Korean Job Discussion Forums

plynx · Joined: 03 Jun 2008

i have read quite a few threads about the income tax associated with monthly salaries, but received a reply from a potential employer (claiming to tax employees at a rate of 6% - the salary offered is around 2.3) that confuses me. when i asked about the allocation of the extra 2.7-3%, this is the message i was sent:

"We used the 2.5-3% as a deposit for year end income tax. Most of native teachers are charged for a composite imcome tax every May for the previous year by the government (not only the native teachers but every Korean citizens), but most of the teachers leave Korea or our school without paying it to Revenue Korea. That's why we took few percent extra to pay the unpaid balance to tax office. Also, some of the money is used for the cost for tax agency when they file an imcome tax refund. However, [insert name of school] is decided to lower the rate. We are calculating appropreate rate for the teachers, so I'll let you know when I get the rate."

i am not a newbie and have never heard of any of this. anyone have any insight as to what in the world they're talking about?

nate1983 · Joined: 30 Mar 2008

nm...bit mean

ttompatz · Joined: 05 Sep 2005 Location: Kwangju, South Korea

It's a hose job. pass on that one and keep looking. Either the recruiter or the employer are liars as well as thieves.

Your REAL tax rate over the year should only be 532k won. (45k per month).

At 6% (138k per month) you would pay your YEAR's taxes in about 4 months. The other 1.2 million would most likely be kept by your employer.

http://www.nts.go.kr/eng/help/help_52.asp?top_code=H001&sub_code=HS05&ssub_code=HSE2

OBwannabe · Joined: 16 Feb 2008

First thing I've gotta say...ttompatz is the man on this site. Always informative and consistent.
I'm wondering something about taxes myself. Up until DEC 2007 I was paying 20,000/mth in income tax on a salary of 2.3 mil/mth.
At the start of the new year it almost doubled, 35,000/mth even though I was making the same salary. Then by april it went up to 40,000 at the same salary. Next, I got a raise and now make 2.5 and my income tax is 45,000/mth. Does this sound right? It's not a lot of money, but to more than double in a 5 month period seems a little strange.

On top of this I'm paying a residence tax which is withdrawn from my paycheck. This has also more than doubled in the same time period.
I also recieved a residence tax bill which I assume is a one time thing as I paid it and have not seen another one. Why two different taxes with the same name?
What I pay into pension has remained unchanged since the new year even though the other taxes have gone up substantially.

Any ideas? I'm really hoping ttompatz replies, but help from anyone is surely appreciated. Thanks