"Remarriage OK"... 1 Million Won Tax Credit for Marriages Within 3 Years [2024 Tax Reform]

Tax Benefits for Marriages from 2024 to 2026
No First Marriage Requirement, Available Once in a Lifetime for Everyone

The government will provide a marriage tax credit benefit of up to 1 million KRW to couples who register their marriage. This is to prevent the worsening low birthrate trend caused by late marriage and non-marriage and to encourage marriage.

On the 25th, the Ministry of Economy and Finance held a Tax System Development Committee meeting and announced the "2024 Tax Law Amendment" containing these details. The marriage tax credit will be applied from this year through 2026. If a marriage is registered within this period, the tax credit will be applied during the year-end tax settlement of the same year or the tax base declaration of the following year. The benefit is available only once in a lifetime, regardless of remarriage, first marriage, or age.

Even if the marriage was already registered this year, the tax credit benefit will be applied retroactively. Jeong Jeong-hoon, Director of the Tax Policy Bureau at the Ministry of Economy and Finance, explained, "We were concerned that marriage registrations would sharply decrease in the second half of this year if retroactive application was not made," adding, "We thought retroactive application was appropriate because not doing so could cause statistical distortions and overall economic distortions."

The tax law amendment also includes tax benefits related to the recovery of livelihoods such as childbirth and child-rearing. The government added "spouses other than the head of household" to the income deduction and interest income tax exemption targets for the Housing Subscription Savings account. This is to prevent the loss of subscription housing deduction and tax exemption benefits that spouses receive upon marriage. Also, when a man and woman each owning one house marry, even if they become two-house owners, they will be considered as one-house owners for five years, and this period has been extended to ten years. The child tax credit has been increased by 100,000 KRW each: 150,000 KRW for the first child, 200,000 KRW for the second child, and 300,000 KRW for the third child.

To reduce the burden on low- and middle-income earners, workers with a total salary of 70 million KRW or less will receive income deductions when using swimming pool and fitness center facilities. The deduction rate is 30%, and including other additional deductions, up to 3 million KRW per year can be deducted. As the hometown love donation limit has increased from 5 million KRW to 20 million KRW, the tax credit applicable donations will also be expanded, and the income ceiling for working couples receiving the earned income tax credit has been raised from 38 million KRW to 44 million KRW.