545,000 Corporations Subject to Interim Prepayment in August... Filing and Payment Due by the 31st

Installment Payment Available for SMEs Owing More Than KRW 10 Million

Payment Deadline Extended by Two Months for SMEs Affected by "High Exchange Rates, High Oil Prices, Homeplus"

Corporations whose fiscal year ends in December are required to file and pay their interim corporate tax by August 31. However, the deadline will be automatically extended by two months, to November 2, by the National Tax Service (NTS) for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) affected by high exchange rates, high oil prices, or damages related to Homeplus, without the need for a separate application from taxpayers.

The NTS announced on August 4 that this year, 545,000 corporations are subject to interim prepayment, an increase of 17,000 compared to the previous year.

December-closing corporations must use the first half of this year (January 1 to June 30) as their interim payment period and file and pay their interim corporate tax by August 31. The interim corporate tax prepayment can be either 50% of the tax calculated for the previous business year or calculated on a pro forma settlement of accounts for the first half of this year. However, for 2,600 corporations belonging to business groups subject to disclosure, as designated by the Korea Fair Trade Commission, only the pro forma settlement of accounts method is permitted for declaration and payment.

Corporations that meet any of the following criteria are exempt from the interim prepayment: SMEs with a calculated interim tax amount of less than KRW 500,000 based on the previous business year, corporations newly established in 2026, non-profit corporations with only interest income, and corporations with no revenue in the first half of this year due to business suspension or similar reasons.

◆Installment payment available for amounts over KRW 10 million= If the interim tax exceeds KRW 10 million, SMEs may pay in installments over two months, while other general corporations may split the payment over one month. For SMEs with an interim tax exceeding KRW 20 million, 50% must be paid by August 31 and the remaining 50% by November 2. For all other corporations, the remaining 50% must be paid by September 30.

Corporations required to file interim prepayment may file and pay via Hometax (PC) or SONTax (mobile). The "Interim Prepayment Inquiry Service" allows users to confirm the calculated interim tax amount based on the prior year’s tax, as well as eligibility for exemption. Corporations wishing to file and pay 50% of the previous year’s calculated tax can use the "auto-fill service" provided on the interim filing screen to simply enter only the installment payment amount and complete the filing process.

◆Two-month automatic extension for SMEs affected by high exchange rates, etc.= The NTS will automatically extend the interim corporate tax payment deadline by two months (from August 31 to November 2) without application for SMEs affected by: ▲high exchange rates ▲high oil prices ▲damages related to Homeplus. According to the NTS, 39,695 SMEs impacted by high exchange rates (corresponding tax: KRW 898 billion), 691 SMEs affected by high oil prices (KRW 8 billion), and 116 SMEs impacted by Homeplus (KRW 3.8 billion) will have their payment deadline extended to November 2, totaling 40,474 SMEs (KRW 909.2 billion).

A NTS official stated, "The extension of the payment deadline is expected to support liquidity of approximately KRW 900 billion for about 40,000 corporations," adding, "Even if a corporation is not subject to automatic extension, SMEs experiencing management difficulties can apply for an extension, which will be actively considered. Applications for extension of the payment deadline can be submitted via Hometax or by mail to the local tax office."

If the amount payable for a corporation whose deadline is automatically extended exceeds KRW 10 million, the deadline for the installment payment will also be automatically extended by two months, from November 2, 2026, to January 4, 2027.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.