How to Get Your Withholding Tax Receipt — Company Documents and Tax Office Documents Are Different

If you walk into a tax office and ask for a "withholding tax receipt," you'll be told "Get that from your employer." That's because NTS doesn't issue this document. The Income Tax Act assigns the obligation to issue withholding tax receipts to the employer (withholding agent) who paid the income — Article 143(1) for earned income, Article 144(1) for business income, Article 146(3) for retirement income, and Article 156(12) for domestic-source income of non-residents (as of 2026).

The income certificate NTS issues has a different name. It's a separate civil petition certificate called the Income Amount Certificate, and NTS lists it as one of the 14 instant-issue certificates available through Hometax, tax office visits, and unmanned kiosks. If you don't know which document the window is asking for, you'll waste a trip.

This guide covers only how to get the documents. For filing procedures, refunds, and amended returns, see May Comprehensive Income Tax Filing and Hometax.

Company Documents and Tax Office Documents Are Different

If you take away just one sentence from this guide, it should be this: The withholding tax receipt is issued by your employer, and NTS does not issue this document. The income certificate NTS issues is a different document called the Income Amount Certificate.

So the first step isn't filing — it's confirmation. Whether it's a visa extension window or a bank, ask them to write down the exact name of the document they need in Korean. 'Withholding tax receipt,' 'income amount certificate,' 'payment statement,' and 'certificate of employment' all sound like "income-proving paper" to foreign readers, but they're issued by completely different places. Getting the exact name eliminates one wasted trip.

Even If It Says 'Payment Statement,' It's the Same Document

It's common to ask your employer for a withholding tax receipt and receive a paper that says 'payment statement.' You don't need to ask again. For earned income, they're the same form.

Enforcement Rule Article 100(26) of the Income Tax Act designates both the earned income withholding tax receipt and the earned income payment statement as Attached Form No. 24, and the official name of that form itself is 'Earned Income Withholding Tax Receipt, Earned Income Payment Statement (copy for income earner, copy for issuer, copy for reporting).' One form is divided into employee copy, employer copy, and NTS reporting copy, so what you receive is the employee copy. Business income and other income use Attached Form No. 23 series (same Rule Article 100(25)).

Many people worry whether the employer actually paid the withheld tax to NTS. On this point, NTS guidance states that the withholding tax receipt certifies the fact of income payment and withholding regardless of whether the withheld tax was actually paid to NTS (NTS English guidebook for foreigners). But this is an explanation confirmed from NTS guidance documents, not cross-referenced with statutes, so if tax arrears are involved in your case, call ☎126 or your local tax office and explain your situation exactly.

Which Document for My Income — Different Papers by Type

When a freelancer, instructor, or delivery worker who had 3.3% withheld asks for an "earned income withholding tax receipt," the employer answers "There's no such thing." It's not that the document doesn't exist — it's a different form.

Other income has one more calculation layer. NTS guidance treats one-time personal service fees like graduate research stipends as other income, withholding 22% including local income tax on the other income amount (total revenue minus necessary expenses at 60% expense ratio).

When Must the Employer Issue It — Statutory Deadlines

Issuance is not an employer's favor but a statutory obligation with set deadlines. For earned income, Article 143(1) of the Income Tax Act splits it three ways (as of 2026).

Mid-year resignees already have their year-end settlement done in the resignation month (Income Tax Act Article 137(1)). So right after resignation is the best time to request. If time passes and staff changes, the difficulty jumps.

If you changed employers within a year, definitely get documents from your previous employer. Article 138(1) of the Income Tax Act requires the new employer's withholding agent to perform year-end settlement by combining earned income from the previous employer, so without that paper, consolidation can't happen. If you have two workplaces, the provision that the secondary workplace must issue without delay upon request (Article 143(2)) becomes your request basis. This is a different document from the monthly payslip — see How to Read Your Payslip for payslips.

When Do NTS Records Become Available — Payment Statement Submission Is the Turning Point

NTS guidance states that individual income earners' withholding records cannot be confirmed through NTS until the income payer submits the payment statement. In other words, the NTS route opens only after the employer submits the data. Those deadlines are set in four categories in Article 164(1) of the Income Tax Act.

The most dangerous period here is January–March. Earned, retirement, and business income data reaches NTS only after March 10, but the final return deadline for departing persons is the day before departure (Income Tax Act Article 74(4)). NTS guidance also notes that pre-departure filings require the withholding tax receipt, so request issuance from your employer before going to the tax office and bring it along with your Alien Registration Card.

Visa Extension, Remittance, Home Country Filing — First Confirm the Document Name Requested

There's a reason this guide doesn't finalize required documents by purpose. They differ by window and institution, and we haven't confirmed from primary sources. Instead, set this sequence: ① Get the exact document name written down ② Use the table above to determine if it's a company document or NTS document ③ Request from the appropriate place.

• Stay period extension, status change — Required documents vary by status of stay, application type, and regional immigration office. Confirm for your own status at HiKorea (hikorea.go.kr) and ☎1345 (Immigration Contact Center, multilingual).
• Overseas remittance — The specific document name for income proof required by banks and small-amount overseas remittance businesses varies by institution. Remittance procedures and preparations are organized in How to Send Money from Korea, but which paper exactly must be asked directly to your bank for accuracy.
• Home country tax filing — Systems differ by country and are not covered in this guide. Check with your home country's tax authority or your embassy in Korea.

For submission to your home country, English versions are often needed, but the availability of English issuance for withholding tax receipts and income amount certificates was not confirmed in this review. Ask ☎1588-0560 first before preparing. NTS provides English forms and completion guides on its English website (www.nts.go.kr/english).

When the Employer Route Is Blocked — Won't Give It, Closed Down, Lost Contact

Many people looking for this document have already resigned or have a bad relationship with the employer. Let's first clear up a common piece of misinformation: There is no penalty or administrative fine provision in the Income Tax Act for failure to issue the withholding tax receipt itself.

The frequently cited Article 81-11 (additional tax for non-compliance with payment statement submission) has a different character. This is an additional tax for the employer's failure to submit the payment statement to NTS, so the obliged party is the state, not the employee (1% of payment amount if not submitted, 0.5% if submitted within 3 months after deadline). So employees can't compel issuance based on this additional tax. If you negotiate without knowing this, you just waste time.

What you can actually use are these three things:

• Leave a record of your request — Request via text or email instead of phone so the date and content remain. Not because it has enforcement power, but because this record becomes material when explaining your situation to consultation windows later.
• Request through consultation channels — If entangled with wage or working conditions issues, first explain the situation to ☎1350 (Ministry of Employment and Labor, interpretation support) and confirm what to do first. If confused about which window to ask what, see Complete Guide to Official Consultation Channels for Foreigners.
• Labor Standards Act Article 39 Certificate of Employment — If a person who worked continuously for 30 days or more requests within 3 years after resignation, the employer must immediately issue a certificate stating the facts, and violation is subject to an administrative fine of up to 5 million KRW (Enforcement Decree Article 19, Article 116(2)(ii) of the same Act). However, this certificate contains employment period, type of work, position and wages, not withheld tax amount. It can't substitute for the withholding tax receipt.

When the employer has closed down, the clock actually moves up. According to Article 164(1) of the Income Tax Act, the payment statement submission deadline for companies that closed, suspended, or dissolved is the last day of the second month following the month containing that date. But "that's the deadline" and "the company actually submitted" are different sentences. If they closed without submitting, it won't be in NTS records either. Check with the local tax office or ☎1588-0560 whether it's searchable. If National Pension lump-sum refund is involved, also see How to Get Your National Pension Lump-Sum Refund and ☎1355 (National Pension Service).

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Where to Ask — Contact Points and What We Couldn't Confirm

This information is confirmed as of 2026-08, and numbers, hours, and systems may change.

Let's also honestly note what we didn't confirm this time and therefore didn't state definitively in the text:

• The exact menu path to look up your own payment statement submission records and income amount certificate on Hometax — get guidance from ☎126 or ☎1588-0560.
• Availability of English issuance for withholding tax receipts and income amount certificates, and civil petition certificate fees.
• Which status of stay requires withholding tax receipts in which cases and income amount certificates in which cases — that's ☎1345 and HiKorea's job.
• NTS guidance states there's a Taxpayer Service Center at Incheon International Airport operating certificate auto-issuance machines 08:00–22:00, but terminal, floor, and counter operating hours were not confirmed. Don't rely on departure day — handle it in advance.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Q1. Can I get a withholding tax receipt from Hometax? No. The party obligated to issue withholding tax receipts is the employer who paid the income (Income Tax Act Articles 143, 144, 145, 146, 156, as of 2026). What NTS issues are civil petition certificates like the Income Amount Certificate and lookups related to payment statements submitted by employers. NTS lists the Income Amount Certificate as one of the 14 instant-issue certificates available through Hometax, tax office visits, and unmanned kiosks. The Hometax menu path was not confirmed in this review, so get guidance from ☎126 or ☎1588-0560.

Q2. My employer gave me a paper that says 'payment statement.' Do I need to get another one? If it's earned income, you don't need to get another one. Enforcement Rule Article 100(26) of the Income Tax Act designates both the earned income withholding tax receipt and the earned income payment statement as Attached Form No. 24, and the form name itself is 'Earned Income Withholding Tax Receipt, Earned Income Payment Statement (copy for income earner, copy for issuer, copy for reporting).' The same form is divided by purpose, so the income earner copy is the paper you receive. Business income and other income are Attached Form No. 23 series, so form numbers differ (same Rule Article 100(25)).

Q3. Can I impose an administrative fine if my employer won't give it? Contrary to common belief, there is no penalty or administrative fine provision in the Income Tax Act for failure to issue the withholding tax receipt to the income earner itself. The frequently cited Article 81-11 additional tax is for the employer's failure to submit the payment statement to NTS, so the obliged party is the state, and employees can't compel issuance based on this. So leaving a record by requesting via text or email and consulting ☎1350 with interpretation if wage issues are involved is more realistic.

Q4. My employer closed down. Can I get it from NTS? Can't say definitively. Article 164(1) of the Income Tax Act sets the payment statement submission deadline for closure, suspension, or dissolution as the last day of the second month following the month containing that date, so the deadline itself moves up. But that's just the employer's obligation deadline, whether they actually submitted is separate. If they closed without submitting, it won't remain in NTS records either. Check with the local tax office or ☎1588-0560 directly whether your case is searchable.

Q5. Do severance pay and 3.3% freelance income also get withholding tax receipts? Yes, but the documents are different from each other. For retirement income, the payer must issue a retirement income withholding tax receipt by the last day of the month following the month containing the payment date, and when tax was not withheld, must issue it stating the reason (Income Tax Act Article 146(3)). For business income, the party paying the income issues a business income withholding tax receipt (Article 144(1), rate is 3% per Article 129(1)(iii) plus local income tax, 3.3% in practice). If you requested an earned income form and got the answer "There's no such thing," try requesting again with a different income type.