Car tax — arrives twice, in June and December
This page is machine translated from Ieumi's guide written in Korean. If the meaning is confusing, please look at the Korean original text. View original text (Korean)
If you own a car, you pay twice a year. If you fall behind, your license plate can be removed.
Deadline
The 1st installment is June 16–30, and the 2nd installment is December 16–31. You can also apply to split payments into March and September.
📌 Key points
If you pay the full year's amount at once in January, you get a discount. The discount rate is set by law as "an interest rate determined by presidential decree within 10% of the annual tax amount," so it changes every year — check Wetax for the current rate. The periods for lump-sum payment are January 16–31, March 16–31, June 16–30, and September 16–30.
📞 Contact
The city/county/district office with jurisdiction over where the vehicle is registered. Local tax consultation: 110; online: Wetax (wetax.go.kr).
Foreigners can sign up for Wetax too. However, simple authentication like Naver or Kakao is not available — sign-up and login only work with a public certificate or financial certificate, according to Wetax's FAQ. If you don't have a certificate, you can use "Quick Payment" on the homepage with the electronic payment number from your bill to pay without logging in, or you can go to your city/county/district office. When entering your name, it must be in capital letters exactly as on your passport, including spacing, or the search will fail. Service hours are not 24 hours either — electronic civil service is 06:00–24:00, and payment is 00:30–23:30.
⚠️ Things to watch out for
The bill arrives up to 5 days before the payment period begins. If it doesn't arrive, your registered address may differ from where you currently live — first check whether you reported a change of residence after moving.
❗ What happens if you don't
If you don't pay car tax, the city/county/district office is authorized to impound your vehicle's registration plate. It's commonly said this happens "after 2 or more instances of nonpayment," but the statute has no such number — it says "when there is a person who has failed to fulfill their duty to pay." However, if it is recognized that you rely on the vehicle for your livelihood and removing the plate would make it hard to live, the plate can be returned and the impoundment temporarily lifted. If that's your situation, tell your city/county/district office.
See also
Basis
- 지방세법 제128조제1항제3항·제131조제1항제2항 — 법제처 API 원문 대조 2026-09-10 (MST 282559, 시행 2026-07-01)
- 위택스 자주묻는질문 「외국인」 7건 https://www.wetax.go.kr/tcp/wtg/J040201M01.do — 실물 확인 2026-09-11 (답변 등록일 2026-03-25)
This content was checked on 2026-09-11.