Korea Tax Refund
Two ceilings decide whether the shop refunds you at the register or sends you to the airport. Most visitors know the first one and get caught by the second.
Refunded at the register
Under both ceilings, so the shop takes it off when you show your passport. Nothing to do at the airport.
VAT inside this price: ₩10,909
The two limits
₩1,000,000 per purchase. Below it, a shop set up for immediate refund (즉시환급) takes the tax off when you show your passport. At or above it, the same shop cannot, and the purchase becomes an airport claim.
₩5,000,000 across your whole stay. This is the one nobody mentions. It is cumulative across every shop, so the register that declines your refund on the last day is not being difficult — the total behind you has already passed the ceiling.
Both figures doubled in January 2024, up from ₩500,000 and ₩2,500,000. Older English guides still quote the smaller ones.
Why this tool doesn't tell you the amount
The VAT sitting inside a Korean price is simple arithmetic — the price divided by eleven — and that number is shown above. What actually reaches your hand is less, because refund operators take a fee on a banded scale, and the bands differ between operators.
We could print a figure that looks precise and is wrong at the counter. Showing the VAT portion and saying plainly that the payout is somewhat below it is the honest version.
On the day
- Carry the physical passport on any day you plan to shop properly. A photo is not accepted.
- Claim before you check bags if you are refunding at the airport — the desk can ask to see the goods.
- Not every shop is registered. Look for the tax-free sign at the till; small independents often are not.
Common questions
How much can I get refunded at the shop?
Immediate refund applies to a single purchase under ₩1,000,000, and only while your total for the whole stay stays at ₩5,000,000 or below. Both limits were doubled in January 2024 and still apply. Cross either one and the purchase moves to the airport refund process instead.
What happens if I go over the limit?
You do not lose the refund — it changes where you claim it. Instead of coming off at the register, you keep the receipt and process it at the airport desk before you fly. That is more paperwork on the day you have the least time, which is the real reason the ceilings matter.
Does the cumulative limit reset?
It applies across your stay, not per shop or per day. This is the part visitors get caught by: each individual purchase looks fine, and then a shop late in the trip declines the immediate refund because the total behind it has already passed the ceiling.
What do I need to bring?
Your physical passport. A photo of it is not accepted, and the refund is tied to your entry record, so it has to be the real one.
Where this usually comes up
Cosmetics, mostly. Olive Young is where a trip's spending quietly accumulates.
Part of the K-beauty guide, where most of this spending happens.
While you're here
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