Income Tax Refunds to Be Automatically Notified for 1.47 Million Including Delivery Riders and Substitute Drivers by National Tax Service

The National Tax Service announced on September 10 that, as part of its livelihood support measures, it will begin notifying small-scale taxpayers such as delivery riders, substitute drivers, and private academy instructors about their income tax refunds, allowing them to receive their refunds easily and without any fees.

On this day, the National Tax Service held the "On-site Communication Meeting to Resolve Tax Difficulties for 4 Million Personal Service Income Earners," attended by the Commissioner and key executives of the National Tax Service, as well as organizations representing personal service income earners, including the Korea Delivery Riders Association and the Korea Substitute Drivers Association.

Kwanghyun Lim, Commissioner of the National Tax Service, is speaking at the "On-site Communication Meeting to Resolve Tax Difficulties for 4 Million Personal Service Income Earners" on the 10th. (Photo by National Tax Service)

At the meeting, Commissioner Kwanghyun Lim of the National Tax Service stated, "There have been people who were unaware that they were entitled to income tax refunds, or who had to pay high fees to use private services to receive their refunds. The National Tax Service will now proactively identify and notify small-scale taxpayers of their income tax refunds, so they can receive them easily and without any fees."

For this round of notifications, the National Tax Service has introduced a new ARS refund application system, allowing taxpayers to apply for refunds through a wider variety of methods. In addition, a dedicated hotline for refund applications has been established, and any inconveniences experienced during the refund process will be promptly reflected in the service.

This notification covers not only taxpayers who have not yet claimed their refunds, but also 290,000 personal service income earners who have become newly eligible for refunds this year, for a total of 1.47 million people (with total refunds amounting to 198.5 billion won).

The notification system has been improved by adding a "Direct Link to Hometax Filing" button to the mobile notification, allowing users to access Hometax directly without launching a separate app. After identity verification and entering their refund account information, taxpayers can apply for up to five years' worth of refunds in a single step.

For taxpayers who have difficulty applying via mobile, the newly introduced ARS application system enables them to apply for refunds with a single phone call. Refunds applied for by September 20 will be paid before the start of the holiday period.

At the meeting, organizations representing personal service income earners raised concerns about the high withholding tax rate (3.3%) leading to frequent refunds, as well as the complexity of the comprehensive income tax filing and refund process for small-scale personal service income earners who find it difficult to obtain help from tax agents.

In response, Commissioner Lim said, "We will review the withholding tax rate to ensure it is reasonable, and ultimately, we will improve the system so that the National Tax Service can handle comprehensive income tax filing and refunds on behalf of small-scale taxpayers. We are committed to making the process as convenient as possible for taxpayers. The National Tax Service will continue to listen carefully to the voices of small-scale taxpayers and will spare no effort in developing tax services that support the socially vulnerable and strengthen the role of tax administration in supporting the livelihood economy."