Overseas Stock Account Declarations Surpass 48.1 Trillion Won Last Year, More Than Double in One Year

Overseas Stock Account Reports Double in One Year
Virtual Asset Value Surge Drives Increase in Reported Amounts
Largest Holdings Found in U.S. and Indian Accounts
Penalties Imposed for Failure to Report or Underreport
Voluntary Amendments May Reduce Fines by Up to 90%

As of last year, the amount reported for overseas stock accounts exceeded 48 trillion won, more than doubling in just one year. The total amount reported for overseas financial accounts-including stocks, savings and deposit accounts, virtual assets, and collective investment securities (funds)-also surpassed 94 trillion won.

The National Tax Service announced on August 26 that, as of the end of June this year, the total number of people who reported overseas financial accounts for last year was 6,858, with a total reported amount of 94.5 trillion won. Compared to the previous year, the number of reporters increased by 1,901 (38.3%), and the reported amount rose by 29.6 trillion won (45.6%).

Domestic residents and Korean corporations are required to report to the National Tax Service if, on any day at the end of each month from January 1 to December 31 of the previous year, the balance of all assets held in overseas financial accounts-including deposits, savings, stocks, derivatives, bonds, collective investment securities, insurance, and virtual assets-exceeded 500 million won.

According to the National Tax Service, this year, 1,992 people reported overseas stock accounts totaling 48.1 trillion won, an increase of 335 people (20.2%) and 24.5 trillion won (103.8%) compared to 2024 (1,657 people and 23.6 trillion won). In particular, the reported amount for corporate stock accounts increased by 23.1 trillion won. For other overseas financial accounts such as savings and deposit accounts and virtual asset accounts, 46.4 trillion won was reported, an increase of 5.1 trillion won (12.3%) compared to 2024 (41.3 trillion won). A National Tax Service official explained, "The reason for the increase in both the number of reporters and the reported amount this year compared to last year is that the number of reports for virtual assets increased due to the rise in virtual asset values, and the reported amount for stock accounts also increased."

Among individual reporters, 6,023 people reported 26.7 trillion won, an increase of 1,871 people (45.1%) and 10.3 trillion won (62.8%) compared to last year's 4,152 people and 16.4 trillion won. Among corporate reporters, 835 corporations reported 67.8 trillion won, an increase of 30 corporations (3.7%) and 19.3 trillion won (39.8%) compared to last year's 805 corporations and 48.5 trillion won.

Excluding overseas virtual asset accounts, the largest reported amounts for overseas financial accounts were held in U.S. accounts for individuals and Indian accounts for corporations. By asset type, the largest reported amounts for deposits, savings, collective investment securities, and derivatives were in U.S. accounts, while the largest reported amount for stocks was in Indian accounts.

The National Tax Service identifies violators of overseas financial account reporting obligations through report verification and tax investigations, imposing penalties such as fines, criminal prosecution, and public disclosure of names. Failure to report or underreport overseas financial accounts results in a fine equivalent to 10% of the unreported amount. For example, if a person fails to report an overseas financial account with a balance of 600 million won, a fine of 60 million won (10% of 600 million won) will be imposed. If the account is underreported as 500 million won, a fine of 10 million won (10% of the excess 100 million won) must be paid. If the source of the unreported amount is not explained or is falsely explained, an additional fine equivalent to 10% of the amount will be imposed. By the end of December 2024, the National Tax Service had identified 821 unreported cases and imposed fines totaling 263.3 billion won.

If the amount in violation of the reporting obligation exceeds 5 billion won, the violator may be subject to a criminal fine or prosecution by investigative authorities, and their personal information may be publicly disclosed. By the end of December last year, the National Tax Service had imposed criminal penalties (notifications and prosecutions) on 104 people for violating overseas financial account reporting obligations and publicly disclosed the personal information of 9 individuals. At the end of this year, the National Tax Information Committee will select additional individuals for public disclosure following a review.

Even after this year’s reporting deadline (June 30), it is possible to file amended or late reports for unreported or underreported overseas financial accounts. If a person voluntarily files an amended or late report for unreported or underreported accounts, the fine may be reduced by up to 90% depending on the timing of the report, and the individual will be excluded from public disclosure.

A National Tax Service official stated, "We will thoroughly verify suspected cases of unreported overseas financial accounts by comprehensively reviewing information exchanged between countries and foreign exchange data, and will strictly enforce fines, criminal penalties, public disclosure, and tax collection. In particular, to respond to the potential risk of tax base erosion through virtual assets, the National Tax Service and tax authorities worldwide are preparing to implement information exchange reporting rules (CARF) for virtual asset transaction records. We urge all those subject to reporting to faithfully report their overseas virtual asset accounts as well."