Korea Part-Time Job Tax for International Students: 3.3% Withholding, Year-End Settlement and How to Get a Refund With May Filing

Taxes come out of a part-time international student's pay first. How much is withheld depends on the type of income. Daily wage work, paid by the day or hour at one workplace for less than three months, is calculated at a 6% rate, while what is commonly called “3.3%” is business income, not employment income. Once employed by one employer for three months or more, tax is withheld every month and a year-end tax settlement follows the next February. Income withheld at 3.3% is subject to the comprehensive income tax return the following May. Income earned in 2026 will be filed from May 1 to 31, 2027.

Based on the Income Tax Act provisions in force in 2026, this article covers how to tell income types apart, examples of daily wage tax calculations, year-end settlement, how to get money back through the May filing, and pre-departure filing deadlines and where to get help. Amounts are given in U.S. dollars first, with Korean won in parentheses (Hana Bank base exchange rate on November 3, 2026: $1 = KRW 1,341.10).

Your part-time income is mostly one of three types

Your pay stub shows the percentage of tax withheld. That rate gives you a good idea of what type of income you have.

Apart from these three, some payments are treated as other income. Other income has a different withholding rate and filing method. If you received something like a one-time honorarium, check with the payer how it was classified.

Tax law has a separate standard for daily workers. A daily worker is someone whose pay is calculated and paid according to the days or hours worked. For general work other than construction or cargo handling, it covers people who have not been continuously employed by the same employer for three months or more (Article 20 of the Enforcement Decree of the Income Tax Act). If you have a contract with the same workplace for three months or more, you are treated as a regular employee, not a daily worker. Actual classification depends on the terms of the contract.

When income tax is withheld, local income tax is withheld with it. An amount equal to 10% of that income tax is withheld along with it as individual local income tax (Article 103-13 of the Local Tax Act). That is why 3% plus 0.3% makes 3.3%.

To get a part-time work permit, international students need a standard employment contract that states the hourly wage. That means approved part-time jobs are, in principle, employment contracts. Special-type employment, such as parcel delivery drivers, delivery agency riders, designated drivers, home-study tutors and door-to-door salespeople, as well as work through dispatch, subcontracting or job placement, are restricted fields. If your pay stub shows 3.3%, ask your employer about the contract terms and how the income was classified.

Daily wage work: no income tax on up to about $112 (KRW 150,000) a day

For daily workers, about $112 (KRW 150,000) is subtracted from the daily wage before tax is calculated (Article 47 of the Income Tax Act). The remaining amount is multiplied by 6%, and 55% of that calculated tax is then deducted (Article 59). If the daily wage is about $112 (KRW 150,000) or less, nothing is left after the deduction, so income tax is zero.

The examples below are calculated using the figures in the law. They may differ from the amount an employer actually withholds.

There is also an exemption for small withholding amounts: if the tax to be withheld is less than about $0.75 (KRW 1,000), it is not withheld (Article 86; some business income is excluded).

Daily wage income is not added to comprehensive income (Article 14). The tax calculation ends with withholding. That is why it is not included in the year-end settlement or the May filing. The rule on submitting deduction claim forms also does not apply to daily workers (Article 140).

Worked at one place for three months or more: monthly withholding, February year-end settlement

Regular employees have income tax withheld from each monthly paycheck according to the simplified withholding tax table. Then, when they receive their February pay the following year, a year-end tax settlement recalculates the full year (Article 134 of the Income Tax Act). If there is no February pay, the last day of February is the reference date. Pay received in 2026 is settled in February 2027. If too much was withheld, you get it back; if too little, you pay more.

If you quit partway through, the settlement is done when you receive your pay for the month you leave. If you plan to quit after the break or before graduation, check the settlement details on your final pay stub.

People whose only income is employment income already settled at year-end do not need to file a final return in May (Article 73). If you received employment income from two or more places, this exemption does not apply in principle (daily wage work is left out of this calculation). However, if your later employer completed a year-end settlement that combined your earlier employer's income and you owe no additional tax, you do not need to file (proviso to paragraph 2 of the same article). If the two places settled separately, you must file the following May.

These provisions apply to “residents” for tax purposes. Check with the help lines below whether you qualify as a resident.

The 19% flat rate for foreign nationals: something part-timers need to weigh

Foreign workers can have a 19% flat rate applied to their employment income (Article 18-2 of the Restriction of Special Taxation Act). But there are conditions.

• It is optional. It does not apply automatically; you must apply for it.
• Daily workers are excluded. It cannot be used for daily wage income.
• There are no deductions at all. If you choose this special provision, you cannot receive tax exemptions, income deductions, tax reductions or tax credits (with exceptions for some tax-free employee benefits).
• There is a cutoff for when you started working. It is for people who first began working in Korea on or before December 31, 2026. It can be used for tax years ending within 20 years of the first day of work. In its 2026 tax law amendment, the government proposed raising the rate under this provision from 19% to 21% (Ministry of Finance and Economy legislative pre-announcement, August 2026). A bill to extend the eligibility deadline by three years is also pending in the National Assembly. All of these must pass the National Assembly to become final.
• It applies only to employment income. It does not apply to business income withheld at 3.3%.

Because 19% is applied to your entire pay, a low-earning part-timer may end up paying more tax than under the standard calculation. Compare the two methods at year-end settlement before choosing.

Withheld 3.3%? Get it back through the May comprehensive income tax return

The 3.3% is tax paid in advance. The tax you actually owe is determined when you file your comprehensive income tax return the following May. Anyone with comprehensive income must file with their local tax office from May 1 to 31 of the following year (Article 70 of the Income Tax Act). If the 3% withheld in advance is more than the actual tax, you get the difference back.

As an example, if you agreed to be paid about $746 (KRW 1,000,000) a month, 3%, or about $22.4 (KRW 30,000), plus about $2.2 (KRW 3,000) in local income tax, for a total of about $24.6 (KRW 33,000), is taken out, and you receive about $721 (KRW 967,000). The tax withheld this way is settled in the May filing.

This year's schedule shows how it works. Filing of comprehensive income tax and local income tax on 2025 income ran from May 1 to June 1, 2026. It was pushed back a day because May 31 fell on a Sunday. The National Tax Service said people who received a pre-filled refund notice and submitted the provided refund return without changes would be paid refunds starting June 5. That is 25 days earlier than the legal deadline (June 30).

Filing takes two steps.

1. File your comprehensive income tax return on Hometax (PC) or Sontax (mobile).
2. Right after filing, move to the Wetax screen and file your local income tax as well.

Starting in 2026, failing to file local income tax separately incurs a penalty for non-filing. You must not stop after filing only the comprehensive income tax return.

Income for 2026 is scheduled to be filed from May 1 to 31, 2027. May 31, 2027, is a Monday. The National Tax Service has not yet announced its 2027 filing schedule.

Missed filing on past income: late filing and requests for correction

If you did not report last year's 3.3% income in May, you can file late. A return can be submitted until the tax office determines and notifies the tax amount (Article 45-3 of the Framework Act on National Taxes).

The National Tax Service has previously sent refund filing notices to 3.3% earners who had not filed. That was in December 2024. It targeted people whose 3.3% withholding exceeded their actual comprehensive income tax but who had not filed. They had to be personal-service earners subject to the simple expense rate, with no income other than personal-service income during the five years from 2019 to 2023. They could look up and file all five years at once.

If someone who filed by the legal deadline or filed late has paid too much tax, they file a request for correction. They can ask their local tax office for a correction within five years after the statutory filing deadline (Article 45-2 of the Framework Act on National Taxes).

Before going home: file by the day before departure

If you are heading home after graduation, your filing deadline may come earlier. When a resident who is required to file a final return leaves the country, they must file that year's income by the day before departure (Article 74(4) of the Income Tax Act). If they leave between January 1 and May 31, they also file the previous year's income by the same deadline (paragraph 5 of the same article). For example, a person with 3.3% income who returns home in March 2027 must file their 2026 income and the 3.3% income earned from January to March 2027 by the day before departure, rather than waiting until May.

For employees, the settlement is done in the month they leave the company. Check that the departure settlement has been done before receiving your final pay.

The National Pension is a different matter. In the National Pension Service's table by status of stay (as of April 1, 2024), student (D-2) and general training (D-4) visa holders are excluded from mandatory coverage.

Taxes and permission to stay are separate procedures. An international student who works without a permit for activities outside their status of stay (part-time work permit) faces up to three years in prison or a fine of up to about $22,400 (KRW 30,000,000), and may be deported. Regardless of whether you paid taxes, get a permit before you start working.

Help lines and checklist

The National Tax Service runs a dedicated English-language help line for foreign workers at 1588-0560. It operates from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., with a break from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. This number was announced for the year-end settlement period, and the agency also provides an English year-end settlement guidebook and year-end settlement guides in English, Chinese and Vietnamese. The National Tax Service call center at 126 takes phone inquiries on weekdays from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. It can also be called from abroad by adding the country code. Hometax also offers online consultation.

• I checked the withholding rate on my pay stub (6% daily wage calculation, simplified withholding tax table, 3.3%).
• If 3.3% was withheld, I asked my employer about the contract terms and how the income was classified.
• If I worked at one place for three months or more, I take care of the February year-end settlement and the settlement in the month I leave.
• If I received employment income from two or more places without a combined settlement, I file in May.
• The 19% flat rate has no deductions, so I compare it with the standard calculation before choosing.
• When filing in May, I also complete the local income tax filing on Wetax.
• If I have income subject to May filing, such as 3.3% income, I file by the day before departure as soon as my return date is set.

Part-time work hours and permit rules are covered in Winter break part-time work: how many hours can international students work, and penalty standards for restricted jobs in Tougher penalties for international students in delivery and adult entertainment jobs. For health insurance premiums, which are paid monthly separately from taxes, see also International student health insurance premiums and arrears explained.

--- Tax rates, deductions and filing deadlines are based on the Income Tax Act, the Restriction of Special Taxation Act and the Local Tax Act in force in 2026; filing schedule examples on a National Tax Service and Ministry of the Interior and Safety briefing (April 29, 2026); and help line information on National Tax Service guidance (January 9, 2026) and Korea Policy Briefing (March 6, 2025).