A man passes by the National Tax Service (NTS) building in Sejong City in this undated file photo. Newsis

Foreign workers should complete the year-end tax settlement for their wage and salary income for 2024 by the end of February, the National Tax Service (NTS) said Monday.

This requirement applies to all foreign workers, excluding daily workers, irrespective of nationality or length of stay. Around 610,000 foreign workers are subject to this rule, according to the tax agency.

Based on the year-end settlement outcome, the final tax amount will be compared with the amount withheld monthly by the employer. If the amount withheld exceeds the final tax amount, the taxpayer will receive a refund for the difference, while an insufficient amount withheld will require the taxpayer to pay the difference.

Basically, the year-end tax settlement timeline, deduction items and tax calculation methods are the same for foreign workers and Korean nationals, according to the tax agency. They are, however, ineligible for an income deduction for deposits made to home-purchase savings accounts.

Taxpayers seeking to take advantage of special taxation systems exclusive to foreigners, such as the 19 percent flat income tax rate or income tax reduction for foreign engineers, are advised to thoroughly examine the eligibility criteria.

Foreign workers can also simplify document submission for their year-end tax settlement by using a "one-stop service." To do so, they must log in to Hometax, a website run by the NTS, and complete the process to confirm their consent to information provision by Jan. 15.

"The taxpayer only has to give consent to information sharing, and the NTS will send all the data needed for simplified tax settlement directly to the taxpayer's employer," the tax agency said.

The NTS also provides a range of guidance services to assist foreign workers who may face challenges due to limited Korean language proficiency or unfamiliarity with the local tax system. They include the Easy Guide, offered in English, and foreign language manuals in English, Chinese and Vietnamese, all available on the English website of the NTS. Additionally, the NTS YouTube channel features instructional videos in English. For personalized assistance, the NTS operates a dedicated helpline for foreign taxpayers at 1588-0560, offered in English.

This year, the NTS also prepared an information leaflet outlining key details of the special taxation system exclusive to foreign workers.

The tax agency stressed that foreign workers are strongly advised to consult the provided guidance and ensure compliance when filing their taxes since improperly claiming deductions may result in penalties.