230,000 Student Loan Repayers... Unemployed and Parental Leave Workers Can Defer for 2 Years

National Tax Service Notifies Mandatory Repayment Amount to Student Loan Borrowers with Earned Income
Monthly Payment Possible via Wage Deduction
4-Year Repayment Deferral for University and Graduate Students

The National Tax Service (NTS) will notify 230,000 borrowers with earned income last year who are subject to mandatory repayment of their "2022 tax-year mandatory repayment amount" on the 26th. Repayment can be deferred for up to four years in cases of unemployment or other financial difficulties, or if the borrower is enrolled in a university or graduate school.

The Korea Student Aid Foundation handles student loans and voluntary repayments, while mandatory repayments based on income are managed by the NTS. If a borrower's previous year's annual income amount (total salary minus earned income deduction) exceeds the repayment threshold income, the NTS calculates and notifies the mandatory repayment amount as 20% (undergraduate students) or 25% (graduate students) of the excess amount. For 2022, the repayment threshold income is 15.1 million KRW (23.94 million KRW based on total salary), which is announced by the Ministry of Education every January.

Borrowers who receive notification of the mandatory repayment amount can pay by having one-twelfth of the mandatory repayment amount withheld from their monthly salary by their employer. If withholding is not desired, borrowers may pay the mandatory repayment amount directly. If the full amount or half (with the remainder paid by November 30 of this year) is paid by the 31st of the following month, the employer will not be notified as a withholding subject. If payment is made by June 30, no withholding will occur from the salary.

The NTS grants repayment deferrals for borrowers facing financial difficulties due to unemployment, retirement, or parental leave, or those enrolled in university or graduate school. Borrowers who had earned income last year but are experiencing financial hardship due to unemployment, retirement, or parental leave can apply for a two-year repayment deferral. However, the total amount of business income, retirement income, and capital gains must be less than the repayment threshold income. Borrowers enrolled in university or graduate school may apply for a repayment deferral of up to four years regardless of financial hardship.

Results of repayment deferral applications can be confirmed through the "Notification of Repayment Deferral Application Result for Mandatory Student Loan Repayment after Employment" sent by the NTS (tax office).

Meanwhile, starting this year, the NTS will provide a registered mail delivery notification service for student loan documents to applicants to resolve inconveniences such as returns due to recipient absence. Borrowers who have applied for electronic delivery can continue to immediately view documents after identity verification via KakaoTalk or text message as before.

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