Korea Tax Refund 2026: Minimum, In-Store Caps, Airport Steps

Photo: Kanchi1979, CC BY 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons (modified)

Last checked: 2026-10-27 (KST) · Sources: Special Regulations on VAT and Individual Consumption Tax for Foreign Tourists (law.go.kr) · Enforcement Rule of the same regulations (law.go.kr) · Korea Customs Service, Tax Refund · Korea Customs Service release on cruise passengers, April 3, 2026 (korea.kr) · VISITKOREA, Comprehensive Tax Refund Guide · Incheon Airport, tax refund · What changed recently: since April 6, 2026, cruise passengers can use the in-store and downtown refunds, which until then ran on immigration records that cruise arrivals did not have. The amounts have not moved since January 1, 2024.

Korea gives back the value-added tax, and the individual consumption tax where it applies, on goods a visitor buys at a designated tax-free shop and takes home. The English guides at the top of search results disagree. One updated in February 2026 still gives a ₩30,000 minimum and calls the ₩1,000,000 in-store cap per item; another says "up to" ₩1,000,000 where the law says "under".

This page settles them from the presidential decree that runs the system (외국인관광객 등에 대한 부가가치세 및 개별소비세 특례규정) and its enforcement rule, with the article and start date for each amount. Nothing here comes from a shopping trip.

The 2026 numbers in one table

Rule	Amount (tax included)	Where it is set	In force since
Minimum purchase	₩15,000 or more in one transaction	Enforcement Rule Art. 2(1), under Decree Art. 3(1)5	January 1, 2024
In-store refund, per purchase	Under ₩1,000,000 in one transaction	Decree Art. 6(2)1	January 1, 2024
In-store refund, whole trip	₩5,000,000 or less since you entered Korea	Decree Art. 6(2)2	January 1, 2024
Downtown refund before departure	₩6,000,000 or less in one transaction	Decree Art. 10-4(1) and (3)	January 1, 2024
Refund at the airport or port	No purchase cap	Korea Customs Service table, April 3, 2026	not stated
Export deadline	Goods leave Korea within 3 months of purchase	Decree Art. 6(1)1	not changed in 2024

Amounts follow the official rules as of October 27, 2026. The refund operator and customs decide each claim, so keep every receipt and refund form until the money arrives. Nothing here promises a refund outcome.

₩15,000 or ₩30,000? The minimum, settled

The decree leaves the figure to a ministry ordinance. Article 3(1)5 excludes goods whose "one-time transaction value" (1회 거래가액), counting VAT and individual consumption tax, falls below the amount the ordinance sets. Article 2(1) of the Enforcement Rule sets that amount at 15,000 won (1만5천원).

I traced that figure through the addenda (부칙) rather than the consolidated text. The amendment that wrote 15,000 won into Article 2(1) is Ordinance No. 1031 of December 29, 2023. Its addendum says it took effect on January 1, 2024 and applies to goods bought from that day. The government's November 2023 announcement, as reported by Korea.net, names the figure it replaced: 30,000 won. A ₩30,000 minimum is a pre-2024 number.

The test is one transaction, which in practice means one receipt; purchases at two different shops do not add up. Tax is inside the figure, and exactly ₩15,000 qualifies, because only amounts below the threshold are excluded. The Korea Customs Service FAQ on departure checks gives the same 1.5만원.

Is the ₩1,000,000 cap per item or per receipt?

Per transaction, and the transaction has to stay under the line. Article 6(2) lets a designated shop sell at the tax-free price on the spot (즉시환급, immediate refund) only when both conditions hold:

1. The one-time transaction value, tax included, is under ₩1,000,000 (100만원 미만).
2. The total, tax included, of what you have bought this way since you entered Korea is ₩5,000,000 or less (500만원 이하).

The cap applies to the whole basket on one receipt, not to each item. A receipt of exactly ₩1,000,000 is outside the in-store route and goes to the airport refund instead.

The decree also closes the obvious workaround. Under Article 5(4)10, a shop that splits the price of one item across two or more refund forms twice in a single tax period can lose its tax-free designation. A ₩1,200,000 coat cannot be rung up as two ₩600,000 sales.

I verified the start date in the decree's addenda as well. Presidential Decree No. 34020, promulgated December 26, 2023, says the amended Article 6(2)1 and 6(2)2 apply to goods bought on or after January 1, 2024. The government policy site korea.kr listed the change in December 2023 as a doubling to "1회 100만 원, 총 500만 원", and the Korea.net report gives the old limits as ₩500,000 per transaction and ₩2,500,000 in total.

On a long trip, Article 6(4) matters: if any tax-free goods you bought have not left Korea within 3 months of purchase, purchases after that point lose the in-store route. And under Articles 6(3) and 10-2(2), the operator deducts a fee the National Tax Service approves, so the money back is the tax minus that fee.

Who can claim, and who cannot

Decree Article 2 limits the refund to "non-residents" under the Foreign Exchange Transactions Act, then removes three groups: corporations, diplomats posted in Korea, and members and civilian staff of the UN and US forces stationed here.

I read through Article 10 of the Enforcement Decree of the Foreign Exchange Transactions Act for the residency line:

You are	Status under the FX decree	Tax refund
A foreign visitor in Korea for under 6 months, not working here	Non-resident	Eligible
A foreigner who has stayed in Korea 6 months or more	Resident	Not eligible
A foreigner working in a business in Korea, any length of stay	Resident	Not eligible
A diplomat or consular officer at a foreign mission in Korea	Non-resident, excluded by Decree Art. 2	Not eligible
A Korean national who has lived abroad 2 years or more	Non-resident	Eligible
A Korean national, non-resident before, now back in Korea 3 months or more	Resident	Not eligible

A visit home of up to 3 months still counts toward the 2 years abroad. VISITKOREA states the same split and adds that purchases in a company name or through an agent do not qualify.

At Incheon Airport: what happens, in order

I compared the Korea Customs Service page, the Incheon Airport Customs office page (Korean) and Incheon Airport's own page. They agree on what must happen:

Step	Where	What you show
Kiosk check	Customs kiosk in the departure hall, before security	Passport and refund form; the kiosk says whether customs wants to inspect
Customs inspection, only if selected	Customs desk in the departure hall	Passport, the goods unopened and unused, the refund form
Checked bag with refund goods	Tell the airline at check-in	The bag is tagged, cleared by customs, then sent on the large-baggage belt
Security and passport control	Departure area	Boarding pass and passport
Collect the refund	Refund counter or kiosk in the duty-free zone	Passport

They differ on one detail: the customs office lists the kiosk before check-in, the airport lists check-in first. Both put the customs confirmation before your bag leaves you and the refund after passport control. The airport itself warns about congestion, so allow time; the AREX express train schedule helps you plan the ride out.

Refund points, as Incheon Airport lists them:

Terminal	Staffed counter	Kiosk
Terminal 1	Near Gate 28, 3rd floor duty-free zone, 07:00 to 22:00	Near Gate 28, open 24 hours; another in the Concourse at Gate 115
Terminal 2	Near Gate 253, across from Gate 250, 3rd floor, 07:00 to 21:30	Same area, open 24 hours

At the refund kiosk you scan your passport, and the airport says a large refund can go to your own card instead of cash.

In-store refund purchases are reported to customs electronically, but Article 9(1) still requires the export to be confirmed when you leave, and customs may ask for the receipt. Keep those goods within reach. Where an airport or port has no kiosk, the Korea Customs Service sends you to its inspection team.

Downtown refund, the third route

Article 10-4 lets you collect the refund in the city before you fly, for one transaction of ₩6,000,000 or less. The operator may ask you to back the amount, so VISITKOREA says to bring your passport, the voucher and a card. The export check at departure still applies.

Cruise passengers, from April 6, 2026

Until April 2026, in-store and downtown refunds ran on Ministry of Justice immigration data, and cruise passengers come ashore on a separate tourist landing permit (관광상륙허가), so a short port call ruled both out. The Korea Customs Service release of April 3 says that from Monday, April 6, 2026, customs links its port-arrival reports and passenger lists to the refund system. It expects around 2 million cruise passengers in 2026 and counts about 23,000 designated shops.

I cross-checked the release's limit table against the decree, and its figures match Articles 6(2) and 10-4.

Before you shop

• Carry your passport; the shop checks it before issuing a refund form (Decree Art. 8).
• Ask for that form at the till. The customs FAQ says an ordinary receipt or card slip does not count.
• Tobacco is excluded, and liquor tax is not refunded.
• Keep goods unused and the forms with you until the refund is paid.

For daily costs, see the cost of living guide for Korea in 2026; for cash and cards, the Playground page on money in Korea.

FAQ

What is the minimum purchase for a tax refund in Korea in 2026? ₩15,000 in one transaction, tax included. The Enforcement Rule set it on January 1, 2024; before that it was ₩30,000.

Is the 1,000,000 won tax refund limit per item or per receipt? Per transaction, which means the whole receipt. It must be under ₩1,000,000, and your in-store total for the trip must stay at ₩5,000,000 or less.

How long do I have to take tax-free items out of Korea? Three months from the purchase date, under Decree Article 6(1)1.

Can foreigners living in Korea for more than 6 months get a tax refund? No. A foreigner who has stayed 6 months or more, or who works in a business in Korea, counts as a resident under the Foreign Exchange Transactions Act.

Where is the tax refund counter at Incheon Airport? Terminal 1: near Gate 28 on the 3rd floor, staffed 07:00 to 22:00. Terminal 2: near Gate 253, staffed 07:00 to 21:30. Kiosks at both are open 24 hours.

Can cruise passengers get a tax refund in Korea? Yes. Since April 6, 2026 they can also use the in-store and downtown refunds, with the same limits as other visitors.

What we could not confirm

• The operator's fee. No official page we opened gives the amounts.
• Which order, kiosk or check-in first, Incheon prefers. The customs office and the airport list them differently.
• Hours of refund counters at airports other than Incheon.
• The downtown figure before January 1, 2024. The addenda show Article 10-4 changed that day but not the old amount.

Related on this site

• Overcharged in Korea 2026: Price Rules and How to Report
• Cost of living in Korea 2026, from official sources
• AREX Express train 2026: 56 runs a day, times and fares
• Korean restaurant prices 2026, region by region
• Money in Korea: cash, cards and the tourist tax refund (Playground)

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