South Korea NTS publishes crypto tax guidelines

South Korea's National Tax Service (NTS) plans to publish its crypto tax guidance in November 2026; the exact day has not been announced. The guidelines are meant to clarify how staking, airdrops and DeFi activity will be treated under the crypto levy that begins on January 1, 2027.

What is happening

NTS Commissioner Lim Gwang-hyeon confirmed the November timeline on October 13 during a parliamentary audit. He said the agency is working with exchanges and the Ministry of Finance and Economy to prepare their systems. According to the commissioner, the treatment of a given activity depends on whether it involves transferring or lending digital assets.

The levy applies to gains from transferring or lending digital assets above an annual basic deduction of 2.5 million won (about $1,870). The national rate is 20%, which becomes 22% once local income tax is added. Qualifying income is taxed as separate other income under the Income Tax Act, calculated after acquisition costs and transaction expenses, with annual gains and losses combined before the deduction applies.

For assets acquired before the rules begin, the acquisition value generally uses the higher of the original cost or the market value just before implementation. Returns for 2027 income are to be filed in May 2028, during the May 1-31 declaration window. Lim said data collection and verification will begin from those returns.

Why it matters

Staking, airdrops and DeFi are described as the most debated areas of the new framework. Published guidance would give holders and traders a clearer basis for understanding how these activities are classified and reported before the tax takes effect. Investors who bought before 2027 may also want to keep records of their original costs, since those figures can affect the starting value used for tax purposes.

The guidance also bears on exchanges. Lawmakers questioned whether the records of platforms such as Upbit, Bithumb, Coinone, DigitalX and Gopax would be consistent enough to meet the deadline, and transfers between private wallets remain the hardest to track. The political backdrop is unsettled as well: a petition has reached the 50,000 signatures needed for parliamentary consideration, and the People Power Party has proposed postponing the tax until January 2030. Separately, regulators have ordered website blocks on 27 unregistered overseas exchanges, including KuCoin, MEXC and BingX.

Key details

• Date: November 2026 (month precision; exact day not announced)
• Project: National Tax Service (South Korea)
• Coins: none specified
• Category: Regulatory Deadline
• Status: confirmed
• Source: BeInCrypto (https://beincrypto.com/south-korea-crypto-tax-guidelines-november-2026/)