Foreign resident: years of Korean residence triggering full worldwide taxation
The exception that stops 'resident means worldwide income' being true for most foreign arrivals, and the one most often missed. It is cumulative across ten years, so it changes silently as a stay lengthens rather than on any single date.
- Applies to
- Foreign nationals who are Korean tax residents and hold foreign-source income
- Review cadence
- Checked once a year
What we have recorded
- 2026-09-145 years or less, in the preceding 10
A foreign resident whose Korean residence within the ten years to the end of the tax period totals five years or less is taxed on foreign-source income only to the extent it is paid in Korea or remitted to Korea. Beyond that threshold the ordinary worldwide basis matters much more. Counted cumulatively, so it needs tracking year by year rather than checking once.
Income Tax Act — scope of taxation for foreign residents
One reading so far. This becomes a history the first time the figure moves while we are watching — which is the part that cannot be reconstructed later.
Guides that depend on this figure
When this figure moves, every guide above needs the same edit. That is why it is tracked here rather than copied into each one.