Korean Job Discussion Forums

[envisage4]

hello all. quick question.

as i get ready to finish up my contract, i heard that i have the possibility of getting a tax refund of the taxes i've paid since being here. which, if it's from every month, is around a million won.

so. my question - is this legit? i know i will get pension back, but could they coincide?

any news would be much appreciated.

[OculisOrbis]

tax refund and pension won't coincide. have you called the pension office to confirm that your employer has even been submitting your payments to them and accurately reporting your income so that the proper amount is being submitted?

tax refunds are given after you (actually, your employer) file you income tax reports in jan/feb. i received my refund from my school in june. there are deductions that can be made for your taxes, but if you don't give the the papers to your employer, they will just submit it without deductions. later you can file an amended income tax report directly to the tax office yourself if you think its worth it.

things like car insurance, cash receipts (you have to register your phone number and give it to retailers when you purchase something to get this), and credit card purchases are all deductible. there's a website that will provide you with the official printouts of all of these deductions and some others i can't recall at the moment.

if youre in a public school, you might receive a refund - they're pretty honest. if youre working at a hagwon, you can pretty much forget about it. even if they file, it almost definitely would not reflect your true earnings, nor would the hagwon give the refund to you if they receive one.

here's the place for info on taxes:

http://www.nts.go.kr/eng/

Foreigner Help Line -
Taxes: 02-397-1440, 02-2076-5711
Pension: 1355

[loyfriend]

I don't even know how to get that tax id form 6166. So I am guessing I won't get my tax free year.

[valkerie]

It is entirely possible to get your tax refund when you leave (and from a hogwon).

I finished my hogwon job in August last year and received the tax rebate with final salary. (I admit that I researched it all first and then made sure my boss knew I knew I wa entitled. I even called in at the tax office and they told me it would come with final salary. I had them call my boss to remind her, hehehe. others seemed to get theirs ok though, without this).

[SeoulESLteacher09]

how do you find out how much you are entitled to?

How would I get a refund if they submit the papers in Jan/Feb and I leave at the end of February? If it takes as long as it does in the US then I'll never get a refund. I bet my hagwon would just keep the money for themselves!

[OculisOrbis]

That is a mystery. Around tax time, you can go to the NTS website and use the automatic calculator to figure out what will be owed or have to pay. I then gave all my documents to the school and let them prepare it. Before they submit it, I ask them what amount I will be refunded. If our numbers are significantly different, I ask them to show me what they did and try to figure out where they messed up.

Last year, my public school told me I owed (as in had to pay the tax office) an additional 700 000. My calculations from the tax website said I should be refunded about 620 000. I considered that a significant difference. After three meetings and pointing out the various changes they had to make, I ended up with a refund of 640 000. They deposited the money in my account a few months later when i called to remind them. This was the 'professional' that was in charge of the school that did the calculations at the school so my advice is to know how to do it and dont take their word that they are doing it correctly.

As i said before, good luck getting any info/money from a hagwon. They are rarely willing to share financial info about their business - even when it's your info.

Your money can always be deposited to your korean account and you can do an internet wire transfer from anywhere to get the money if youre no longer in korea (KEB internet banking is the best and easiest way).

[OculisOrbis]

[valkerie]