[Contribution] National Tax Service efforts to assist foreign workers with year-end tax settlement
Posted : 2021-02-05 09:13 Mun Hee-chul By Mun Hee-chul
Last year, BTS, the Korean boy band group, brought a K-pop phenomenon to the world as the group ranked top on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 Chart. In recent years, hallyu, the Korean Wave initiated by K-drama and K-Pop, has boosted interests and attraction toward Korea, bringing more and more foreign tourists and foreign workers here.
Statistics published by the Ministry of Justice show that 17.8 million foreigners visited Korea in 2019 and the number of those staying topped 2.5 million. Although this latter number includes temporary sojourners for travel or language study, those who stay seeking jobs in language tutoring or the service industries amounted to around 560,000. Some 460,000 are staying with their families.
Mortgage loans, monthly rent will be deducted for 2021 settlement
By Lee Kyung-min
Salaried foreign workers should file a year-end tax settlement for the past 11 months plus their upcoming February salary, the tax agency said Monday.
Greater tax incentives will be available to them as a revised law will recognize mortgages and monthly rent payments as deductibles. The law that took effect Jan. 1 removed a clause under which only Koreans were eligible to seek the benefit. But this will be applicable for year-end tax settlements for next year, not this year.
The National Tax Service (NTS) said foreigners earning a regular income in Korea should fill out the necessary forms and submit them to their employers between Jan.15 and Feb. 28. Their employers will then deliver the collected forms to the NTS by March 10.