An exterior view of Busan City Hall [Busan city government]
An exterior view of Busan City Hall [Busan city government]

Busan city government announced Friday that August is resident tax payment month, saying it has sent out a combined 1.5 million individual and business tax bills and that all payments must be made by Aug. 31.

The city's total resident tax levy this year, including local education tax, comes to 47.1 billion won ($33.3 million) — broken down into about 1.3 million individual bills totaling 15.4 billion won and 200,000 business establishment bills totaling 31.7 billion won.

The individual portion is levied on household heads registered in Busan as of July 1. Exemptions apply to recipients of basic livelihood benefits under the National Basic Living Security Act, minors under the Civil Act, and unmarried household heads under 30 who are direct descendants of another household head and live in a single-person household.

The business establishment portion must be reported and paid by Aug. 31 by corporations with a place of business in Busan as of July 1, as well as individual business owners whose value-added tax base for 2025 was 80 million won or more. Following a 2021 overhaul of the resident tax system, the business portion shifted to a self-reporting payment model, meaning taxpayers must file directly through Wetax or other designated channels.

To ease the burden on taxpayers, the city again this year sent pre-filled payment notices to all business establishment taxpayers; paying within the deadline is treated as a valid filing. Those who did not receive a notice, or whose notice shows an incorrect amount, must file and pay directly through Wetax or their district or county tax office. Taxpayers who miss the deadline may be subject to additional penalties.

Resident taxes can be paid without a paper bill through any of the following channels: online via Wetax or Internet Giro, mobile via Smart Wetax, a dedicated virtual account, bank ATMs, or by phone through the ARS system at 142211.

"Resident taxes are a vital source of funding used to improve citizens' quality of life and welfare, including the development of social infrastructure," a Busan city official said, urging all taxpayers to pay before the deadline.


kaf2002@heraldcorp.com