South Korean tax agency begins preparations for 2027 crypto tax

Park Jeong-yeol, head of the Individual Taxation Bureau at South Korea's National Tax Service (NTS), stated on April 29 that the agency is preparing for the implementation of cryptocurrency taxation. During a briefing on comprehensive income tax filings, he said the NTS is getting ready to process tax returns for virtual asset income generated from next year, with the first filings scheduled for May 2028. According to Edaily, under the current Income Tax Act, income from the transfer or lending of virtual assets will be classified as other income starting Jan. 1, 2027. A 22% tax rate, which combines a 20% other income tax and a 2% local income tax, will be applied to annual profits exceeding 2.5 million won. The tax is expected to apply to all 13.26 million virtual asset investors in the country, a figure based on the cumulative number of members on the South Korean exchange Upbit as of last December.