Sleeping Tax Points Totaling a Staggering 9.5 Trillion Won... How to Use Them?

Tax Point Usage Rate 0.69%
Average 238 Points per Person · Unused Currency Value 230,000 Won
Usage Limited to Only 8 Places

The usage rate of tax points, which the National Tax Service (NTS) provides to citizens who faithfully pay their taxes, has not risen above 0%, rendering them virtually useless. Meanwhile, the accumulated value of these tax points has reached a staggering 9.474 trillion KRW.

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According to data received by Song Eon-seok, a member of the National Assembly's Planning and Finance Committee (People Power Party), from the NTS on the 19th, the total tax points granted to individual and corporate taxpayers until last year amounted to 9.54 billion points, but only 66 million points were actually used, resulting in a usage rate of just 0.69%.

Tax points held but unused by taxpayers total 9.474 billion points, which, when converted into monetary value, amount to an astonishing 9.474 trillion KRW. This conversion is based on the fact that one tax point corresponds to a 1,000 KRW discount on admission to the National Arboretum.

Breaking this down by individual and corporate taxpayers, as of 2022, 36.64 million individual taxpayers hold 8.719 billion points, while 820,000 corporate taxpayers hold 755 million points. When converted to monetary value, individual taxpayers hold an average of about 230,000 KRW each unused, and corporations hold about 920,000 KRW unused per entity.

How to Check and Use Tax Points?

The tax point system was introduced in 2004 to foster pride in tax payment and cultivate a culture of sincere tax compliance. For individual taxpayers, the system started in April 2004, awarding 1 point per 100,000 KRW of reported taxes such as comprehensive income tax, capital gains tax, and earned income tax. For corporations, points are granted based on corporate tax filings, implemented since March 2014. Individual taxpayers’ tax points do not expire, whereas corporate tax points expire if unused for five years.

The low usage rate of tax points over the past decade, remaining below 1%, is attributed to limited usage options. Additionally, many taxpayers are unaware they have tax points and thus do not use them. Tax points can be checked on the NTS website, Hometax.

Usage options include: ▲ exemption from tax payment guarantees ▲ tax point online discount shopping mall ▲ priority enrollment in taxpayer tax law classes ▲ use of Incheon International Airport business center ▲ deferral of small-amount delinquent property sales ▲ discounts on admission fees at the National Museum of Korea ▲ discounts on admission fees at the National Sejong Arboretum and National Baekdudaegan Arboretum ▲ overseas corporate credit investigation services by the Korea Trade Insurance Corporation, totaling eight options.

For example, when using Incheon Airport, taxpayers can use the business center exclusively for exemplary taxpayers by deducting 5 tax points. Admission fees to the National Museum of Korea and national arboretums can also be discounted. In the small and medium-sized enterprise excellent product discount shopping mall, 1 tax point is deducted per 100,000 KRW purchase amount, allowing shopping at a 5% discounted price. For self-employed individuals who must pay taxes but lack immediate cash, tax points can be used to waive guarantees when extending payment deadlines. Each tax point held exempts 100,000 KRW of guarantee.

Assemblyman Song said, "Despite being a recurring issue pointed out in annual government audits, the poor usage performance of tax points shows no signs of improvement. The NTS must conduct a comprehensive review of the system to ensure the effectiveness of tax points."

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