Delivery Workers and Substitute Drivers Can Receive Up to 2.3 Million KRW Income Tax Refund

National Tax Service Announces 222 Billion KRW Refunds for 1.78 Million Personal Service Income Earners

As major delivery app companies introduce measures to reduce delivery fees and user numbers begin to rise, a motorcycle delivery worker is making deliveries early in the morning on the 8th in Seoul. Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

From now on, income earners in personal service sectors such as delivery riders, substitute drivers, caregivers, and academy instructors will be able to easily receive income tax refunds.

On the 24th, the National Tax Service announced that it will send comprehensive income tax mobile refund filing notices to 1.78 million personal service income earners who have unclaimed income tax refunds. The notice targets personal service income earners applying a simple expense rate with revenue under 75 million KRW (for new business operators). They must not have had any other income besides personal service income in the past five years. Platform workers such as delivery riders and substitute drivers, door-to-door salespeople, caregivers, and academy instructors fall under the category of personal service income earners.

Companies withhold 3.3% of income as tax when paying compensation to personal service income earners. If the tax paid in advance exceeds the actual tax, they can file a comprehensive income tax return and receive a refund.

According to the National Tax Service, the unclaimed tax refunds from those who have not filed comprehensive income tax returns in the past five years amount to 222 billion KRW. The refund per person ranges from a minimum of 10,000 KRW to a maximum of 2.3 million KRW, depending on individual income and other factors.

Personal service income earners can check the estimated refund amount and filing status for the past five years through the 'Check Refund Amount' menu in the National Tax Service mobile notice. For unfiled tax amounts, entering the account number and clicking the 'Submit Return' button will automatically calculate the refund amount.

However, if income tax refunds have occurred over multiple years, refund filings must be made for each respective year. If they do not wish to receive the refund, they do not need to file. A National Tax Service official advised, "The National Tax Service does not request deposits, account passwords, or card numbers related to income tax refunds," and urged caution against text message scams.

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