Overseas account reporting + tax residency checker

The one rule that matters most: 5 years within 10

Two separate Korean tax obligations turn on the same threshold. A foreign resident who has had a home or residence in Korea for an aggregate of 5 years or less during the 10 years before the year-end is (1) fully exempt from overseas financial account reporting, and (2) taxed on foreign-source income only when that income is paid in Korea or sent to Korea. Cross the 5-year mark and both rules flip: you may need to report large overseas accounts, and your worldwide income becomes taxable here.

Who has to file the overseas account report?

You file the overseas financial account report (해외금융계좌 신고) only if all three are true: you are a Korean tax resident, you have been resident for more than 5 of the last 10 years, and the combined balance of your overseas accounts passed ₩500 million on the last day of any single month during the year. The test is month-end, not year-end. One month above the line is enough to trigger the duty.

What counts toward the ₩500 million

Overseas bank deposits, securities and brokerage accounts, funds and ETFs, derivatives, savings-type insurance, and custodial crypto accounts at exchanges like Binance or Coinbase all count. Self-custody crypto, such as a hardware wallet or MetaMask, does not count. You add the balances across all accounts on each month-end and compare the total to ₩500 million.

The deadline and how to file

The filing window is June 1 to June 30 of the year after the reporting year. For 2025 accounts, that is June 1 to June 30, 2026. File electronically through Hometax (홈택스) or the Sontax (손택스) app. Missing the report carries a penalty that starts at 10% of the unreported amount and rises for larger sums.