Korea tax refund calculator
Enter what you paid in a Tax Free shop to see how much value-added tax is in the price, whether the store can refund it on the spot, and what a refund operator actually pays back.
Add up the prices of purchases since you arrived that were refunded at the till. Enter prices, not refund amounts.
Eligible, and the store can refund the tax on the spot if it offers instant refunds. Show your passport when you pay.
- VAT included in the price (the most you could get back)
- KRW 10,909
- about USD 8.07
- Expected refund at Global Tax Free stores
- KRW 7,000
- about USD 5.18
Rules in force since Jan 1, 2024, checked against the official text on Sep 28, 2026.
Refund amounts come from the table Global Tax Free publishes, checked on Sep 28, 2026.
Rate date: Sep 28, 2026, published by the Export-Import Bank of Korea
Export-Import Bank of KoreaData updated (Korea time)Last checked (Korea time)
Refund at a glance
Amounts in Korean won (KRW).
| Purchase | VAT in price | Global Tax Free refund |
|---|---|---|
| 15,000 | 1,363 | 1,000 |
| 30,000 | 2,727 | 2,000 |
| 50,000 | 4,545 | 3,000 |
| 100,000 | 9,090 | 7,000 |
| 200,000 | 18,181 | 12,000 |
| 300,000 | 27,272 | 19,000 |
| 500,000 | 45,454 | 35,000 |
| 1,000,000 | 90,909 | 75,000 |
| 2,000,000 | 181,818 | 150,000 |
| 5,000,000 | 454,545 | 390,000 |
What the three figures mean
Prices in Korean shops already include value-added tax. The first figure is the tax contained in your price, worked out from the standard rate. This is the ceiling: no refund is ever larger than the tax you paid.
The second figure tells you whether the purchase qualifies at all and whether the store may take the tax off at the till. The third is the amount a refund operator actually hands back. Operators deduct a handling charge, so the refund is always a little lower than the tax in the price.
Who can claim
Tax refunds are for non-residents of Korea. Foreign visitors qualify while they have stayed in Korea for less than 6 months. Korean nationals living overseas qualify if they have lived abroad for 2 years or more or hold permanent residency in another country, and are staying in Korea for less than 3 months. Companies, diplomats stationed in Korea and members of the United Nations and United States forces in Korea cannot claim.
You will need your passport both when you buy and when you claim, so keep it with you when you go shopping.
Which purchases qualify
Buy from a shop that displays a Tax Free sign. Each purchase must come to at least KRW 15,000, including tax. The minimum applies to a single transaction, so separate receipts cannot be added together to reach it.
The goods must leave Korea with you within 3 months of the purchase date. Tobacco is excluded.
Instant refunds in the store
Some Tax Free shops can refund the tax at the till, so you simply pay the lower price. For this, a single purchase must be under KRW 1,000,000, and all your instant-refund purchases since you arrived, including this one, must not exceed KRW 5,000,000. If you enter your earlier instant-refund purchases in the calculator, it checks the second limit for you.
A purchase that is too large for an instant refund is still eligible. The store issues a refund receipt instead, and you claim the money when you leave Korea.
Why you get back less than the tax
Refunds are paid by refund operators, companies designated by the Korean tax authorities, and each shop works with one of them. Operators deduct their costs from the tax, and each publishes its own table of refund amounts by price band. Two operators can pay slightly different amounts for the same purchase.
This calculator uses the published table of Global Tax Free. Above the top of its table, from KRW 6,000,000, it pays 90% of the tax. We could not find published tables for the other operators that we could check, so their amounts are not shown here. Your receipt shows which operator your shop uses.
Claiming when you leave Korea
At the airport, before checking in, scan your passport and refund receipts at a customs kiosk. The kiosk may select your purchases for inspection, so keep them with you until it has cleared them. After that, collect the refund at your operator's counter or kiosk, or follow the instructions on the receipt.
Procedures and counter locations differ between airports and ports. The official guide from the Korea Tourism Organization, linked below, has the current details.
Frequently asked questions
- Will I get back the full VAT shown by the calculator?
- No. The VAT figure is the maximum. Refund operators deduct a handling charge, so the amount you receive is lower. The operator figure shows what one operator pays for the same price.
- What is the minimum purchase for a tax refund in Korea?
- Each purchase must be at least KRW 15,000, including tax. The minimum applies to one transaction, so several small receipts cannot be combined.
- What are the limits for an instant refund?
- A single purchase must be under KRW 1,000,000, and your instant-refund purchases on one trip can total at most KRW 5,000,000. These limits have applied since Jan 1, 2024.
- What if my purchase is over the instant refund limit?
- It still qualifies. Ask the shop for a refund receipt and claim the refund at the airport or port when you leave Korea.
- How long do I have to take the goods out of Korea?
- The goods must leave Korea within 3 months of the purchase date. After that, the purchase no longer qualifies.
- Can I choose which refund operator I use?
- No. Each shop works with its own operator, and the operator's name is printed on the refund receipt. Refund amounts differ slightly between operators.
- Is this calculator official?
- No. It applies the published rules and one operator's published table to the amount you enter. The shop, the operator and customs make the actual decision, so check the receipt and the official guide before relying on a figure.