![A tax information notice is posted at a real estate agency in Songpa-gu, Seoul. [Yonhap]](https://wimg.heraldcorp.com/news/cms/2026/07/26/rcv.YNA.20260630.PYH2026063016110001300_P1.jpg)
Tax deductions applied to ultra-high-priced single homes with a taxable base exceeding 2 billion won reached more than 46 billion won last year — the largest amount in four years — according to National Tax Service data. The figures confirm that the current comprehensive real estate tax regime, amid rising housing prices, reduces tax burdens more for expensive homes than for cheaper ones.
The government is now preparing a tax reform aimed at increasing the property-holding tax burden on ultra-high-priced homes.
An analysis of National Tax Service statistics released Sunday shows that total individual comprehensive real estate tax deductions for homes with a taxable base above 2 billion won came to about 46.1 billion won for the 2025 tax year — up roughly 27.9 billion won, or 153.2 percent, from the previous year's 18.2 billion won.
Deductions for homes in that bracket had peaked at 68.1 billion won in 2021 before falling sharply, making last year's figure the highest since then. Both the absolute increase and the growth rate were also the highest since 2021, when deductions surged 46.8 billion won, or 220.7 percent. Rising housing prices are seen as the main driver of the jump in deductions for ultra-high-priced properties.
Comprehensive real estate tax deductions apply to single-home households that have owned the property for at least five years or whose owner is 60 or older.
The deduction rate ranges from 20 to 50 percent based on length of ownership and from 20 to 40 percent based on age. The two deductions can be combined up to a ceiling of 80 percent, and residency in the home is not required.
The basic deduction for single-home owners under the comprehensive real estate tax is 1.2 billion won, with a fair market value ratio of 60 percent. Working backward, a single home with a published price of 2 billion won is estimated to have a market price of about 6.57 billion won if it is an apartment — based on an apartment price-to-published-value ratio of 69 percent — or about 8.46 billion won if it is a detached house, which carries a ratio of 53.6 percent.
Across all property types, the total number of individuals and corporations subject to the comprehensive real estate tax last year was 538,439. Of those, only 8,399 — about 1.6 percent — had a taxable base exceeding 2 billion won. Yet the subset of individuals among them who qualified as single-home owners or met other eligibility criteria claimed 22.2 percent of total tax deductions, which amounted to about 207.1 billion won.
By region, 87.9 percent of all housing-related comprehensive real estate tax deductions were applied to properties in Seoul. Long-term individual owners and elderly holders of premium single homes — including high-priced apartments in Gangnam — are estimated to have achieved substantial tax savings.
The share of total comprehensive real estate tax deductions attributable to homes with a taxable base above 2 billion won stood at 13.1 percent in 2024 and rose 9.1 percentage points in a single year.
The average final comprehensive real estate tax bill last year for owners of homes with a taxable base above 2 billion won — combining individuals and corporations — was 55.7 million won per person, down 16.81 million won, or 23.2 percent, from the previous year.
By contrast, the average final tax bill for owners of homes with a taxable base of 2 billion won or less was 1.59 million won, barely changed from the prior year — up only about 10,000 won.
For homes with a taxable base above 1.4 billion won, total deductions for the 2025 tax year came to about 74.9 billion won, up 32.7 billion won, or 77.6 percent, from the previous year. In market-price terms, that group is estimated to include apartments valued above 5.1 billion won and detached houses above 6.5 billion won. Deductions for that bracket also rose at the fastest pace and by the largest margin in four years.
Under the current system, which applies different basic deductions and tax rates depending on the number of homes owned, owners of three or more properties paid more comprehensive real estate tax than single-home owners even when their taxable bases were similar.
Last year, individuals subject to the comprehensive real estate tax with a taxable base between 1.2 billion won and 1.4 billion won paid an average final tax bill of 9.38 million won if they owned three or more homes — 5.65 million won more than single-home owners in the same bracket.
A taxable base of 1.2 billion won is the threshold at which tax rates diverge: 1.3 percent for owners of one or two homes versus 2.0 percent for those with three or more, a gap of 0.7 percentage points.
The rate gap widens as the taxable base rises — to 1.5 percentage points above 2.5 billion won and 2.0 percentage points above 5 billion won — and reaches its maximum of 2.3 percentage points in the top bracket, covering taxable bases above 9.4 billion won.
As a result, the per-person difference in final comprehensive real estate tax bills between single-home owners and owners of three or more homes grew with the taxable base last year: 10.64 million won in the bracket between 1.4 billion won and 2 billion won; 21.2 million won between 2 billion won and 3 billion won; and 41.94 million won between 3 billion won and 5 billion won.
Beyond the rate differential, the basic deduction is set at 1.2 billion won for single-home owners but only 900 million won for those with two or more properties. In addition, the maximum 80 percent tax deduction is available only to single-home owners.
The current comprehensive real estate tax system is structurally designed so that an ultra-high-priced single home generates a lower tax bill than three properties of equivalent value — an arrangement that analysts say structurally encourages buyers to concentrate wealth in one premium property.
The government is discussing a reform that would eliminate the number-of-homes distinction in calculating the comprehensive real estate tax and replace it with a value-based system. It is also reviewing options to raise the property-holding tax on ultra-high-priced single homes while reducing or eliminating the deduction tied to length of ownership. The reform package is to be finalized and announced in early August, following a forum chaired by Prime Minister Han Seong-sook scheduled for Monday.
oskymoon@heraldcorp.com
