Korea Salary Calculator

Methodology

Last verified: 2026-08-04

Salary assumptions

Annual salary is assumed to be paid in 12 equal monthly installments, excluding severance pay and irregular bonuses. Monthly salary is used directly as the monthly gross figure. Switching between annual and monthly modes uses exact division/multiplication by 12, so repeated switching does not drift.

Monthly versus annual calculation

The annual result independently calculates each of the 12 months of 2026 and sums them, applying whichever National Pension floor/ceiling is in effect for that specific month, rather than multiplying one month's result by 12.

Date-effective rates

All rates and thresholds are stored with effective-date metadata (shared/statutory-rates.js), kept separate from the calculation logic.

National Pension floors and ceilings

PeriodFloorCeiling
2026-01-01 to 2026-06-30KRW 400,000KRW 6,370,000
2026-07-01 to 2026-12-31KRW 410,000KRW 6,590,000

Standard monthly income is (monthly salary − non-taxable pay) truncated to the nearest KRW 1,000, then clamped to the applicable floor/ceiling above. The employee rate is 4.75%, rounded to the nearest won.

Health and long-term-care relationship

Employee health premium = contribution base × 3.595%, truncated to the won. Long-term-care premium is not a direct 0.9448% deduction from salary - it is health premium × (0.9448% ÷ 7.19%), truncated to the won, because the long-term-care rate is published relative to the health-insurance premium, not to income directly.

Income-tax table lookup

Income tax uses the actual values from the National Tax Service simplified withholding table (Income Tax Act Enforcement Decree, Annex 2, amended 2026-02-27), looked up by monthly taxable salary band and family count (1-11). Family counts above 11 use Annex 2's official extrapolation rule; monthly taxable salary above KRW 10,000,000 uses Annex 2's high-income formula.

Family-count assumptions and child adjustment

The calculator's "Dependent family members (including yourself)" input is officially termed the deduction-eligible family member count under Korean tax law, and is used to look up the amount in the simplified withholding table. Both the employee and a spouse each count as one person toward this total. General inclusion criteria:

A family member generally must have annual income of KRW 1 million or less (or total annual salary of KRW 5 million or less if their only income is employment income). Relationship, financial-support, residence, and exception rules may affect eligibility; this input is used only for the monthly withholding estimate and does not determine your final year-end tax settlement.

If there are qualifying children aged 8-20, the table amount is reduced by KRW 20,830 (1 child), KRW 45,830 (2 children), or KRW 45,830 plus KRW 33,330 per child beyond 2 - floored at KRW 0.

Non-taxable pay

Monthly non-taxable pay is the portion of your compensation that your employer's payslip treats as qualifying non-taxable employment income. Some allowances are non-taxable only when statutory requirements are met - not every allowance is automatically exempt. Enter the actual non-taxable amount shown on your payslip; if you are unsure, leave it at KRW 0 and confirm with your payroll administrator. Non-taxable pay reduces the estimated taxable monthly salary used for income tax, but actual social-insurance reporting bases may be handled differently.

Withholding-percentage order of operations

The withholding percentage determines whether your employer withholds 80%, 100%, or 120% of the standard simplified-table amount each month. 80% means less tax withheld and potentially higher current take-home pay; 120% means more withheld and potentially lower current take-home pay. 100% is the default when no other election is made. Tax is computed as (1) look up the table amount, (2) subtract the child adjustment (floored at 0), (3) apply the 80%/100%/120% withholding percentage. This choice only affects the amount prepaid through payroll each month - the final tax is determined through year-end settlement.

Rounding methodology

This build does not apply a separate Health Insurance remuneration-base floor/ceiling, because an official figure could not be independently confirmed during development. This is listed as a pre-launch verification item.

Social-insurance toggles

National Pension, Health Insurance, Long-Term Care Insurance, and Employment Insurance can each be included or excluded individually. Disabling Health Insurance automatically disables Long-Term Care Insurance, since the latter is derived from the health premium.

Foreign-employee limitations

Foreign-employee National Pension and Employment Insurance eligibility can depend on nationality, residence status, reciprocity, and social-security agreements; this calculator does not infer eligibility from nationality alone. It does not implement the 19% flat-tax election, treaty exemptions, foreign-engineer reductions, foreign-teacher exemptions, or nonresident-specific treatment.

Withholding versus final annual tax

This result is a monthly withholding estimate. The actual annual tax liability is finalized the following January-February through year-end settlement (연말정산), which reflects deductions, tax credits, bonuses, job changes, and employer reporting.

Official sources