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South Korea VAT Rates 2026

South Korea (대한민국 (Daehan Minguk)) levies Value Added Tax as 부가가치세 (Bugagachise). The standard rate is 10%, applied to most goods and services. South Korea applies a single flat rate with no reduced rates.

Registration and filing

Access rates via API

The TaxID API returns current VAT and GST rates for 200+ countries and territories. Use the /api/v1/rates/KR endpoint to get South Korea data programmatically. Responses are cached for 24 hours.

curl http://localhost:3000/api/v1/rates/KR
# No authentication required for rate lookups

# Response:
# { "country_code": "KR", "tax_type": "vat",
#   "standard_rate": 10, "reduced_rates": [0],
#   "currency": "KRW", "last_updated": "2026-01-01" }

Applying the correct rate in code

For B2B sales to South Korea, validate the customer's 사업자등록번호 first — a verified registration is typically required for correct invoicing and zero-rated exports. For B2C, charge the South Korea VAT rate where registration rules require it.

// 1. Validate the customer's South Korea tax ID
const check = await fetch(
  'http://localhost:3000/api/v1/validate/KR/CUSTOMER_TAX_ID',
  { headers: { Authorization: 'Bearer YOUR_API_KEY' } }
).then(r => r.json());

// 2. Fetch current South Korea VAT rates (no auth required)
const rates = await fetch('http://localhost:3000/api/v1/rates/KR').then(r => r.json());
// → { standard_rate: 10, reduced_rates: [0] }

// 3. Apply the correct treatment for your supply
applyRate(check.valid && isB2BExport ? 0 : rates.standard_rate);

About South Korea VAT

South Korea adopted Asia's first full VAT in 1977 and has never moved the 10% rate — one of the longest-unchanged rates in the world. Compliance is hyper-digitised: electronic tax invoices through the NTS system are mandatory for corporations, feeding pre-filled returns. Foreign providers of digital services to Korean consumers have had to register and charge VAT since 2015, and "simplified taxpayer" status eases the burden for the smallest sole traders.

VAT in South Korea is administered by the National Tax Service (NTS / 국세청). Before applying any zero-rate or exemption to a South Korea business customer, validate their registration first.

Sources: PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries · NTS Korea (accessed Jun 2026)

Rate history

• 1977VAT introduced at 10% — Asia's first full VAT, unchanged for nearly five decades

Frequently asked questions

VAT & GST rates in other Asia-Pacific countries