South Korea leans toward fourth delay of crypto gains tax, to 2029

South Korea's crypto tax may slip again. The presidential office has moved toward postponing the tax on cryptocurrency income that was set to start on Jan. 1, 2027, Seoul Economic Daily reported on Oct. 25, 2026. "The discussion has moved toward delaying implementation of the crypto tax," a presidential office official told the paper.

It would be the fourth postponement. The tax was written into a 2020 revision of the Income Tax Act and was first scheduled for 2022, according to the two reports.

Why: the U.S. data gap

The key concern is timing under the OECD's Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework (CARF), which lets tax authorities exchange data on users' trades. South Korea, Japan and the U.K. are due to start exchanging data in 2027, Singapore, Switzerland and Hong Kong in 2028, and the U.S. only in 2029, CoinDesk reported, citing the OECD timetable.

Without U.S. data, the burden could fall mostly on users of domestic exchanges. "Almost half of the crypto market is the U.S.," an official told Newsis, as quoted by CoinDesk.

What the tax looks like

• Rate: 22% combined (20% plus local income tax) on annual income from crypto transfers or lending.
• Basic deduction: 2.5 million won (about $1,887, per CoinDesk).
• Proposed new start date: Jan. 1, 2029, in a bill from Democratic Party lawmaker Park Min-kyu, per CoinDesk.

The People Power Party also wants a delay, so the law is expected to be amended during the tax review in November, Seoul Economic Daily reported. CoinDesk said a final decision is expected by early December. The National Tax Service still lists Jan. 1, 2027 as the start date.