Expansion of Automatic Application for Earned Income Tax Credit to 'Aged 60 and Over'... Payment by End of June This Year

National Tax Service Announces Application Guidance for 1.22 Million People for the 2023 Second Half Earned Income Tax Credit

This year, the automatic application eligibility for the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) will be expanded to those aged 60 and over.

On the 29th, the National Tax Service (NTS) announced that it will accept applications for the second half of 2023 earned income tax credit from the 1st to the 15th of next month to encourage work among low-income households and actively support economic independence. A total of 1.22 million people with earned income only in 2023 are eligible to apply. The NTS plans to review the eligibility requirements and disburse the credits by the end of June.

To improve convenience in applying for the credit, the NTS has expanded the age eligibility for automatic application consent from '65 years and older' to '60 years and older.' If applicants consent to automatic application once during the application period, the credit will be automatically applied for when they are included in the application notification target within the next two years. Receiving the automatically applied credit extends the automatic application period by two years.

Accordingly, among the 20,000 people who gave prior consent during the semi-annual application in March 2023, 130,000 will have their applications completed automatically on March 1 without any additional procedures. The NTS plans to notify 350,000 new eligible individuals about prior consent for automatic application.

The eligibility for the second half of 2023 earned income tax credit includes households that meet both income and property requirements according to household criteria and have earned income only. Only one person per household can apply for the credit. Households are classified as single, single-earner, or dual-earner depending on the presence of a spouse or dependents. Specifically, ▲single households are those without a spouse, dependent children, or direct ascendants aged 70 or older ▲single-earner households have a spouse (with total earnings under 3 million KRW) or dependent children or direct ascendants aged 70 or older (each with annual income under 1 million KRW) ▲dual-earner households have both the applicant and spouse with total earnings of 3 million KRW or more each.

The combined total income of a couple in 2022 (including earned income, business and clergy income, interest, dividends, pensions, and other income) must be under 22 million KRW for single households, under 32 million KRW for single-earner households, and under 38 million KRW for dual-earner households to be eligible to apply.

The credit can be applied for through Hometax (PC or mobile) without visiting the tax office. Applications are also possible via automated phone service.

An NTS official stated, "NTS staff never request any money or financial information (such as account passwords) in relation to the credit application," and urged caution against electronic financial crimes impersonating the earned income tax credit application process (such as phone scams and fraudulent text messages).