Crypto Tax
Crypto income tax · Virtual asset tax · Coin tax · Bitcoin tax in Korea
Korea's planned tax on crypto gains: due from January 1, 2027 under current law, but a fourth delay was being debated in early November 2026.
Simple explanation
Background: Korea has never taxed individuals' crypto trading gains: the tax was written into law in 2020 but has been postponed three times. Koreans call it 가상자산 과세 ("virtual asset taxation") or simply 코인 과세.
The tax was set by an amendment to the Income Tax Act in December 2020. Income from transferring crypto (selling it or swapping it for another coin) or lending it is treated as "other income". Take a year's income, subtract the acquisition cost and other expenses such as fees, then apply 20% income tax to anything above a basic deduction of ₩2,500,000 (about $1,800). With 2% local income tax on top that is 22%, and it is taxed separately from wages and other income.
The start has slipped again and again. It was first due in 2022, then moved to 2023, 2025 and 2027. Under current law it applies to transfers and lending from January 1, 2027, and 2027 income is first filed and paid in May 2028. The government's August 2026 tax reform plan included no further delay, but in October the presidential office said a new postponement was under review. Ruling-party lawmakers proposed starting the tax two years after Korea first exchanges cross-border crypto data (2029 if the first exchange happens in 2027), and opposition lawmakers filed bills pushing it to 2029 or 2030. A government-party meeting on October 28 and a meeting with the industry on October 30 reached no conclusion, and the ruling party says it will decide by the end of November at the latest. So this entry describes the law as it stands in early November 2026; whether and when the tax starts has to be checked against the National Assembly's decision and the notices of the National Tax Service and the Ministry of Economy and Finance.
Acquisition cost has a special rule. For coins held since before January 1, 2027, the cost is the higher of what you actually paid and the market price on December 31, 2026, so gains made before the tax begins are not taxed. For coins bought later, trades through registered Korean exchanges are reported to use a moving average (the average cost is recalculated with each purchase), while trades outside them, such as person-to-person deals, overseas exchanges and personal wallets, use first-in, first-out. Gains and losses on different coins are netted within the same year, but current law does not let a year's net loss be carried forward to later years, a point the industry wants changed.
Which trades count matters too. Not only selling for won but also swapping bitcoin for ether or for Tether is treated as a realized gain, and dollar-pegged coins such as Tether are reportedly valued in won at the exchange rate. Unrealized gains on coins you simply hold are not taxed. Detailed rules for cases where cost is hard to pin down, such as mining, staking and airdrops, are still being worked out, and an NTS notice with detailed rules, due to be finalized at the end of October, was reportedly put off until the postponement debate ends.
Korean exchanges are required to submit each user's transaction records to the NTS as tax data. Trades on overseas exchanges or in personal wallets are not reported automatically, so you may have to prove when and at what price you bought and how the coins moved. Korea plans to collect 2026 transaction data and start exchanging it with other countries in 2027 under the OECD's Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework (CARF), while Singapore and Hong Kong are due to join in 2028 and the United States in 2029; this gap, and the unfairness it creates between Korean and overseas exchanges, is a main argument for delay. Separately from the tax, Korean residents whose overseas account balances top ₩500 million (about $357,000) at any month-end must report those accounts the following June.
It touches kimchi premium arbitrage as well. Arbitrage profits can be taxable income, and when coins bought on an overseas exchange are sold on a Korean one, the Korean exchange has no record of the purchase price, so you may need to prove it separately. Each swap along the way, such as buying Tether, sending it abroad, buying coins with it and bringing them back, could be counted as a taxable trade. Exact figures depend on the final law and the NTS's rules.
Whether or not the tax starts on time, downloading your transaction history from each exchange regularly and keeping records of when and why coins moved between exchanges and wallets will help if you ever need to prove your costs. This is general information, not tax advice. It reflects early November 2026, and the start date and details may change with the National Assembly's decision, so check NTS and Ministry of Economy and Finance notices and ask a tax professional about your own case.
CoinGaja does not calculate tax. Its Kimchi Premium Calculator takes trading fees, withdrawal fees and slippage off but leaves tax out, so what you actually keep can be less. The Kimchi premium by coin page shows each coin's prices on the four Korean exchanges and abroad, and the Exchange notices page gathers the exchanges' notices.
Example
Coins sold in 2027, totaled for the year: sale proceeds ₩30,000,000 (about $21,400) − cost and fees ₩20,000,000 = income ₩10,000,000 (about $7,100)
Minus the ₩2,500,000 basic deduction → ₩7,500,000 → tax 7,500,000 × 22% = ₩1,650,000 (about $1,180): ₩1,500,000 income tax at 20% + ₩150,000 local income tax
If another coin lost ₩3,000,000 the same year → 10,000,000 − 3,000,000 = ₩7,000,000 → (7,000,000 − 2,500,000) × 22% = ₩990,000 (about $710)
A coin bought in 2026 for ₩5,000,000, worth ₩8,000,000 on December 31, 2026 and sold in 2027 for ₩9,000,000 → cost is the higher figure, ₩8,000,000 → income ₩1,000,000
A coin bought on an overseas exchange for ₩10,000,000 and sold on a Korean exchange for ₩15,000,000 → the Korean exchange has no purchase record, so you may have to prove the ₩10,000,000 cost yourself
If the whole year ends in a net loss → current law has no rule carrying that loss forward to the next year
※ Example numbers, for illustration only
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