Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Tammie Hughes]

HI,

If this has been addressed, please forward me the link and I will read through all the correspondance.... i cant see it yet.

I am leaving Korea in 2 weeks. I have bought my ticket. I played by the rules at all times during my say here, and would now like to claim back my tax as I only worked for 5 months.

Can someone advise what i need to do, what i need to ask from my employer, and how i go about it all. How long does it take to get the refund, and can they pay you in cash?

Thanks,
Tammie

[bigscott]

Unfortunately, you are out of luck. There is no agreement in place between Australia and South Korea where you can claim a pension refund.
This link is a little old but I believe there has been no change to the rule.
http://www.eslcafe.com/forums/korea/viewtopic.php?t=801&highlight=tax+refund+australia

[prairieboy]

OP said tax, not pension.

It's true about the pension, if you paid it and you are not Canadian or a US citizens then you can't get it back, but it is yours if you were to retire in Korea.

As for your tax, you need to get an official tax document from your employer stating your salary and deductions. He's required by law to give it to you if you request it. Then you should go to the nearest tax office and file a claim.

This is if you employer has actually been paying the taxes deducted properly and not pocketing the money. Otherwise you'd have to have some dirt on him that's worth him returning any stolen money.

Cheers

[Homer]

However if your employer paid taxes to the government properly why would you get anything back?

I mean, they deduct X amount from your income and if the right amount is taken you owe them nothing and they owe you nothing unless you had tax deductible activities while here.

Right?

[Tammie Hughes]

Thanks!

As i understand income tax laws, they work out your tax rate based on your annual income, and deduct monthly amounts assuming you will work the full year. However, when you only work 5 months, it means you are usually under the tax free threshold - therefore you are due a refund.

So, it seems I just need to ask my employer for a "tax statment", which I have requested innocently enough a few times now..... Im sure it's the poor communication, but really, I dont know why everyone look so dumbfounded at my work when i ask the simplest of questions!

Does anyone know the name of the offical document in Korean?


Thanks again,
Tammie

[thebomb]

I have just filled mine out for this year, so hopefully a refund due my way.

Anyway in Korean 소득공제증명서