Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Tiny_Tibbo]

ok so I guess they have been taking out too much according to that tax site. So what can I do about it? I did sign the contract saying I agreed to it. What are my options? Should I go to the tax office and see if she's even paying them?? Should I confront her first and see if she'll cough up the money then threaten with a tax office visit if she doesn't?
What has worked best in your experience?

[the eye]

it would probably be best to talk it out with the boss first. she may have lumped more deductions in with 'tax' such as your apartment maintenance fee for example.

another thing to consider is that there is a municipal surtax that is 10% of your income tax amount.
do you pay pension? health insurance?

first see where she gets her numbers from.

if things still seem strange, then i would go to the tax office.
before you go, you will need to know the business registration number of the school which is posted on a framed document within the front desk or office area.

[Tiny_Tibbo]

well i pay 4% tax....and its not health insurance......

[plato's republic]

Don't most people pay between 3-6%?

[Grotto]

Plato check the monthly witholding tax...its on a sliding scale and varies greatly with what you make http://www.nts.go.kr/eng/default.html
Tax on 2 mil is about 30,000 a month....which works out to be about 1.5% you have to include the 30% foreigner deduction as well.

[IwalkAlone]

disregard the 30% deduction by the above poster. Unless you are here on some other visa not requiring your sojourn to be a year, you cannot claim that. Yes, I know you are a foreigner and the 30% off your entire income says for foreigners, however if one takes the time to read the tax site in more depth, one will see the definition they are using for foreigner is a "non-resident" which esl teachers are not...

As for paying 4% tax, I would not worry too much. Simply stating to your employer that you will be filing your taxes in May and that you need your tax forms in February should shake things up enough to get answers.

deductions are:
Real Tax rate:........1-3%
Pension:............... 4.5% (fixed) (USA gets 200% back)
Health Insurance:...4.31% (half of this is paid by the employer however)
You may have an apartment fee also: 15,000-50,000 won

[Grotto]

You can claim the 30%

It depends on when you arrive. If you start at the begiinning of the tax year you might not get it. If you come halfway through a tax year you are eligible for it as the Korean tax office has decided (in my case) that you were only here for 4 months of one year and 8 months of the next year...therefore I was declared a non resident. Go figure.

[justagirl]

3-6% is normal and not unreasonable. If you were being charged more than that, then I'd start to worry.

[Grotto]

Monthly Wage & Salary Income : �� 2,000 (in thousands)

The number of Dependents : 1 persons

Monthly Income Tax : �� 28,950
(will be deducted from Wage & Salary Income by your employer)

Nowhere does this mention a 30% deduction...this is what they are supposed to withhold nothing more and sure as hell not 4-6%!

[schwa]

[denverdeath]

[ontheway]

Hello Grotto,

Several people, including myself, have read the NTS site and it looks like we are not eligible for the 30% foreign worker tax credit. But, you got it. So, since real world experience trumps a bunch of words on paper (or the web site), I checked with a Korean accountant today, with the wonjangnim. It seems that just maybe (shhh don't tell anyone!) this could be correct, which means the NTS withholding site would be way too high. People should use the year-end calculator with the 30% credit to estimate their taxes and deductions.

Just for fun, since some people here have claimed to be making 4 million and up (monthly) try entering other numbers too. For typical teachers, the tax rate could be under 1%. But with the high rollers bragging here it quickly climbs to 6% or more.

[Grotto]

Schwa....the 1 dependant is YOU, there is no option for 0

The Korean government counts you as one dependant...geez Louise

[IwalkAlone]

Question for Grotto. If you are taking the 30% deduction, does that mean you are paying a tax rate of 20% for non-residency?
Foreigners (as in non-residents) are considered a flight risk to the korean government, which is why they are taxed much higher. Most don't file a return and the goverment loses money. The 30% was a tax break for those that do actually file. It wasn't meant for residents...which koreans and ESLers are. So I'm curious as to your status in the eyes of the DTO agents as it is relevent in this situation.


Also, has anyone actually completed their return and received actual compensation for excess tax by filing the 30%. Word of mouth from the Tax office or supervisor doesn't convince me.