Korea Tax Refund for Tourists: How Much Do You Need to Spend?

Last checked: November 10, 2026

If you are planning a shopping trip to Korea, the Korea tax refund lets you get back part of the 10% VAT built into shop prices. The two questions most visitors ask are how much they must spend and how much a store can deduct on the spot. Both answers changed in 2024, and many guides still show the old numbers. This guide uses the current rules and links each figure to its source.

Who can get a Korea tax refund?

The refund is for foreign visitors staying in Korea for less than 6 months who have no income in Korea. Korean nationals who have lived abroad for 2 years or more and are visiting for 3 months or less also qualify.

You cannot claim it if you are a diplomat, a member of the US Forces in Korea, or employed in Korea. Purchases made in a company’s name or on someone else’s behalf are excluded.

Source: VISITKOREA, Comprehensive Tax Refund Guide

Minimum spend and limits at a glance

Refund method	Minimum per receipt	Maximum per receipt	Total cap
Immediate refund (in store)	KRW 15,000	Under KRW 1,000,000	KRW 5,000,000 per stay
City refund counter	KRW 15,000	KRW 6,000,000	Not stated
Airport, post or mobile	KRW 15,000	No upper limit stated	Not stated

A few details matter here:

• “Under” KRW 1,000,000 means exactly what it says. A receipt of exactly KRW 1,000,000 does not qualify for an immediate refund. Claim it at the airport or a city counter instead.
• The KRW 5,000,000 cap counts from your arrival. It is the total of all immediate-refund purchases during that stay.
• Not every tax-free shop offers immediate refunds. Only participating stores can deduct the tax at the till. Others give you a refund slip to claim later.
• City refunds need a credit card. You show your passport, the refund slip and a credit card, which is held as security until your goods leave Korea.

Sources: Enforcement Decree on VAT and Individual Consumption Tax Special Cases for Foreign Tourists, Art. 6(2) and Art. 10-4 (in Korean, version effective January 2, 2026); VISITKOREA; Korea.net, November 28, 2023 (2024 limit increases)

Immediate refund or airport refund: which suits you?

	Immediate refund	Airport refund
Where	At the till in a participating store	Refund counter or kiosk at departure
Per-receipt limit	Under KRW 1,000,000	No upper limit stated
Total limit	KRW 5,000,000 per stay	Not stated
What you get	Lower price at checkout	Cash or e-wallet payout at departure
What to bring	Passport	Passport, refund slips, the goods
Best for	Small and mid-size buys in participating stores	Big-ticket items, or shops without immediate refund

A simple rule: if a store offers an immediate refund and your receipt is under KRW 1,000,000, take it. You skip the airport queue for that purchase. Keep the airport for anything larger, or once you have used up the KRW 5,000,000 total.

There is one catch with immediate refunds. If any goods you bought with an immediate refund have not left Korea within 3 months of purchase, you cannot get further immediate refunds after that point (Decree, Art. 6(4)). This mainly affects long stays.

How much will you actually get back?

Korean shop prices already include 10% VAT. So the VAT inside a price is 10/110 of what you paid, about 9.09%. That is the theoretical maximum.

What you receive is lower. Refund operators deduct a fee, and the amount varies by operator and purchase size. We could not find an official single refund rate, so treat any fixed percentage you see online with caution.

Example calculation, a KRW 200,000 receipt:

Step	Amount
Price paid (VAT included)	KRW 200,000
VAT inside the price (200,000 × 10/110)	about KRW 18,182
Your refund	KRW 18,182 minus the operator’s fee

Some high-value goods also carry individual consumption tax, which can be refunded too. Check with the store if this applies to your item.

Source: Enforcement Decree (law.go.kr)

How to claim your refund at the airport

1. When you shop, show your passport and ask for a tax refund slip. Keep every slip.
2. Leave Korea within 3 months of the purchase date, taking the goods with you.
3. Before departure, present the goods, refund slips and passport for export confirmation. If the store sent an electronic sales record, you may not need to show a paper slip.
4. Collect your refund at a staffed counter or an unmanned kiosk.

Keep the goods easy to reach until the export check is done. Larger purchases may be subject to a customs inspection, and we could not confirm an official amount threshold. Ask at the refund counter before you check your bags.

Staffed counter hours (as listed by VISITKOREA, October 2025):

Airport	Staffed counter	Unmanned kiosk
Incheon Terminal 1	07:00–22:00	24 hours
Incheon Terminal 2	07:30–21:30	24 hours
Gimpo	06:30–20:00	24 hours
Gimhae (Busan)	06:30–21:00	24 hours
Jeju	06:00–22:00	Not listed

At other seaports, refunds go through a mailbox. Staffed counters pay in KRW, USD, CNY or JPY, or to Alipay or WeChat Pay, depending on the airport. Kiosks pay in KRW, Alipay or WeChat Pay.

If your flight leaves early or late, compare its time with the counter hours above.

Sources: VISITKOREA; Enforcement Decree, Art. 6(1) and Art. 9(2)

Common myths about the Korea tax refund

“You need to spend KRW 30,000.” This was the rule until 2023. The government announced the cut to KRW 15,000 in its 2023 tax revision, applying from 2024. Some stores may still set their own higher minimum, but we could not confirm this officially. The legal minimum is KRW 15,000.

“The minimum is KRW 15,000 per item.” It is per transaction, meaning one receipt. Three items at KRW 6,000 each on one receipt total KRW 18,000 and qualify.

“Immediate refunds have a lower minimum.” No. The KRW 15,000 minimum is the same for every refund method.

“You can claim a refund on duty-free shopping.” Purchases at duty-free shops are not eligible. The tax refund covers tax-free shops, not duty-free ones.

“Every shop with a tax-free sign deducts tax at the till.” Only stores that take part in the immediate refund scheme do.

Sources: Korea.net, November 28, 2023; VISITKOREA

What changed in 2026, and what may change next

Cosmetic surgery VAT refund ended. The VAT refund on cosmetic procedures applied to services supplied until December 31, 2025. Procedures in 2026 are not refunded. Bills to bring it back were proposed in 2026, but none has been reported as passed. (Dailymedi, August 16, 2026, Korean news report)

Cruise passengers can use immediate and city refunds. From April 6, 2026, cruise tourists can get immediate refunds and city refunds at tax-free shops in town, according to a Korea Customs Service announcement reported in the press. (Kukinews, April 3, 2026, Korean news report)

Hotel VAT refund: proposed early end (not yet law). Foreign tourists can get VAT back on room rates at designated hotels and resort condos. Rules:

• Stays of 30 nights or fewer.
• Breakfast included in the room rate counts. Separately paid meals, service charges and group packages do not.
• You must leave Korea within 3 months of the stay.
• Only designated properties qualify, and the list changes each quarter. Press reports put it at 118 hotels for Q4 2026.

The scheme is reported to run until December 31, 2028. The government’s 2026 tax revision proposal, published on August 3, 2026, would shorten this to June 30, 2027. This is a government proposal and is not yet law. It still needs approval by the National Assembly, which usually decides in December.

Sources: Ministry of Economy and Finance, 2026 tax revision proposal (in Korean); VISITKOREA; SBS Biz, October 7, 2026 and Newspim, August 7, 2026 (Korean news reports)

Shopping refund rules for 2027. We found no change to the minimum spend or immediate refund limits in the 2026 proposal announcements or press coverage. We will update this page after the National Assembly vote.

Quick checklist before you fly

• Each receipt is KRW 15,000 or more
• Immediate-refund receipts are under KRW 1,000,000, and their total stays within KRW 5,000,000
• You have your passport and every refund slip
• The goods leave Korea within 3 months of purchase
• Unclaimed goods are easy to reach until export confirmation
• Your departure time fits the refund counter hours, or your airport has a kiosk

Official sources

• VISITKOREA (Korea Tourism Organization), Comprehensive Tax Refund Guide: https://english.visitkorea.or.kr/svc/contents/infoHtmlView.do?vcontsId=248765
• Korea Law Information Center, Enforcement Decree on VAT and Individual Consumption Tax Special Cases for Foreign Tourists (Presidential Decree No. 35947, effective January 2, 2026): https://law.go.kr/lsLinkCommonInfo.do?lspttninfSeq=129167
• Korea.net, November 28, 2023: https://www.korea.net/NewsFocus/policies/view?articleId=242726
• Ministry of Economy and Finance, 2026 tax revision proposal, August 3, 2026: https://mofe.go.kr/nw/nes/detailNesDtaView.do?searchBbsId1=MOSFBBS_000000000028&searchNttId1=MOSF_000000000078809&menuNo=4010100

News reports cited (Korean): Kukinews (April 3, 2026), Dailymedi (August 16, 2026), Newspim (August 7, 2026), SBS Biz (October 7, 2026).

Last checked: November 10, 2026

*This guide is general information, not tax advice. Rules can change, so confirm with the store or refund counter before you rely on a refund.*