Korea Salary Calculator

For foreign employees working in South Korea

Korea Salary & Take-Home Pay Calculator

Estimate your monthly take-home pay in South Korea, including income-tax withholding and employee social-insurance deductions.

Designed for foreign employees, expats, English teachers, researchers, engineers, and international workers reviewing a Korean salary or job offer.

Calculator

For foreign employees: Foreign employees are not always enrolled in every Korean social-insurance program. National Pension and Employment Insurance treatment may vary depending on nationality, residence status, reciprocity rules, or a social-security agreement. Check your employment contract, payroll administrator, or the relevant Korean agency if you are unsure. This calculator uses the standard Korean simplified monthly income-tax withholding method. It does not currently calculate treaty exemptions, foreign-engineer tax reductions, teacher exemptions, nonresident-specific treatment, or the optional 19% flat-tax election for eligible foreign employees.

Required inputs

Salary entry mode

Enter annual gross salary excluding severance and irregular bonuses. The calculator assumes 12 equal monthly salary payments.

National Pension floor/ceiling changes on July 1, so the selected month affects the result.

Optional inputs

Used as the deduction-eligible family-member count for monthly withholding.

Used for monthly withholding estimates, not a complete year-end tax-return analysis.

Enter only the monthly amount your employer treats as qualifying non-taxable employment income.

Withholding percentage

Choose whether your employer withholds 80%, 100%, or 120% of the standard simplified-table amount. The default is 100%.

Social-insurance inclusion

Foreign-employee participation may depend on nationality, residence status, reciprocity, and social-security agreements. Do not infer eligibility from nationality alone - check with your employer or the National Pension Service.

Automatically disabled when Health Insurance is disabled.

Coverage can vary according to residence status and other eligibility rules; not inferred from nationality or visa type.

How to read your result

This calculator estimates the employee-side deductions withheld from your paycheck each month: National Pension, Health Insurance, Long-Term Care Insurance, Employment Insurance, income-tax withholding, and local income tax. "Estimated monthly take-home pay" is gross salary minus these deductions. Actual payroll may differ based on your employer's specific reporting.

Korean payroll deductions explained

National Pension (국민연금)
A public pension contribution, 4.75% of your standard monthly income (subject to a floor and ceiling that change every July).
National Health Insurance (건강보험)
Public health coverage, 3.595% of your monthly remuneration.
Long-Term Care Insurance (장기요양보험)
Funds elder and long-term care services; calculated as a percentage of your health-insurance premium, not a direct percentage of salary.
Employment Insurance (고용보험)
Funds unemployment benefits, 0.9% of your eligible remuneration.
Wage-income tax withholding (근로소득세)
Monthly income-tax withholding under the National Tax Service's simplified withholding table.
Local income tax (지방소득세)
10% of your national income-tax withholding.
Non-taxable compensation (비과세)
Employer-designated pay items excluded from taxable income (for example, certain meal allowances) - only include amounts your employer actually treats this way.
Year-end tax settlement (연말정산)
An annual reconciliation process each following January-February that finalizes your actual income tax for the year.
Severance pay (퇴직금)
A separate lump-sum payment on leaving a job, not modeled by this calculator.
Deduction-eligible family members
Dependents (including yourself) counted for the simplified withholding table's family-count column.

How to read a Korean salary offer

Korean job offers are usually quoted as annual gross salary (연봉), before any deductions. Ask whether the figure includes severance pay (퇴직금) - many Korean employers quote salary excluding severance, which is paid separately, and whether irregular bonuses are included.

Annual salary, severance, and bonuses

This calculator assumes your entered annual salary excludes severance pay and irregular bonuses, divided into 12 equal monthly payments. It does not model a separate bonus-payment month or severance calculation.

Non-taxable monthly compensation

Enter only the monthly amount your employer treats as qualifying non-taxable employment income. The default is KRW 0 - this calculator does not assume a meal allowance or any other non-taxable amount automatically.

Standard withholding versus year-end settlement

This is an estimate of monthly payroll withholding using Korea's simplified wage-income tax table. Your final tax may differ after year-end settlement due to deductions, tax credits, bonuses, job changes, employer reporting, or individual circumstances. See the methodology page for details.

Foreign-employee tax exceptions not included

This calculator does not implement the 19% flat-tax election for eligible foreign employees, tax treaty exemptions, foreign-engineer tax reductions, foreign-teacher exemptions, or nonresident-specific treatment. It estimates ordinary standard monthly withholding only.

Worked example

Example: monthly salary KRW 3,510,000, 1 deduction-eligible family member, no qualifying children, March payroll, 100% withholding, all social insurance included - National Pension KRW 166,725, Health Insurance KRW 126,184, Long-Term Care KRW 16,581, Employment Insurance KRW 31,590, income tax KRW 127,220, local income tax KRW 12,720. Estimated monthly take-home pay is about KRW 3,028,980.

FAQ

Does this calculator support the 19% flat tax for foreign employees?

Not yet. The calculator estimates standard monthly withholding using the National Tax Service simplified withholding table. Some eligible foreign employees may elect separate 19% flat-tax treatment, subject to legal requirements. Confirm eligibility and payroll treatment with your employer or a qualified tax professional.

Do all foreign employees pay Korean National Pension?

Not necessarily. Participation can depend on nationality, visa/residence status, and whether Korea has a social-security agreement with your home country. Some foreign employees are exempt or excluded; others are required to participate the same as Korean employees. This calculator cannot determine your specific eligibility - check with your employer or the National Pension Service.

Does this calculate my final year-end tax?

No. It estimates monthly payroll withholding only, not the full year-end settlement (연말정산) or a tax return.

Official sources

Last verified

All rates and the withholding table were last verified on 2026-08-04.

Disclaimer

This site is an informational estimator. It is not an official government calculator, and it is not tax, accounting, immigration, pension, employment, or legal advice. Results may differ from actual payroll because of employer reporting, bonuses, statutory bases, eligibility, exemptions, rounding, retroactive adjustments, or individual circumstances. Confirm important decisions with your employer, payroll department, the relevant government agency, or a qualified professional.