Application for Earned Income Tax Credit until the 15th... Notification Sent to 1.48 Million Households This Year

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyunjung] The National Tax Service announced on the 1st that it has sent work incentive payment application notices to 1.48 million low-income households with earned income in the first half of this year, and plans to pay after review in December. The application period for the first half work incentive payment is until the 15th of this month, and if you miss this application, you can apply during the regular application period in May next year.

The work incentive payment can be received by only one person per household, and the recipients are classified into single, single-earner, and dual-earner households depending on the presence of a spouse or dependents. A single household is one without a spouse, dependent children, or direct ascendants aged 70 or older. A single-earner household is one with a spouse (total salary, etc. less than 3 million KRW), dependent children, or direct ascendants aged 70 or older (each with annual income of 1 million KRW or less). For dual-earner households, both the applicant and spouse must have total salaries, etc. of 3 million KRW or more.

The National Tax Service explained that eligibility for applying for the work incentive payment requires that the combined total income of the couple from the previous year and the earned income of the current year fall within the standard amounts according to household classification. The standard amounts are ▲ single household: 40,000 KRW to less than 20 million KRW ▲ single-earner household: 40,000 KRW to less than 30 million KRW ▲ dual-earner household: 6 million KRW to less than 36 million KRW.

Even if income requirements are met, the total assets of all household members, including real estate, automobiles, and deposits, must be less than 200 million KRW to receive the work incentive payment. Debts are not deducted from assets.

The National Tax Service will pay 35% of the annual calculated work incentive payment through this semi-annual payment. If the combined annual total income of the couple or asset value changes at the settlement date after the semi-annual payment, the incentive payment to be paid over the next five years may be reclaimed.

The semi-annual application targets residents who have only earned income for themselves and their spouse. Those with business income or religious income can apply during the regular application period in May next year.

To prevent COVID-19 infection, applications can be made through four non-face-to-face methods: ▲ automated response system ▲ 손택스 (installing the Hometax app) ▲ Hometax (accessing Hometax on the internet) ▲ telephone (requesting a dedicated incentive payment telephone counselor).

Meanwhile, the first half work incentive payment application is due to the semi-annual payment system, which was introduced in 2019 to reduce the time gap between the occurrence of earned income (2021) and the payment of the work incentive payment (September 2022), thereby enhancing income support and work incentive effects.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.