One in Four Earned Income Tax Credit Recipients Are in Their Twenties... Maximum Benefit Is 3.3 Million Won

National Tax Service Pays 2025 Regular Earned Income and Child Tax Credits on August 27

Earned Income Credit Goes to 2.04 Million Households, Child Credit to 660,000 Households

Seventy-Four Percent of Child Tax Credit Recipients Are in Their

More than one out of every four recipients of the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) are in their 20s, an age group with a high proportion of people just starting their careers. In the case of dual-income households, the maximum payment is 3.3 million won.

The National Tax Service announced on August 27 that it will provide a total of 2.8741 trillion won to 2.7 million households with earned income, business income, or religious income who applied for the allowance in May this year. The average amount paid per household is 1.06 million won. To provide rapid support for the livelihood stability of low-income working households, the payment will be made one month earlier than the statutory deadline (October 1), that is, on this day.

By household type, regular EITC payments were most frequently given to single-person households (1.43 million households, 70.1%), while the Child Allowance was paid in higher proportion to single-earner households (440,000 households, 66.7%)—which generally have lower income levels—compared to dual-income households (220,000 households, 33.3%).

Based on age, the EITC was received most commonly by those in their 20s—590,000 households—which is the age group with many people just entering the workforce. For the Child Allowance, households in their 40s and 30s accounted for 310,000 (47.0%) and 180,000 (27.3%) respectively, comprising a combined 74.3% of all recipients, corresponding to higher numbers of dependent children.

By income type, households with business income—which are only eligible for regular applications—made up the largest share at 2.09 million households (77.4%). Households with wage income (590,000 households, 21.9%) could choose between regular and semi-annual applications, which made their relative share smaller compared to business income households.

For EITC, a single-person household can receive up to 1.65 million won, a single-earner household up to 2.85 million won, and a dual-income household up to 3.3 million won. The Child Allowance provides between 500,000 and 1 million won for each child under 18.

The allowance is paid via bank deposit or in cash depending on the payment method selected during application. Those who receive cash payments can claim the benefit at a post office by presenting their ID and the National Tax Refund Notice. The payment result will be notified by mail or mobile message, and recipients can also check the result through the EITC call center, the automated response system, and Hometax (PC or mobile).

If you meet the eligibility requirements for the 2025 allowance year but have not yet applied, you can still submit a late application through Hometax or the automated response system by December 1. However, in such cases, the amount paid will be reduced by 5%, with only 95% being provided.

An official from the National Tax Service said, "With the 2026 tax law revision, we plan to expand the income eligibility requirements and payment amounts for the EITC. We will ease the income criteria for single-person, single-earner, and dual-income households by reflecting the minimum wage increase (10,700 won per hour in 2027), and raise the maximum payment amount to 3.6 million won, taking recent price rises into account, so that even more households will benefit in the future."

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