What is the income limit for a dependant?

Combined annual income of ₩20,000,000 or less — a figure often quoted incorrectly elsewhere. It combines interest, dividend, business, employment, pension and other income as the health insurance rules define them, which is why "they have no salary" is not the same as passing. An overseas pension or investment income counts, and a person who considers themselves retired and unwaged can be over the line without ever having thought about it.

My parent earns a little from a small business. Does that disqualify them?

Possibly, because business income is governed separately rather than being absorbed into the general ceiling. A dependant must in principle have no business income; where there is no business registration, income at or below ₩5,000,000 is treated as none. So an unregistered person earning ₩4,000,000 and a registered sole trader earning the same amount are in different positions, and being comfortably under the ₩20,000,000 combined ceiling does not by itself preserve dependant status for the registered one.

They own an apartment. Are they excluded?

Not necessarily, and not on the basis of its market value. The test uses the property tax assessment base under the Local Tax Act, which is materially lower than a sale price. At or below ₩540,000,000 the property condition is met; between that and ₩900,000,000 it is met only if annual income is ₩10,000,000 or less; above ₩900,000,000 it cannot be met. So look up the assessment base before concluding anything from what the flat would sell for.

Insurance

NHIS Dependants: The Income and Property Tests

Published October 3, 2026Last verified October 3, 2026

Income ceiling

₩20,000,000 a year

Business income

Its own rule

Property measured on

Tax assessment base

Siblings

A tighter ceiling

Dependant status on Korean health insurance means a family member is covered without a separate premium. Because of that, the law does not hand it out on family relationship alone.

Four conditions run in order, and most refusals happen at the third and fourth rather than the first.

Four gates, in sequence

Most people check the first and assume the rest

Relationship — within the categories the law defines.

Support — actually dependent, which is examined and not presumed.

Income — a combined ceiling, plus a separate rule for business income.

Property — on the tax assessment base, with a middle band.

For a foreign family member there is a fifth, which is the afternoon guide.

"They're my parent" answers gate one and nothing else.

Who is in scope at all

Spouse. The clearest case. A marriage concluded abroad may not be visible in Korean records, so overseas evidence of the relationship can be needed. A de facto spouse can be recognised where conditions are met, but not automatically — it takes evidence of the relationship and shared life.

Parents and grandparents, including a spouse’s lineal ascendants in defined circumstances. Living apart, or the existence of another relative able to support them, can be examined.

Children and grandchildren. For an adult child, marital status and their own income and property become decisive.

Siblings — the narrow case, below.

"Parent" is not a qualification by itself

Support is a real condition, not a formality attaching to the relationship. Cohabitation, whether other lineal descendants exist, and the person's own means are all weighed.

Income: one combined ceiling

Combined annual income must be ₩20,000,000 or less, combining interest, dividend, business, employment, pension and other income as the health insurance rules define them.

Which is why "no salary" is not the test

A retired parent with an overseas pension and some investment income has income for this purpose. People who have never thought of themselves as earning are a large share of the refusals here.

Business income has its own rule

A dependant must in principle have no business income. Where there is no business registration, income at or below ₩5,000,000 is treated as none.

no business registration, ₩4,000,000  →  treated as no business income
business registration, ₩4,000,000     →  a different question entirely

So being comfortably under the ₩20,000,000 combined ceiling does not preserve dependant status for a registered sole trader. Both conditions have to hold.

If they are married, both spouses are tested

Where the prospective dependant is married, the rules require both spouses to satisfy the income condition.

The step most often missed when registering a parent

You check your mother's income and register her; the application fails because of your father's business income. Check the couple, not the individual.

Property: not what it would sell for

The property test uses the property tax assessment base under the Local Tax Act — materially lower than market value, and not a number most people know offhand.

Combined assessment base	Property condition
₩540,000,000 or less	Met
Over ₩540,000,000 to ₩900,000,000	Met only if annual income is ₩10,000,000 or less
Over ₩900,000,000	Cannot be met

The general ceiling is the first row; the middle band is where applications fail for reasons the applicant cannot see, because the income ceiling inside it is half the general one.

Look up the assessment base before concluding anything

"They own a flat worth a billion won" is not an answer to this test. Find the assessment base first — the conclusion frequently reverses.

Siblings are a separate regime

Sibling dependants are confined to narrow categories — broadly those under 30, those 65 or over, persons with disabilities, and certain veterans with service-related injuries.

And the property ceiling is ₩180,000,000, not the general figure.

relationship category  →  support  →  income  →  ₩180,000,000 property

Living in the same home is not a qualification. Applying the general property threshold to a sibling gets it wrong twice: once on the category, once on the number.

Approval is not permanent

The insurance service re-checks dependant status against income and property data obtained from the tax authorities and local government.

Status can be lost when:

New employment or business income arises.

Property crosses a threshold.

The family relationship or status of stay changes.

Where status was obtained improperly, it can be removed retroactively to the date of acquisition — which is a different and worse outcome than losing it prospectively.

Losing dependant status is not losing insurance

It generally moves the person to regional enrolment, with premiums assessed on them directly.

So if a change in income or property is coming, work out three things in advance: when status would be lost, whether regional enrolment follows, and what that premium would be. Discovering it from a bill is the expensive version. The three enrolment positions are set out in NHIS health insurance for foreigners.

The order to check in

relationship category
  → support in fact
  → combined income ≤ ₩20,000,000
  → business income rule, separately
  → both spouses, if married
  → property assessment base, and the middle band
  → siblings: the narrower ceiling

A relationship that is beyond doubt still fails on income or property. And for a foreign family member, all of the above can be satisfied and registration still not be possible yet — because of a residence condition that arrived in 2024, and a set of documents the service cannot look up. That is the other half of today’s pair.

Frequently asked questions

What is the income limit for a dependant?: Combined annual income of ₩20,000,000 or less — a figure often quoted incorrectly elsewhere. It combines interest, dividend, business, employment, pension and other income as the health insurance rules define them, which is why "they have no salary" is not the same as passing. An overseas pension or investment income counts, and a person who considers themselves retired and unwaged can be over the line without ever having thought about it.
My parent earns a little from a small business. Does that disqualify them?: Possibly, because business income is governed separately rather than being absorbed into the general ceiling. A dependant must in principle have no business income; where there is no business registration, income at or below ₩5,000,000 is treated as none. So an unregistered person earning ₩4,000,000 and a registered sole trader earning the same amount are in different positions, and being comfortably under the ₩20,000,000 combined ceiling does not by itself preserve dependant status for the registered one.
They own an apartment. Are they excluded?: Not necessarily, and not on the basis of its market value. The test uses the property tax assessment base under the Local Tax Act, which is materially lower than a sale price. At or below ₩540,000,000 the property condition is met; between that and ₩900,000,000 it is met only if annual income is ₩10,000,000 or less; above ₩900,000,000 it cannot be met. So look up the assessment base before concluding anything from what the flat would sell for.
Can I register my brother or sister?: Only within narrow categories, and against a much tighter property ceiling. Sibling eligibility is broadly confined to those under 30, those 65 or over, persons with disabilities and certain veterans with service-related injuries, and the property ceiling is ₩180,000,000 rather than the general figure. Living together is not itself a qualification, and applying the general property threshold to a sibling produces an answer that is wrong on two counts.

Figures in this guide we track

Last checked 24 October 2026

NHIS dependant: annual combined income ceiling₩20,000,0002026-10-02
NHIS dependant: business income treated as none₩5,000,0002026-10-02
NHIS dependant: property tax assessment ceiling₩540,000,0002026-10-02
NHIS dependant: property ceiling for siblings₩180,000,0002026-10-02

These move. We check them on a schedule and keep the previous values, so you can see what a figure was, not only what it is.

Last verified: October 3, 2026

Official sources

Revision history

October 3, 2026Published

Figures here are re-checked against their official sources at least every six months. Substantive changes — a rate, a cap, a rule — are logged above rather than silently overwritten, and collected site-wide inupdates & revisions.

This article is general information, not financial, legal, or tax advice. Requirements and figures change; confirm the current rules with the official sources above before making decisions.