Korea's jongbuse (comprehensive real estate tax) sums, per person, the declared value of homes held as of June 1, subtracts 12 hundred million won (1.2 billion) for a single-household one-home owner or 900 million otherwise, and applies rates to a base equal to the remainder times a 60% fair-market ratio. In short, if your total declared value does not exceed 1.2 billion (sole ownership, one home) or 900 million (multiple homes), jongbuse is zero. Only the excess is taxed, and only 60% of it becomes the base, so the actual tax starts far below the declared value.
Two facts set the starting line: the assessment date is June 1, the same as property tax (jaesanse), and unlike property tax, which is levied per home, jongbuse sums a person's nationwide homes.
How the tax base is built
The base is built in three steps: (1) sum nationwide declared home values per person, (2) subtract the deduction (1.2 billion for one home, 900 million for multiple), and (3) multiply the remainder by the 60% fair-market ratio. Corporations get no deduction. With the deduction and the 60% ratio acting as two buffers, exceeding the deduction line by a little does not inflate the base much.
Working out how the base diverges by declared value gives the table below. At the same declared value, the start differs between a one-home owner and a multi-home owner whose combined stake takes the 900-million deduction.
| Total declared value | One home base (−1.2B)x60% | Multi-home base (−0.9B)x60% |
|---|---|---|
| 1.0 billion | 0 (exempt) | 60 million |
| 1.2 billion | 0 (exempt) | 180 million |
| 1.5 billion | 180 million | 360 million |
| 2.0 billion | 480 million | 660 million |
Jongbuse attaches not to the whole declared value but to 60% of the part above the deduction line — the tax begins at a different place than the declared value.
A 1.5-billion-won home, one owner — how much is the tax?
Take a single-household one-home owner holding a home declared at 1.5 billion won under sole title. The base is (1.5B − 1.2B) x 60% = 180 million won. In the rates for individuals with two or fewer homes, the bracket up to 300 million is 0.5%, so the computed jongbuse is 180 million x 0.5% = 900,000 won. From there the portion overlapping with property tax is deducted, and a rural special tax (20% of the jongbuse) is added.
One-home owners get large extra credits. An elderly credit (20% at 60, 30% at 65, 40% at 70) and a long-holding credit (20% at 5 years, 40% at 10, 50% at 15) combine for up to 80% off. For instance, someone 70-plus who has held for 15-plus years would be 40%+50%=90%, but the 80% cap applies, cutting the 900,000 above to roughly 180,000 won. The full rate schedule follows.
| Tax base | 2 or fewer homes | 3+ homes |
|---|---|---|
| Up to 300M | 0.5% | 0.5% |
| Up to 600M | 0.7% | 0.7% |
| Up to 1.2B | 1.0% | 1.0% |
| Up to 2.5B | 1.3% | 2.0% |
| Up to 5.0B | 1.5% | 3.0% |
| Up to 9.4B | 2.0% | 4.0% |
| Over 9.4B | 2.7% | 5.0% |
Why three-home owners pay more — heavy rates and the burden cap
As the table shows, up to a base of 1.2 billion the rate is the same regardless of home count. It splits above that. Only when you hold three or more homes and the base exceeds 1.2 billion do heavy rates apply, taking the up-to-2.5-billion bracket from 1.3% to 2.0% and the top bracket from 2.7% to 5.0%. Put the other way, even a three-home owner with a base at or below 1.2 billion faces no surcharge.
There is a brake on sudden jumps. The burden cap keeps this year's combined holding tax (jongbuse plus property tax) from exceeding 150% of last year's. Even in a year of sharp declared-value increases, 1.5x the prior year's tax is the ceiling. Real estate taxes follow a different order of calculation at acquisition, holding, and transfer; reading how the three stages interlock places jongbuse in context.
Things to check
- Whether you are recorded as owner on June 1 — check first if the balance/registration date crossed that day
- For co-owning spouses, compare the 900-million-each (1.8 billion combined) deduction against the one-home sole-title 1.2-billion special case
- For a one-home sole title, confirm the elderly / long-holding credit requirements and the 80% combined cap
- Confirm first whether total declared value actually exceeds the deduction line (1.2B for one home, 900M for multiple)
- Cross-check that the burden cap of 150% holds — that the bill is within 1.5x of last year's