If the previous home and the newly bought home are both located in a jojeong daesang jiyeok (a designated regulated area subject to tighter property rules), the window for selling the old home and still claiming single-home capital gains relief drops from three years to two. For capital gains tax this applies to disposals of the previous home on or after 1 October 2026. If either property sits outside a regulated area, the three-year window stands.
Only one item changes: the deadline. But that deadline is counted from the day the balance was paid on the new home, not from the day the old one goes on the market. A few weeks of difference in the closing date can move the selling deadline by a full year.
Who gets two years, and who keeps three
According to Toss Bank's summary of the tax reform package, the shortened deadline applies only when both the existing home and the new home are in regulated areas. If either one is outside, the deadline remains three years.
The current three years dates from a January 2023 revision. Before that, two years applied when both homes were in regulated areas and three years otherwise; the revision merged them into a flat three years regardless of location. This reform effectively restores the distinction that was removed then.
The effective date was announced along two lines. The Korea Economic Daily reported that it applies to homes newly acquired on or after 4 August, while the decree text keys off disposals of the previous home on or after 1 October 2026. These are not in conflict — they stack. The two-year rule catches you if you acquired the new home on or after 4 August and sell the old one on or after 1 October. As a transitional measure, contracts signed with the deposit paid by 3 August 2026 keep the three-year window.
One deadline changes, and it runs from the day you settled on the new home, not the day you listed the old one.
So when do you actually have to sell?
Count forward from the acquisition date of the new home, which is normally the balance-payment date. Because of the transitional rule, the same acquisition date can produce different answers depending on when the deposit was paid.
| New home acquired | Contract / deposit paid | Deadline if both in regulated areas | Deadline if either is outside |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 June 2026 | April 2026 | 9 June 2029 (3 years) | 9 June 2029 (3 years) |
| 20 Aug 2026 | 15 July 2026 | 19 Aug 2029 (3 years, transitional) | 19 Aug 2029 (3 years) |
| 20 Aug 2026 | 10 Aug 2026 | 19 Aug 2028 (2 years) | 19 Aug 2029 (3 years) |
| 15 Jan 2027 | December 2026 | 14 Jan 2029 (2 years) | 14 Jan 2030 (3 years) |
The middle two rows are the point of the table. Same closing date of 20 August, and the deadline differs by exactly one year depending on whether the deposit went out before or after 3 August. The date on the contract and the bank record of the deposit transfer become the evidence that sets a tax deadline.
These dates count from the day after acquisition. In an actual filing, whether registration or balance payment counts as the acquisition date can shift things by a day, so it is unwise to schedule a sale right at the edge of the window.
Capital gains tax is not the only one affected
The temporary two-home relief attaches to three separate taxes, and the reform moves each by a different amount. KB's summary of the package notes that the shortened deadline applies to the comprehensive real estate holding tax as well, but on a different timeline.
| Tax | Current window | After reform | Effective from |
|---|---|---|---|
| Capital gains tax | 3 years (any location) | 2 years (both in regulated areas) | disposals on or after 1 Oct 2026 |
| Comprehensive real estate tax | 3 years | 2 years | liability arising 1 June 2027 |
| Acquisition tax | 3 years | not covered by this package | — |
Acquisition tax is left out because it belongs to a different ministry. Its temporary two-home deadline lives in the Local Tax Act enforcement decree under the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, so it was not part of the finance ministry's package. The three taxes do not move to two years together, and that matters when scheduling a move. Acquisition-stage calculations follow their own condition tables, much like the first-time buyer acquisition tax reduction rules.
The same package temporarily eases the heavy capital gains surcharge on multiple-home owners. Per KB's summary: disposals in 2027 get 5 percentage points off for two-home owners and 10 points off for those with three or more, disposals in 2028 face roughly half the current surcharge, and from 2029 the original rates return. Deadlines tighten while the incentive to sell loosens for two years.
The 1 and the 2 that sit in front of the deadline
Meeting the deadline alone does not produce the exemption. Three numbers all have to clear.
- One year — the new home must be acquired at least one year after the previous home was acquired. Buy sooner and the relief does not apply at all.
- Two years — the home being sold must have been held for at least two years. If it was in a regulated area when acquired, a two-year residency requirement attaches as well.
- The window — the previous home must be sold within two or three years of acquiring the new one.
The reform leaves the first two untouched. Only the last one moves. But a shorter window can collide with the others: start a move before the old home has cleared its two-year holding or residency requirement, and you may end up having to sell the moment the requirement is met. A short holding period also drags down the long-term holding special deduction rate, which widens the tax gap further on a high-value home above the exemption ceiling.
What is not settled yet
The capital gains deadline sits in an enforcement decree, which the government can amend without a parliamentary vote. The holding-tax and surcharge changes include items that require legislation. Toss Bank flags this and advises confirming the finalised effective dates and conditions after parliamentary debate and the legal amendment, before committing to a transaction.
Regulated-area designation is not fixed either. Because the two-year rule requires both homes to be in regulated areas, a designation or de-designation falling between contract and closing raises the question of which date governs. That determination can vary case by case.
What to check
- Contract date and deposit transfer date — on or before 3 August 2026 keeps the three-year window. Keep the bank record if the two dates differ.
- Regulated-area status of both homes — check the old one and the new one separately. If either is outside, it is three years.
- Deadline from the new home's acquisition date — mark the balance-payment date plus two or three years on a calendar. Note both registration and closing dates if they differ.
- Holding and residency period on the old home — confirm two years held, plus two years lived in if it was in a regulated area at acquisition. If unmet, that requirement binds before the deadline does.
- Separate timelines for acquisition and holding tax — only capital gains tax starts on 1 October. Holding tax keys off 1 June 2027, and acquisition tax is outside this package.
- The final decree text — announcement-stage summaries can differ from the enacted provision. Check the promulgated amendment before fixing a closing date.