A bill submitted 10 August 2026 by Rep. Jeong Seong-guk and 10 other lawmakers, now referred to committee, would delay the effective date of Korea's virtual-asset income tax by three years. Under current law, income from transferring or lending virtual assets is treated as "other income" and taxed from 1 January 2027 at a 20% rate (22% including local tax); the bill would push that start date to 1 January 2030. This affects anyone who would become a taxpayer on virtual-asset income — including platforms and exchanges serving Korean users who would otherwise need to prepare withholding/reporting systems ahead of the 2027 start.
The stated rationale is that Korea's second-stage digital-asset legislation (covering broader investor-protection and taxation infrastructure) is not yet complete, and that taxing virtual-asset income alone — after the separate financial investment income tax on securities was repealed — raises consistency and equity concerns. The bill proposes amending Article 37(5) and related provisions accordingly.
What this means for you
- No change yet. This is a bill at the committee-referral stage, not enacted law. The current 1 January 2027 start date for the 20%/22% other-income tax on virtual-asset transfers and lending remains in force unless and until this bill (or a similar measure) passes.
- If you had begun building tax-withholding, reporting, or user-notification systems for the 2027 start date, you can continue that work but should track committee progress before assuming the deadline will move — a proposal can stall, be amended, or be merged into other legislation.
- Re-check before year-end 2026. If the bill advances, plan around a revised 1 January 2030 effective date; if it does not advance, the original 2027 date and 20%/22% rate structure stand.
- Watch for the "stage-2" digital asset legislation referenced in the bill's rationale — its progress is likely to move together with this tax-timing question.
Source: (no source link was provided in the input for this alert.)