Korea Moves to Delay Its Crypto Gains Tax to 2029, a Fourth Postponement

South Korea's long-promised tax on cryptocurrency gains is set to slip again. The finance ministry said on November 5, 2026, that it will work with the National Assembly to delay the tax, scheduled to start on January 1, 2027, by two years to January 1, 2029. On November 11, lawmakers from the ruling and opposition parties reached a tentative agreement in a tax subcommittee to go along with the delay, according to a local report. If the law is amended as proposed, gains from selling or lending crypto through the end of 2028 will not be subject to income tax.

How does Korea's crypto tax work?

Under the current Income Tax Act, profits from transferring or lending virtual assets are treated as "other income" and taxed separately from wages and other earnings. Investors add up a full year of gains and losses, subtract a basic deduction of 2.5 million won, and pay 20% national income tax on the rest. A local income tax of 10% of that bill brings the combined rate to 22%.

Here is a simple example. Suppose an investor makes 10 million won (about $7,500 at the 1,333.6 won per dollar daytime reference rate reported for November 11) on Bitcoin and loses 5 million won on Ether in the same year. The net gain is 5 million won. After the 2.5 million won deduction, 2.5 million won is taxable, and 22% of that is 550,000 won. This is a simplified calculation that ignores trading fees and other deductible costs. If losses in a year are larger than gains, there is no taxable income for that year.

Why is the tax being delayed again?

The ministry's main reason is information. Korea will begin automatically exchanging crypto transaction data with the United States under the OECD's Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework, known as CARF, only in 2029. Taxing now, before overseas trading data can be checked, could leave the domestic market at a disadvantage compared with foreign platforms, the ministry said in its statement.

It also cited the planned enactment of a Digital Asset Act, saying a two-year preparation period before the tax starts was the more reasonable path.

This would be the fourth delay since the tax was written into law in 2020. It was first set to start in 2022, then pushed to 2023, 2025 and 2027.

What else would change?

The government also wants to introduce a three-year loss carryforward. Today, gains and losses can only be netted within the same calendar year. That means an investor who loses heavily one year and profits the next pays tax on the full profit in the second year. With a carryforward, losses could be deducted from gains for up to three years afterward.

A joint public-private working group will study detailed rules for different kinds of transactions, aiming to propose legislation to the 2027 regular session of the National Assembly. The ministry plans to publish detailed taxation standards in the first half of 2028, giving investors time to prepare before the new start date.

What is still undecided?

The bill to delay the tax has not yet been formally approved by the subcommittee. The final vote is expected on the subcommittee's last day of deliberations, according to the report. Lawmakers have also discussed raising the 2.5 million won deduction, but the government opposed that idea, and there were also disagreements over when exchanges should be required to submit trading records.

What it means for investors

For now, the practical effect is simple: if the amendment passes, crypto gains realized in 2027 and 2028 will not be taxed. The bigger change comes later. When the tax does begin, investors will need full records of each year's gains and losses across every exchange they use, both to calculate the 22% tax and to claim any carried-forward losses.

Glossary

Basic deduction: the amount of annual net crypto gains that is not taxed, currently 2.5 million won.

Loss carryforward: a rule that lets losses from one year reduce taxable gains in later years.

CARF: the OECD's framework for tax authorities to automatically share crypto transaction data across borders.

Bottom line

Korea's crypto tax is on track to start in 2029 instead of 2027, pending a final vote in parliament. The tax rate and the 2.5 million won deduction stay the same for now, but a new three-year loss carryforward could make the eventual tax less punishing for investors whose results swing from year to year.

Sources: Korean finance ministry press release on the crypto tax delay (PDF), National Assembly legislative notice on the Income Tax Act amendment