.

Detailed explanation

What is the year-end tax preview?

The Hometax service called 연말정산 미리보기 is a planning tool for salary year-end settlement. It helps you estimate the difference between annual tax and payroll withholding. A result can mean either a refund or an additional payment.

For the wider employer process, start with year-end settlement for foreign workers. This guide focuses on preparing inputs and checking a forecast.

When does the 2026 service open?

The announced period is October 28 to December 18, 2026. This is the window stated in the NTS announcement published October 23. At our October 24 review, opening is still ahead. Prepare your records now and check the live service notice when you log in.

The preview window is separate from your employer’s final submission deadline.

Where do I find the service?

The announced route is:

Hometax → 장려금·연말정산·기부금 → 편리한 연말정산 → 연말정산 미리보기

Use the Korean service name to identify it if menus change. For access problems, see Hometax login help.

Once available, the announced workflow is to revise annual salary and paid tax, check January–September card data and forecast October–December spending, update deductions, then review the estimate. The same official announcement distinguishes this forecast from a fixed refund.

Prepare a worksheet before entering numbers

Keep source documents beside a worksheet. Mark each entry as actual, forecast or unresolved. This makes later changes easier to explain to payroll.

For example, suppose payroll confirms KRW 30 million of taxable salary to date and expects another KRW 10 million. Your salary forecast is KRW 40 million, subject to any further payroll adjustments. This is an input example, not a calculation of the tax or refund on that salary.

If a bonus is uncertain, save two versions: one excluding it and one including payroll’s estimate. Label both assumptions. Do not count the same previous-employer amount twice. Use the job-change checklist to prepare that reconciliation.

Check foreign-worker rules before trusting deductions

A populated field does not prove that you qualify for the deduction. The NTS’s foreign-worker guidance issued in January 2026, covering the 2025 income year, distinguishes resident and non-resident treatment and lists deduction restrictions. Use it as background, then confirm the rules for your current-year claim.

Ask payroll these questions:

• Which residence classification is being used?
• Which claims need additional evidence?
• Are previous-employer figures included correctly?
• Is a treaty exemption or special election relevant to these wages?

For the foreign-worker flat-tax option, official legal guidance states that eligible workers electing the special treatment cannot also use the ordinary exemptions, deductions and credits covered by that restriction. An ordinary deduction-based forecast therefore needs a separate comparison with the eligible special treatment.

Do not switch tax methods solely because one screen shows a larger refund. Compare final liabilities using consistent compensation figures and confirm eligibility. See the foreign-worker flat-tax guide.

How do I read an estimated refund or additional payment?

First identify the tax column and the screen’s sign convention. The NTS English calculator explanation describes final tax minus prepaid tax: a positive difference is payable and a negative difference is refundable. Its page is labelled for an older calculation year, so use this explanation for the arithmetic only; select an applicable-year service for actual estimates.

A simple illustration, using assumed national income tax figures:

These are arithmetic examples, not statutory tax calculations. Keep local income tax separate. A withholding figure covering only part of the year should not be presented as a fully projected annual amount.

The NTS calculator also explains that inaccurate income or deduction inputs produce an inaccurate result. Before saving a forecast, review what period the withholding field covers and what assumptions remain.

What if the result looks wrong?

Work backwards through the worksheet:

1. Confirm the selected income year.
2. Match salary entries to payroll’s taxable-pay figures.
3. Check for omitted or duplicated employment income.
4. Match withholding to its tax category and period.
5. Remove unsupported deductions and rerun.
6. Save the revised result with the date and changed assumptions.

Ask the relevant provider about missing records and keep the underlying evidence. Bring unresolved differences to payroll with the worksheet rather than only a refund screenshot. Our year-end document checklist helps organize the supporting file.

What should I do after the preview?

Keep a short action list: obtain a missing receipt, confirm a bonus, resolve a deduction question or request the former employer’s tax receipt. Revisit your estimate when those facts change.

Continue your employer’s actual settlement process. Freelance or other income may also require separate filing review; see filing with side income.

The useful outcome is a documented forecast and fewer unresolved questions when final settlement begins.

Documents you may need

• Current-year payslips with national and local income tax shown separately
• Expected remaining salary and bonus figures confirmed with payroll
• Previous-employer withholding receipt if applicable
• Prior-year settlement record, used only as a comparison
• Current-year receipts and evidence for deductions you intend to claim
• A dated worksheet showing actual and forecast amounts

Common mistakes

• Treating the preview opening date as the employer's final submission deadline
• Leaving last year's salary or dependants unchanged after importing data
• Entering take-home pay as annual taxable salary
• Mixing national income tax with local income tax or social insurance
• Treating all spending as eligible for deductions
• Assuming the regular deduction-based result also applies to a foreign-worker flat-tax election
• Counting both a reported amount and the same receipt again

When should you ask a tax professional?

Ask a qualified tax professional if you have income from several countries, business income, unclear tax residency, treaty questions, missing documents, late filing concerns, or a visa situation that depends on tax records. This site explains general patterns only and cannot review your personal facts.

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