How to Get a Tax Refund in Korea — Limits and Requirements for Instant In-Store, Airport, and Downtown Refunds

You've picked out some clothes in Myeongdong and stepped up to the counter, and only then do you remember that you left your passport at your accommodation. A tax refund (사후면세, a post-purchase tax exemption) is a system that starts with checking your passport, so at this moment you've already hit your first wall. On departure day, the money you were due also disappears if you check in the items you're getting a refund on before showing them to customs, or if 3 months have passed since you bought them.

The legal basis is Article 107 of the Restriction of Special Taxation Act. For goods that foreign tourists buy from a designated business in order to take them out of Korea, VAT is either zero-rated or refunded, and for goods bought at a designated store, the individual consumption tax is also exempted or refunded. There are three ways to get the money back: an instant in-store refund, where the tax is taken off when you pay; a refund at the airport on your departure day; and a downtown refund, which you receive in advance in the city before you leave Korea.

If you're a foreigner living in Korea, there's something to check first. Foreigners who work in Korea or have stayed for 6 months or longer are not eligible, even if they buy the same item at the same store. This article walks through everything in order, from whether you're eligible to the limits, the airport sequence, and how much you actually get back.

First, Check Whether You're Eligible: 6 Months of Stay and Working in Korea Are the Test

The foreign tourists eligible for refunds are non-residents under the Foreign Exchange Transactions Act (Special Regulations, Article 2(1)). What decides it is not your nationality but how long you stay in Korea and what you do here. Even among non-residents, corporations, diplomats stationed in Korea (including staff of foreign missions), and United Nations forces and U.S. Forces service members and civilian military employees stationed in Korea are excluded.

Article 10 of the Enforcement Decree of the Foreign Exchange Transactions Act treats foreigners engaged in business activities in Korea and foreigners who have stayed in Korea for 6 months or longer as residents (Article 10(1), subparagraph 4). That's why workers employed in Korea, and students and long-term residents who have stayed 6 months or longer, are not eligible. The Korea Tourism Organization also says that long-term residents of 6 months or longer and people employed in Korea are excluded.

It's tempting to judge by whether you have an Alien Registration Card (ARC), but what the provision looks at is not the card but how long you've stayed and whether you're engaged in business activities in Korea. We couldn't confirm how people on the borderline, such as card holders who have stayed less than 6 months, are actually handled at stores and kiosks. In cases like this, ask the store before you pay, and check the details with the National Tax Service (☎126).

People who left Korea and came back may be judged differently. A foreigner who was a resident is treated as a non-resident once they've left and have been staying abroad for 3 months or longer (Article 10(2), subparagraph 6). A Korean national who stays abroad for 2 years or longer is a non-resident, and periods of 3 months or less spent on a temporary visit back to Korea count toward those 2 years. A Korean national who enters Korea and stays for 3 months or longer is a resident again (this 3-month-after-entry rule applies only to Korean nationals. For foreigners the test is the 6-month stay or business activity in Korea, and the rule above about staying abroad for 3 months after leaving does apply to foreigners too). That said, we couldn't confirm what a store or kiosk accepts as proof that you've been abroad for 2 years or longer.

The Three Refund Methods and the Conditions They Share

The biggest difference between the three methods is when the money comes back to you. Whether you've already received the refund or are about to claim it, a foreign tourist must present the purchased goods to the head of customs with jurisdiction over the port of departure and get them confirmed when leaving Korea (Special Regulations, Article 9(1)). The deadline is the same for all three, too: you can only get the refund if customs confirms that you took the goods out of Korea within 3 months of the purchase date (Article 6(1), subparagraph 1).

For all three methods, the transaction amount per purchase, including VAT and individual consumption tax, must be 15,000 KRW or more (Enforcement Rule, Article 2(1)). This threshold applies to purchases made on or after 2024-01-01, but some refund operators' information pages still show the old threshold of 30,000 KRW.

Refunds apply only to goods you take out of the country. Food eaten at restaurants and services like accommodation or beauty treatments are not eligible. Even among goods, the following are excluded: firearms, swords, and explosives; designated cultural heritage and natural heritage; addictive or habit-forming medicines under the Pharmaceutical Affairs Act; goods whose trade is restricted by law; tobacco; and goods whose import or export is prohibited under Article 234 of the Customs Act (Special Regulations, Article 3(1); Enforcement Rule, Article 2(2)).

There are also special provisions that aren't about goods. Until 2028-12-31, a special provision refunds the VAT on room charges when a foreign tourist stays 30 days or less at a designated tourist accommodation facility (Restriction of Special Taxation Act, Article 107-2), but we couldn't confirm the list of designated facilities or the refund procedure. The special provision refunding VAT on cosmetic surgery medical services (Article 107-3), under its current text, applies only to medical services received up to 2025-12-31.

You also need to tell this apart from duty-free shops. Airport and downtown duty-free shops sell at prices with the tax already removed, while tax refund stores are where you pay the tax-inclusive price and then get the tax back. Duty-free goods bought at a duty-free shop are not eligible for a tax refund. Buying at duty-free shops and the procedure for picking up your goods are covered separately in the 'How to Use Duty-Free Shops in Korea' article.

What to Bring When You Pay: Your Actual Passport and the Refund Slip

The store confirms the buyer's identity with a passport or similar ID and then issues a goods sales certificate (물품판매확인서: the operator's refund slip or an electronic sales certificate) (Special Regulations, Article 8(1) and (2); Enforcement Rule, Article 5). Incheon International Airport Corporation also advises you to show your passport when you buy and to ask for the purchase receipt and the refund documents.

For instant refunds, the store checks your passport and electronically transmits the instant refund electronic sales certificate to the head of customs with jurisdiction over the port of departure (Article 8(4)), so on a day you've left your passport at your accommodation, it's hard to get either the slip or the instant refund. As for whether a passport copy, a photo, or a mobile passport will do, the law only says 'passport, etc.', and we couldn't find a statement in an official source that answers it, so on shopping days, bring your actual passport.

The document you need for the customs check is not an ordinary receipt but the goods sales certificate (refund slip). According to Incheon Main Customs and Incheon Airport, if you didn't ask for the refund documents when you bought the item, or if the documents are incomplete, you can't get a refund. Once you've paid, check right there that you received the slip separately from the receipt.

Don't ask the store to split the price of a single item across several certificates to get around the limits. If a store splits the price of a single tax-free item across two or more certificates two or more times in one taxable period, that's grounds for revoking its designation as a tax-free store (Special Regulations, Article 5(4), subparagraph 10). This provision covers splitting the price of one item, so we couldn't confirm how instant refunds are handled when several items are rung up separately, item by item. Ask at the counter.

Instant In-Store Refunds: Less Than 1,000,000 KRW per Purchase, 5,000,000 KRW or Less in Total

An instant refund means the store sells to you at a price with the tax taken off when you pay. The Korea Tourism Organization says this is available at certified department stores, large supermarkets, and some shops, and that if you bought this way, you don't need to claim separately at the airport.

You have to meet both requirements (Special Regulations, Article 6(2)). First, the transaction amount per purchase, including tax, must be less than 1,000,000 KRW. The rule says 'less than', not '1,000,000 KRW or less', so a payment of exactly 1,000,000 KRW doesn't qualify. Second, the total transaction amount on which you've received instant refunds since entering Korea must be 5,000,000 KRW or less. Only the total uses 'or less', which includes the limit itself.

These limits doubled for purchases from 2024-01-01: from 500,000 KRW to 1,000,000 KRW per purchase, and from 2,500,000 KRW to 5,000,000 KRW in total (Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism announcement, 2023-12-11). Even if you see posts describing this as a recent increase, it took effect in 2024.

An instant refund doesn't necessarily mean the whole tax is taken off. When it gives an instant refund, the store can deduct costs from the tax-equivalent amount, and those costs are the amount that the refund counter operator has had approved by the Commissioner of the National Tax Service (Article 6(3)). We couldn't confirm the actual deduction amount.

Goods bought with an instant refund are also subject to the customs check when you leave Korea. And if you end up with any goods that weren't taken out of Korea within 3 months of purchase (the provision calls this period the 'tax-free goods export period', 면세물품반출기간), instant refunds no longer apply to goods you buy after that period has passed (Article 6(4)). What gets blocked is what you buy after that, and it isn't applied retroactively to what you already bought.

We couldn't find official guidance on how stores look up your 5,000,000 KRW cumulative total since entry, or on what happens when you go over it. The provision only says the total transaction value 'for which instant refunds were received', so it also isn't clear whether the price of the item being rung up right now counts toward that 5,000,000 KRW. We also didn't check whether any particular store offers instant refunds, so ask before you pay. How it works in practice at Olive Young stores is covered separately in the 'Where Foreigners Get Stuck at Olive Young' article.

On Departure Day at Incheon Airport: Go Through the Kiosk and Customs Before Checking Your Bags

At the airport, the refund is all about the order. The Incheon Airport procedure published on the website of Incheon Main Customs (인천본부세관) has four steps, but customs work and inquiries on site at the airport are handled by Incheon Airport Main Customs (인천공항본부세관), a separate office split off from Incheon Main Customs on 2023-04-18.

1. Scan your passport and goods sales certificate at a self-service machine (kiosk).
2. Check in at the airline counter and have baggage tags attached.
3. For bags you'll check, get the customs confirmation at the large baggage drop (큰짐 부치는 곳) before handing them over. Bags you'll carry on board are not shown here — you keep them with you.
4. After you've cleared security screening and immigration, get the customs confirmation for the bags you're carrying on board at the return counter (반송대), the customs declaration desk in the departure area past immigration (the duty-free zone) (T1 ☎032-722-4456, T2 ☎032-723-5120), then get your refund at the TAX-REFUND counter near the boarding gates.

The place people get stuck most is between steps 2 and 3. If you hand over the bag holding your refund items at check-in, the items you need to show customs are gone. The Korea Tourism Organization also advises you to do only the check-in without handing over your bags, and then present the items to customs. According to Incheon Airport and the Korea Customs Service, the items must be unopened and unused, so items you've opened and used in Korea don't meet this condition.

Official guidance doesn't give an amount above which you'll be subject to a customs inspection. If customs has received the electronic sales certificate, it can let you skip showing a paper certificate, and if that certificate has an error or facts need to be confirmed, it can ask for receipts and the like (Special Regulations, Article 9(2)). Separately from that, customs can check whether the items you present match the certificate, selecting cases by criteria the head of the customs office sets (Article 9(4) of the same regulations). Inspections don't happen only when there's an error. If the kiosk selects you for inspection, go to the customs inspection desk.

Some sources disagree. One operator's page lists the staffed counter in Terminal 1 as open 24 hours, but Incheon International Airport Corporation's guidance says 07:00–22:00 (only the kiosks run 24 hours), so the table follows the airport's guidance. Gate numbers for Terminal 2 also differ by source. Incheon Main Customs describes the customs confirmation spots as 'the large baggage drop and the return counter (큰짐 부치는 곳 및 반송대)', and on the customs floor plan the return counter is in the duty-free zone past immigration (in Terminal 1 between Gates 27 and 28, in Terminal 2 toward Gates 250 and 249, right next to the TAX REFUND counter), while counters E, J, F, and G in the table above are in the 3F check-in area, which is where bags you're checking get confirmed. That floor plan was posted in 2021-01, so before you leave, confirm with the Incheon Airport Customer Center (☎1577-2600, 07:00–22:00, open year-round).

Gimpo, Gimhae, and Jeju airports also have departure refund counters. According to Global Tax Free, they're at Gimpo 3F, Gate 36 (staffed 06:30–20:00, unmanned 24 hours), Gimhae 2F, Gate 4 (staffed 06:30–21:00), and Jeju 3F, Gate 16 (staffed 06:00–22:00), but these come from a single source and need checking. We couldn't confirm the procedure for departing by sea (cruise).

Departure day has a lot of stops, so get to the airport with plenty of time. You can also use the LACHA app for the Airport Railroad (AREX), taxis, and VANs (5- or 6-seaters) to get to the airport, but LACHA doesn't handle the refund or customs procedures for you. The difference between AREX express and all-stop trains is in AREX Express vs. All-Stop and How to Buy Tickets.

How Much You Get Back and How: You Won't Receive the Full 10% VAT

Customs only confirms that the goods are leaving the country; the refund itself is paid by a refund counter operator designated by the Commissioner of a Regional Tax Office, acting on behalf of the tax-free seller (Special Regulations, Article 5-2 and Article 10-2(1)). That's why questions about your refund amount go to the operator, not to customs.

The operator can deduct from the tax-equivalent amount the refund and remittance costs approved by the Commissioner of the National Tax Service (Article 10-2(2)). So the amount you receive is less than the full 10% VAT. And the VAT here isn't 10% of what you paid — it's about 1/11 of what you paid (10÷110 ≒ 9.1%), because the tax is already inside the price. If you paid 100,000 KRW, the VAT inside it is about 9,090 KRW, so the 7,000 KRW refund in the rate table below should be compared with that 9,090 KRW, not with the 10,000 KRW that is 10% of what you paid. Below is part of the refund rate table of one operator, Global Tax Free.

Ranges in between are left out of the table, and rates can vary by operator and store. The note in the last row about rounding down at the 100-won unit renders Global Tax Free's own wording ('계산시 백원단위 이하는 절사') as is, and the rate table doesn't say anything more about exactly which digit the cut starts from. We couldn't obtain the rate tables of other operators such as Global Blue, Easy Tax Refund, NICE, and CubeRefund (큐브리펀드). The Seoul Tourism Organization lists Global Blue, Global Tax Free, Easy Tax Refund, and others as operators.

How you get paid also differs by counter and operator. The machines and counters that hand over the refund are in the duty-free zone past immigration (per Incheon Airport's guidance: in Terminal 1 near Gate 28 and in front of Gate 115 in the Concourse; in Terminal 2 near Gate 253, across from Gate 250). The machine you use at step 1, before checking your bags, only scans your passport and goods sales certificate to sort out whether customs will inspect you, so the money comes after you've passed immigration. Once the refund machine reads your passport, the refund is paid according to the approved records, and if the amount is large or you don't want cash, you can receive it on a credit card in your own name. Global Tax Free lists cash at its airport counters and refunds to VISA, Mastercard, JCB, and UnionPay cards. There's also a way to drop your customs-confirmed slip into the operator's mailbox at an airport or seaport and receive the refund by credit card or Alipay, and some operators and counters offer Alipay and WeChat Pay as options.

We couldn't confirm how long card refunds take, whether amounts are converted on a KRW basis, or what currency airport cash is paid in, so ask at the counter before you receive it. For detailed questions, the Korea Customs Service Customer Support Center points you to Global Blue Korea (☎02-776-2170), Tax Free Korea (☎02-518-0837, the same number as Global Tax Free's official contact), and the National Tax Service (☎126).

Downtown Refunds: Get Your Money Before Departure, but a Credit Card Is Held as Security

A downtown refund means you get the money first at a refund booth in the city before you leave Korea. Goods with a transaction amount of 6,000,000 KRW or less per purchase, based on the electronic sales certificate, are eligible, and the operator refunds you in advance on the condition that you get the customs export confirmation when you leave (Special Regulations, Article 10-4(1)). For that reason, the operator can require security to guarantee the export confirmation (paragraph (3) of the same article).

Global Tax Free's downtown refund requires your passport, the slip, and a credit card, and it says it places a hold of 110% of the refund amount on a VISA, AMEX, JCB, or Mastercard credit card as security. Once the slip passes the customs check, the hold is canceled automatically. Put the other way around, if you skip the customs check, the card held as security can be charged.

Downtown refund booths only process their own company's slips (per the Korea Tourism Organization). You need to go to the booth of the operator named on your slip, and since we couldn't confirm booth locations and hours, check them in that operator's guidance.

The deadline for the customs check after a downtown refund follows the operator's guidance. Even Global Tax Free's own pages conflict, with one saying 'customs confirmation within 25 days of the refund date' and another saying 'departure within 1 month', and we couldn't confirm other operators' rules or the amount charged if you don't get the confirmation. Write down the deadline the booth gives you.

When a Refund Is Blocked or the Tax Is Charged Again

Here are the sticking points in one place. Most can be avoided if you pay attention once at checkout and once on departure day.

• Shopping without your passport: The store has to confirm your identity with a passport or similar ID before issuing a slip, and instant refunds require a passport check.
• Getting only a regular receipt: The customs check requires the goods sales certificate (refund slip). Ask for it when you pay.
• Checking your bags first: You can't show the items to customs. Do the kiosk scan and customs check before handing over your bags.
• Opened and used items: Items you present to customs must be unopened and unused.
• More than 3 months have passed: Export must be confirmed within 3 months of purchase, and if you end up with goods that weren't taken out, instant refunds are also blocked for purchases you make after those 3 months have passed.
• Skipping the customs check after a downtown refund: The credit card held as security can be charged.

If goods that were tax-exempted or refunded aren't taken out of the country, the government has to collect that tax (Restriction of Special Taxation Act, Article 107(3)). If you bought something at a price with the tax taken off through an instant refund and end up leaving it in Korea, you'd fall under this provision.

If you shipped the items ahead, you can present, instead of the items themselves, a parcel receipt issued by the postmaster for parcel post, or an export declaration certificate issued by the head of customs for other methods (Special Regulations, Article 9(1), proviso; Enforcement Rule, Article 6(1)). International parcels through Korea Post are covered in How to Ship Your Stuff Home from Korea.

If you use a service that sends your luggage from your hotel to the airport ahead of you on the morning of departure, it's safer to carry the refund items yourself rather than packing them in that luggage. You can't show the items to customs until you've picked up your luggage at the airport. How luggage delivery works is in How to Store & Ship Luggage in Korea.

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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Q1. Can foreigners who work in Korea get a tax refund? A. No. Tax refunds are for non-residents under the Foreign Exchange Transactions Act, and Article 10 of its Enforcement Decree treats foreigners engaged in business activities in Korea and foreigners who have stayed in Korea for 6 months or longer as residents. The test isn't whether you have an Alien Registration Card but how long you've stayed and what you do in Korea, so if it's unclear, ask the store before you pay and check with the National Tax Service (☎126).

Q2. My item costs exactly 1,000,000 KRW, and the store says I can't get an instant refund. A. That's because the instant refund requirement is a transaction amount of less than 1,000,000 KRW per purchase (Special Regulations, Article 6(2)). If it comes to 1,000,000 KRW including tax, it falls outside the instant refund, so get a refund slip and claim your refund at the airport on departure day, or use a downtown refund. Asking to split the payment into two means splitting one item's price across multiple certificates. If a store is found to have issued them that way two or more times in one taxable period, that store can lose its designation as a tax-free store (Special Regulations, Article 5(4), subparagraph 10), so the one carrying the risk is the store, not you, and the store may not agree to it.

Q3. I bought with an instant refund. Do I still need to do anything when I leave? A. Yes, you need the customs confirmation. Article 9(1) of the Special Regulations requires every foreign tourist who has already received or is about to claim a refund to present the purchased goods when leaving, and operators also advise you to show the goods, slip, and passport to customs when you leave after an instant refund. You don't need to claim a separate refund at the airport, but the order is the same: get the confirmation before you check your bags.

Q4. Can I get a refund with a passport copy or a photo on my phone? A. We couldn't confirm this. The law only says the store confirms your identity with a 'passport, etc.', and we couldn't find official guidance stating whether copies, photos, or mobile passports are accepted. Instant refunds work by the store checking your passport and transmitting it electronically, and the Incheon Airport kiosks also read your passport, so it's safer to carry your actual passport both on shopping days and on departure day.

Q5. I opened and used something I bought in Korea. What happens? A. Incheon Airport and the Korea Customs Service say the items you show customs must be unopened and unused. So even if you take an opened, used item with you, you may not get the export confirmation. If you use it up and leave it in Korea, it becomes an item that wasn't exported. If you bought it at a price with the tax taken off through an instant refund, it falls under Article 107(3) of the Restriction of Special Taxation Act, which requires the tax on unexported goods to be collected, and if you end up with any goods not taken out within 3 months of purchase, instant refunds no longer apply to purchases you make after those 3 months have passed (Special Regulations, Article 6(4)).