About Takehome Korea and where every number comes from

Takehome Korea is a free calculator for people who work in Korea. It works out take-home pay from an annual or monthly salary, severance pay, and hourly pay with the weekly holiday allowance, all under Korean rules. There are no accounts, and the amounts and dates you enter are calculated inside your browser.

What it does differently

It says which period’s rules it is using, right beside the result. At the moment that is October 2026.
It shows the math for every deduction, so you can compare it line by line with your Korean payslip. Korean names are shown next to the English ones.
For 2027 it separates what is set by law, what has been approved, and what is not decided yet. It does not guess the undecided figures.
Every figure was read from the law or the agency notice itself, and the day we checked is shown.

This calculator uses the standard monthly withholding table that applies to residents.

The full table of rules

Values, periods and sources. Every source was opened and checked on 10 October 2026. The source pages are in Korean.

Item	Value	In force	Source (checked 2026-10-10)
National Pension 국민연금, employee rate	4.75%	1 January 2026 to 31 December 2026	National Pension Act, Article 88 and Addenda (Act No. 20903) Article 4 National Pension Service: contribution amounts and rates
National Pension rate for 2027	5.0% set by law	from 1 January 2027	National Pension Act, Article 88 and Addenda (Act No. 20903) Article 4
National Pension rate after that	2028 5.25%, 2029 5.5%, 2030 5.75%, 2031 6.0%, 2032 6.25%, 2033 6.5%	each January	National Pension Act, Article 88 and Addenda (Act No. 20903) Article 4
Income used for the National Pension	₩410,000 to ₩6,590,000 a month, amounts under ₩1,000 dropped	1 July 2026 to 30 June 2027	National Pension Service: contribution amounts and rates
National Health Insurance 건강보험, employee rate	3.595%, half of 7.19%	from 1 January 2026	National Health Insurance Service: notice of the 2026 contribution rates
Health insurance rate for 2027	7.19% kept approved	approved 8 September 2026	Ministry of Health and Welfare press release of 8 September 2026 on the 2027 health insurance rate
Monthly health premium limits, employee share	₩10,080 to ₩4,591,740; the notice states ₩20,160 to ₩9,183,480 for employee and employer together	from 1 January 2026; 2027 values not decided	Notice on the monthly ceiling and floor of health insurance premiums (Ministry of Health and Welfare Notice 2025-222)
Long-term Care Insurance 장기요양보험	health premium × 0.9448% ÷ 7.19%	from 1 January 2026; 2027 rate not decided	National Health Insurance Service: notice of the 2026 contribution rates Ministry of Health and Welfare press release of 14 August 2026 on when the 2027 long-term care rate will be set
Employment Insurance 고용보험, employee rate	0.9%; not collected from people hired after turning 65	current decree	Enforcement Decree of the Insurance Premium Collection Act, Article 12 Insurance Premium Collection Act, Article 13
Income tax (monthly withholding) 소득세	simplified withholding table: 647 rows from ₩770,000 to ₩10,000,000 a month, and the formula in the table notes above that	in force since 1 March 2026	Enforcement Decree of the Income Tax Act, Table 2: simplified withholding table for earned income Enforcement Decree of the Income Tax Act, Article 194
Reduction for children	children aged 8 to 20: ₩20,830 for one, ₩45,830 for two, ₩33,330 more for each further child	in force since 1 March 2026	Enforcement Decree of the Income Tax Act, Table 2: simplified withholding table for earned income
Withholding rate	80% or 120% of the table amount on request		Enforcement Decree of the Income Tax Act, Article 194
Local income tax 지방소득세	10% of the income tax		Local Tax Act, Article 103-13
Tax-free meal allowance	up to ₩200,000 a month for workers who are not given meals		Income Tax Act, Article 12, subparagraph 3
Income the premiums are charged on	pay minus non-taxable earned income (for Employment Insurance, the Act’s wording only)		Enforcement Decree of the National Pension Act, Article 3 Enforcement Decree of the National Health Insurance Act, Article 33 Insurance Premium Collection Act, Article 2
Rounding	each premium and tax rounded down to ₩10 (this calculator’s method)		Management of the National Funds Act, Article 47
Minimum wage 최저임금, 2026	₩10,320 an hour, ₩82,560 a day, ₩2,156,880 a month	1 January 2026 to 31 December 2026	Minimum Wage Commission: minimum wage by year
Minimum wage, 2027	₩10,700 an hour, ₩85,600 a day, ₩2,236,300 a month set	1 January 2027 to 31 December 2027	Minimum Wage Commission: minimum wage by year Ministry of Employment and Labor Notice 2026-60: minimum wage for 2027
Hours per month	209 for a 40-hour week, including 8 paid holiday hours a week		Ministry of Employment and Labor Notice 2026-60: minimum wage for 2027 Enforcement Decree of the Minimum Wage Act, Article 5
Weekly holiday allowance 주휴수당	15 hours a week or more and full attendance; contractual hours of one day × hourly wage		Labor Standards Act, Article 55 Enforcement Decree of the Labor Standards Act, Article 30 Labor Standards Act, Article 18 Enforcement Decree of the Labor Standards Act, Table 2 Ministry of Employment and Labor 1350 counselling answers on the weekly holiday allowance
Severance pay 퇴직금	average daily wage × 30 days × days of service ÷ 365; one year or more and 15 hours a week or more; paid within 14 days		Act on the Guarantee of Employees’ Retirement Benefits, Article 8 Act on the Guarantee of Employees’ Retirement Benefits, Article 4 Act on the Guarantee of Employees’ Retirement Benefits, Article 9 Labor Standards Act, Article 2 Ministry of Employment and Labor: severance pay calculator

Conventions this calculator chose

Where the laws and notices we read do not spell out the arithmetic to the last step, we chose the following. Your employer’s or an agency’s figures can therefore differ slightly.

Each premium and tax is rounded down to ₩10, following the rounding rule of the Management of the National Funds Act, Article 47.
For severance pay, the last three months start on the same calendar day three months earlier, or on the last day of that month if that day does not exist.
The average daily wage for severance is rounded up at the second decimal, which reproduces the ministry’s sample figure.
For weeks shorter than 40 hours, hours per month follow the formula as is and are shown to one decimal.
A salary that includes severance is divided by 13 to get monthly pay, a common rule of thumb.

What it does not do

It does not calculate the year-end tax settlement or retirement income tax. Income tax here is the monthly withholding only.
It does not decide whether you qualify for severance pay. It shows the requirements written in the law.
It is not tax or labor advice. Check exact amounts on your payslip or with the National Pension Service, the National Health Insurance Service or a local employment center.

Who runs it

Takehome Korea is made and run by Lumen Lab. If you spot a wrong figure or a rule that has changed, write to woxocoso@gmail.com. More apps and tools are at lumenlab.page.

The typeface is Pretendard, under the SIL Open Font License 1.1.