Will Korea Start Taxing Crypto in 2027? The 2.5M Won Deduction, 22% Rate and Delay Bills Explained (October 2026)

This is an informational summary of published law and press reports, not investment advice. Please consult a tax professional about your own situation.

January 1, 2027 is less than three months away. Korea's crypto tax, legislated in late 2020 and postponed three times since, became one of the main issues of the 2026 parliamentary audit. This story separates what the current law says from what the National Assembly, the government and the National Tax Service (NTS) have said as of October 2026, naming the outlet behind each point.

The current crypto tax at a glance

The core rules below appear in both Business Post (Oct 13, 2026) and Asia Focus (Oct 11, 2026).

How the 2.5M won deduction and 22% rate work

Net gains for the year across all coins, minus 2.5 million won, multiplied by 22%. The simple examples below ignore deductible costs such as trading fees.

Finance Minister Lee Hyoung-il told the National Assembly that 85% of investors hold less than 5 million won in virtual assets, so most would fall below the threshold or pay little, The Korea Times (Sep 29, 2026) reported.

Deemed cost basis: the end-2026 price can count

For coins held before the tax starts, the acquisition cost is the higher of the actual purchase price and the December 31, 2026 market price (Asia Focus, Maeil Business English (Sep 23, 2026)). A coin bought for 10 million won and worth 15 million won at the end of 2026 would carry a 15 million won cost basis, so the pre-2027 rise is not taxed.

Three delays so far

The tax was first due in 2022, then pushed to 2023 and 2025, and to 2027 by the 2024 tax law revision (Maeil Business English).

Delay and repeal bills in the National Assembly

The ruling party is split too

Delay is not only an opposition idea. Rep. Min Byung-duk, a senior policy official of the ruling Democratic Party, said taxation should wait until the Digital Asset Basic Act passes, and fellow DP lawmaker Park Min-gyu agreed (The Korea Times, Maeil Business English). DP lawmaker Oh Ki-hyoung, by contrast, said at the audit that if the conditions for the earlier delays have been met, implementing on schedule is what the Assembly intended (Asia Focus).

A National Assembly petition calling for a two-year delay passed 50,000 signatures on September 14, 2026, qualifying for committee review (Asia Focus). A Tiger Research and Chainalysis survey of 2,423 Korean investors found 73.7% opposed the plan, according to The Korea Times.

What the government and the NTS are preparing

Finance ministry: from "as scheduled" to "listening"

According to Asia Focus, Minister Lee said on September 28 that under current law the tax is already scheduled for next year, but at the October 6 audit he said the ministry would "broadly gather views" from lawmakers, experts and industry. The government has not formally announced a delay, and the NTS is preparing for the scheduled start, Business Post reported.

NTS: a November notice, a December analysis system

Tax Times (Oct 14, 2026) reported that NTS Commissioner Lim Kwang-hyun said on October 13 that the agency is ready to issue its crypto tax notice "around November". Its preparations, per the same report:

• A virtual asset tax management system, built in January 2022, collecting trade data submitted by exchanges
• A new Digital Asset division, created in July 2026
• An integrated analysis system to detect tax evasion, due by December 2026
• Plans to verify filings with overseas financial account reports and CARF (Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework) exchange data

Rules for staking, mining, airdrops and DeFi are expected in that notice, but the details have not been published (Asia Focus).

Three open issues

1. Overseas exchanges and self-custody wallets

Korean exchanges must report trades to the tax authority; overseas exchanges do not. Under the OECD's CARF, Korea, the UK and Japan begin automatic exchange in 2027, while Singapore and Switzerland start in 2028 and the United States in 2029 (Business Post). Delay advocates argue the gap leaves domestic exchange users at a disadvantage.

2. Exchange readiness

Data released by Rep. Park Soo-young at the audit showed that as of September, Upbit was preparing to build its tax system, Bithumb had not started development, and Coinone had put it on hold until the tax law is final (Business Post).

3. Loss carry-forward and rules by transaction type

With no carry-forward, a big loss in one year does not reduce tax on next year's gains (The Korea Times). How to classify staking rewards is also still undecided.

What to check now

These follow directly from the published rules; they are not advice on what to buy or sell.

• Keep records: if you move coins across exchanges and wallets, you may need to prove your cost basis. Downloading trade histories from each exchange helps.
• December 31, 2026 price: the date that may set the cost basis of existing holdings. It would change if the law is amended (Kim Jae-sup's bill uses December 31, 2029).
• The November NTS notice and the December tax law review: actual rules and whether the tax starts are decided there. KangLab will update this story when results come in.

Bottom line

Under current law, Korea's crypto tax starts on January 1, 2027, taxing annual net gains above 2.5 million won at 22%, with the first filing in May 2028. But delay bills to 2029 or 2030 and a repeal bill are pending, and part of the ruling party backs a delay, so the final answer comes from the year-end tax law review. Until then, the practical baseline is that the tax starts automatically unless the law changes.

Not investment advice. Based on reports published up to October 15, 2026; details may change with tax law amendments or NTS guidance.