Korean Job Discussion Forums

[jondepoer]

Hi,

This is my first time filing taxes, as I've always been a typical full-time hagwon employee.

Now, I work for an adult institution and an afterschool program. I am an independent contractor (not employee) for each of the two companies I work for. As such, I'm responsible for filing my own taxes; my school has offered to hook me up with an accountant, for the price of 44,000krw

I'm looking for some first-hand experience as to what to expect. I have 3.3% deducted automatically. Is it likely that I going to get an additional bill or a refund? What happens if I simply don't file? To be honest, I'm out of here in October, and I will never come back - ever. Is it worth the risk of having to pay, or am I likely to miss out on a refund? How "on the ball" is the taxation department?

Again, I'm looking for direct, first-hand experience from someone in my situation who has filed recently. Any assistance would be appreciated!

Thanks!

[ttompatz]

As an independent contractor you have more deductions from revenue and depending on what you have earned vs the costs of doing business you may or may not get a refund.

If you haven't saved any paperwork to allow for those deductions then you can check for yourself using your gross revenue as your gross income as an employee (you lose the benefits of the allowable deductions as a contractor) and the forms on the NTS website.

www.nts.go.kr/inc/download.asp?file_url=/eng/help/EasyGuide2011.pdf&file_nm=EasyGuide2011.pdf

http://www.nts.go.kr/eng/resources/resour_41.asp?top_code=R001&sub_code=RS04&ssub_code=RSD1

This will give you a better idea of cash owing or refund due:
http://www.nts.go.kr/eng/help/help_53.asp?top_code=H001&sub_code=HS05&ssub_code=HSE3

You can choose the progressive tax or flat tax, whichever is most beneficial to you (15% is usually not unless you have a massive income - over 100m won per year).

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