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Salaried foreign workers should file year-end tax settlement

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By Lee Kyung-min

Salaried foreign workers should file a year-end tax settlement before they receive February's salary, the tax agency said Thursday.

The National Tax Service (NTS) said foreigners earning a regular income in Korea should fill out the necessary forms and submit them to their employers between Jan.20 and Feb. 29.

The employers will then deliver the collected forms to the NTS by March 10.

The year-end process is a requirement whereby the tax authorities will settle whether workers should pay more or be reimbursed for income taxes paid over the past year.

This follows a review of annual income statements for the past year including dues paid to the government such as state-run healthcare premiums and national pension premiums.

If the final amount settled is greater than the amount paid, workers should pay the difference. If it is the other way around, the government will refund workers the difference.

Foreign workers can choose whether to use the same calculation method Koreans do, or apply a flat 19 percent rate.

For foreigners recognized as having an engineering specialty, up to 50 percent will be deductible for income earned over the past five years.

This will be applicable to those who began working in Korea after Jan. 1, 2019. The deductible will be only up to 20 percent for those who did before Dec. 31, 2018.

Income earned via teaching and research activities for a period of two years will be exempt for foreigners from countries with which Korea has signed a related tax treaty.

In-person consultations will be given in English.

More detailed information will be available at www.nts.go.kr including an easy guide and automatic calculation programs.

The services are also available in Chinese and Vietnamese. The two accounted for over a combined 44 percent of foreigners who filed tax settlements in 2018.

In 2018, 573,000 foreigners reported a combined 783.6 billion won in 2018, while 558,000 showed a combined 770.7 billion won in 2017.


Lee Kyung-min lkm@koreatimes.co.kr


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