Lim Kwang-hyun: "We Will Proactively Guide Married Couples Co-Owning Single Homes on the Most Advantageous Comprehensive Real Estate Holding Tax"

▲ National Tax Service Commissioner Lim Kwang-hyun's X (formerly Twitter)

The National Tax Service (NTS) is launching a customized service that pre-calculates and informs taxpayers of the most advantageous tax amount regarding the "Comprehensive Real Estate Holding Tax special taxation system for married couples co-owning a single home," which previously varied in benefits depending on individual taxpayer circumstances.

National Tax Service Commissioner Lim Kwang-hyun posted on X (formerly Twitter) on the 13th, stating, "Starting this year, for the first time, the NTS will pre-calculate and notify married couples co-owning a single home of the most advantageous Comprehensive Real Estate Holding Tax." He added, "We will also track down and refund the excessive Comprehensive Real Estate Holding Tax that married couples co-owning a single home paid in the past because they were unaware of it."

Commissioner Lim announced, "Upon analyzing this time, we found approximately 5,700 co-owning couples who would benefit from applying for the special provision, and about 2,900 taxpayers among existing special provision applicants for whom canceling the provision would be more advantageous," adding, "We will pre-screen them and individually guide them on this year's most advantageous estimated tax amount via mobile or mail."

He continued, "If you apply for the special provision or cancellation between the 16th and 30th of this month referring to the guided advantageous estimated tax amount, the most advantageously calculated tax amount will be automatically noticed during the regular assessment in November," and noted, "Even if you cannot decide this time, we will help you file in the most advantageous direction anytime during the regular Comprehensive Real Estate Holding Tax filing period in December."

The NTS plans to take refund procedures soon by analyzing past applicants of the special provision and identifying taxpayers who paid more Comprehensive Real Estate Holding Taxes to provide individual guidance.

Originally, the Comprehensive Real Estate Holding Tax followed a "household-based aggregate taxation" method, which was changed to "individual-based taxation" following a Constitutional Court ruling in 2008.

Accordingly, when a married couple jointly owned a single home, an unreasonable situation could occur where they paid more Comprehensive Real Estate Holding Tax compared to a single-home owner with sole ownership. Consequently, the "special provision system for married couples co-owning a single home" began implementation in 2021.

When applying for the special provision, 1.2 billion won can be deducted from the home value (publicly announced price), and taxes can be reduced depending on age and holding period.

However, applying for the special provision is not always advantageous.

After the introduction of the special provision, the basic deduction amount was raised from 600 million won to 900 million won, making it potentially more advantageous not to apply for the special provision and instead receive a basic deduction of up to 1.8 billion won combined for the couple, with 900 million won each as a household with two homes.

Commissioner Lim pointed out, "Taxpayers busy with making a living and unfamiliar with tax laws had to log into Hometax themselves to run mock calculations and make their own judgments on whether to apply or cancel," adding, "It was difficult to verify whether the calculation results were correct, and especially elderly taxpayers found it difficult just to access Hometax."

Through a partial amendment to the Comprehensive Real Estate Holding Tax Act that he proposed in October 2024 when he was a member of the National Assembly, Commissioner Lim attempted to establish a system where the NTS commissioner notifies the special tax amount in advance by October 31 of that year, but it failed to pass the National Assembly threshold.

Upon taking office as the NTS commissioner, he achieved system improvement about two years after the proposal.

Commissioner Lim stated, "In line with the government's active administration stance, the NTS will expand customized guidance in areas where taxpayers find it difficult to judge on their own, thereby reducing taxpayer inconvenience and ensuring they do not miss out on benefits."

(Photo: Capture from National Tax Service Commissioner Lim Kwang-hyun's X, Yonhap News)

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