Every Korean tax and regulatory obligation of a foreign-invested company, handled by one team.
The International Tax Center is Anse's English-speaking practice for inbound investors. We set up your Korean entity, claim the incentives you are entitled to, run payroll and local tax filings, prepare your Pillar Two returns, and stand between you and the Korean authorities so that nothing is lost in translation.
One practice, the whole inbound lifecycle.
Most foreign-invested companies in Korea juggle a tax adviser, a payroll provider, a local tax agent and a consultant for government filings. We bring those roles into one bilingual team with a single point of contact, so you get consistent positions and one answer.
Investment and R&D incentives
We identify, apply for and defend every incentive your Korean operation qualifies for, and model the after-tax return before you commit capital.
- Integrated investment tax credit, including national strategic and new growth technologies
- R&D tax credits and technology transfer reliefs
- Cash grants, customs duty exemptions and site support under the Foreign Investment Promotion Act
- Free Economic Zone and Foreign Investment Zone designations
Employment, payroll and expatriate tax
Korean labor law is prescriptive and enforcement is active. We run compliant payroll from day one and keep your expatriate packages tax-efficient.
- Monthly payroll, withholding and year-end settlement
- Four social insurances and retirement pension enrolment
- Employment contracts, rules of employment and severance under the Labor Standards Act
- Flat-rate election, housing and equity compensation for expatriates
Global minimum tax compliance
Korea was among the first jurisdictions to legislate the OECD GloBE rules. We prepare the Korean filings and coordinate with your group tax team on the global picture.
- Scope analysis and transitional safe-harbour testing
- Korean GloBE Information Return and top-up tax return
- Effective tax rate computation for Korean constituent entities
- Country-by-country reporting alignment
Local tax compliance
Korea's local taxes are administered by 17 provinces and metropolitan cities and over 200 districts, each with its own ordinances. We handle them for every site you operate.
- Acquisition tax on real estate, vehicles and share acquisitions
- Property tax and comprehensive real estate holding tax
- Local income tax returns and local tax reduction applications
- Registration and license tax, resident tax
Agency between you and the authorities
We act as your registered agent and translator before Korean government bodies, so that filings, audits and inquiries are handled in Korean by people who understand your business.
- Foreign investment notification and registration with KOTRA and foreign exchange banks
- Representation before the National Tax Service in audits and rulings
- Coordination with the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, customs and local governments
- Advance rulings, mutual agreement procedures and appeals
Corporate tax, VAT and transfer pricing
The recurring filings that keep a Korean entity in good standing, prepared in English-language workpapers your group auditors can read.
- Corporate income tax and interim returns
- Semi-annual VAT returns and preliminary filings, e-tax invoices
- Transfer pricing documentation, master and local files, APAs
- Withholding tax and treaty relief on cross-border payments
Korea switched on the global minimum tax before most of the world did.
The Income Inclusion Rule has applied to Korean fiscal years beginning on or after 1 January 2024, with the Undertaxed Profits Rule following for 2025. Any group with consolidated revenue of €750 million or more in two of the last four years has Korean obligations, even where the Korean entity is small. We run the numbers, test the safe harbours and file the returns.
Request a Pillar Two scope check- FY 2024Income Inclusion Rule takes effectKorean ultimate and intermediate parents become liable for top-up tax on low-taxed foreign subsidiaries.
- FY 2025Undertaxed Profits Rule takes effectKorean subsidiaries of foreign groups may be allocated top-up tax that is not collected elsewhere.
- +15 monthsGloBE Information Return and top-up tax return dueExtended to 18 months after the fiscal year end for a group's first year in scope.
- FY 2024–26Transitional CbCR safe harbourDe minimis, simplified ETR and routine profits tests can remove the full computation for the Korean jurisdiction.
Inbound investors at every stage.
From the first market-entry question to a mature operation facing its third tax audit, the questions change but the need for a bilingual adviser who owns the answer does not.
Entering Korea
Branch, subsidiary or liaison office. Capital structure, foreign investment notification, bank account opening and the first tax registrations, done in the right order.
Building a plant
Site selection across Free Economic Zones and industrial complexes, incentive negotiation with local governments, customs planning for imported machinery.
Running a subsidiary
Monthly close in English, payroll, VAT and corporate tax, intercompany agreements and transfer pricing that survive an audit.
Restructuring or exiting
Mergers, spin-offs, capital reductions, dividend repatriation and liquidation, with withholding and treaty positions cleared in advance.
Assess, set up, run.
Every engagement starts with a written map of your Korean obligations and the incentives available to you. Only then do we agree a scope and a fixed monthly fee.
Assess
A two-week diagnostic covering entity form, incentives, payroll, local taxes and Pillar Two exposure, delivered as an English memo with a Korean annex your local staff can use.
Set up
Registrations, bank and foreign exchange filings, payroll and accounting systems, incentive applications and the appointment of Anse as your tax agent before the authorities.
Run
A named engagement manager, a shared filing calendar, monthly reporting to your head office and a standing line to us whenever the National Tax Service calls.
The Korean filing calendar for a December year-end.
The dates that catch newly established foreign subsidiaries most often. We maintain a full version for each client, adjusted for its fiscal year and the municipalities it operates in.
| Obligation | Authority | Due | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Corporate income tax return | National Tax Service | 31 Mar | Within 3 months of fiscal year end; external audit companies may extend by one month. |
| Local income tax return | Local government | 30 Apr | Within 4 months of fiscal year end, apportioned across every municipality with a place of business. |
| Interim corporate tax return | National Tax Service | 31 Aug | For the first six months, within 2 months of the interim period end. |
| VAT returns | National Tax Service | 25 Jan · 25 Jul | Semi-annual final returns, with preliminary returns on 25 Apr and 25 Oct for corporations. |
| Payroll withholding | National Tax Service | 10th monthly | Year-end settlement of employee income tax filed by 10 March. |
| Property tax | Local government | Jul · Sep | Assessed on the owner of record at 1 June; buildings in July, land in September. |
| Transfer pricing schedules | National Tax Service | 31 Mar | Filed with the corporate return; master and local files for larger groups within 12 months. |
| GloBE Information Return | National Tax Service | 31 Mar, year +2 | 15 months after fiscal year end; 18 months for the first in-scope year. |
Deadlines summarize Korean law as generally applied and are provided for orientation only. Statutory dates falling on weekends or holidays roll to the next business day. Confirm each obligation for your entity with your Anse engagement manager.
Tell us about your plans in Korea.
Write to us in English. A partner replies within one business day with a short view of what your situation needs and what it would cost.