Changwon Special City "Get Your Tax Credit Early with Changwon Love Donation"

Changwon Special City in Gyeongnam has urged citizens to take advantage of the year-end tax deduction in advance through Changwon Love Donations.

Starting this year, the Hometown Love Donation Program is being implemented, allowing donors to contribute to revitalizing the local economy, receive local specialty products from the donated region as a bonus, and enjoy tax deduction benefits.

The Hometown Love Donation Program was introduced to address the crisis of local extinction and financial difficulties caused by population outflow to the metropolitan area or large cities. It encourages expatriates to express their interest and affection for their hometown through donations, providing local specialty products as thank-you gifts. This system aims to simultaneously supplement the insufficient local finances and promote the consumption of local specialties.

Donors can contribute to any region they consider their heartfelt hometown or have special affection for, as long as it is not their current residential address. The donation amount ranges from 100 KRW per individual up to 5 million KRW annually, and it is possible to split donations among multiple local governments.

The collected Hometown Love Donations are used for regional development, including support for socially vulnerable groups, fostering and protecting youth, enhancing culture, arts, and health of local residents, and supporting the revitalization of local communities.

Donations can be made by accessing the Hometown Love e-um website, completing identity verification, signing up as a member, and selecting the local government to donate to. If online donation is difficult, donors can visit any nationwide NongHyup or Livestock Cooperative Bank branch with their ID card.

Donors participating in the Hometown Love Donation program receive two benefits: tax deductions and thank-you gifts. The first benefit, tax deduction, varies according to the donation amount. Donations up to 100,000 KRW receive a 100% tax deduction, while amounts exceeding 100,000 KRW are subject to a 16.5% deduction rate.

For salaried workers with only earned income, donation information is automatically reflected in the National Tax Service’s Hometax electronic donation receipt system, so tax deductions are automatically applied during year-end tax settlement without submitting separate documents.

For individual business owners filing comprehensive income tax, donations up to 100,000 KRW are fully tax-deductible, and amounts exceeding 100,000 KRW can be included as necessary expenses within the limit of income after deducting carried-forward losses. If donations are completed by the end of this year, tax deductions can be applied during the 2023 year-end tax settlement and comprehensive income tax filing.

Jo Young-wan, head of the Taxation Division, said, “Most salaried workers can receive income tax deduction benefits through the Hometown Love Donation, but taxpayers who receive full tax deductions during year-end settlement may not benefit from the tax incentives. We hope everyone participates wisely in donations.” He added, “In addition to the 36 types of thank-you gifts currently provided by the city, we plan to select more gifts reflecting donors’ preferences and accelerate the discovery of fund projects for the development of my hometown Changwon. We ask for your continued interest.”

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