"Nominate Exemplary Taxpayers"...Up to 3-Year Tax Investigation Suspension for Honorees

Nominations Accepted Until October 16 Next Month

About 1,000 Exemplary Taxpayers Selected Annually

Benefits Include Discounts on Railway Fares, Hospital Medical Expenses, and Financial Privileges

The National Tax Service will be accepting public nominations for exemplary taxpayers until October 16, 2026, as part of its efforts to promote a culture of honest tax payment, with awards scheduled for 2027.

On September 29, the National Tax Service announced that it will receive nominations for exemplary taxpayers to be honored on the 61st Taxpayers’ Day (March 3 of the following year) until October 16. Nominations submitted after the deadline will be automatically carried over, making the candidate eligible for the 62nd Taxpayers’ Day awards in 2028.

Each year, approximately 1,000 individuals are recognized as exemplary taxpayers. This year, a total of 1,052 were selected, including 563 corporations, 466 individual business owners, and 23 employees. The exact number of recipients for the 61st awards will be finalized in January 2027 after consultation with the Ministry of Economy and Finance and the Ministry of the Interior and Safety.

To be nominated, corporations must have been continuously operating for at least five years and have at least 50 million won in total assessed tax for the most recent business year. Individual business owners must have at least a five-year continuous tax payment history and over 5 million won in total assessed tax for the most recent taxable period. Employees must have completed at least 10 years of continuous service if under 40, or at least 20 years if aged 40 or older. Candidates undergo a review process that checks for factors such as violations of fair trade regulations and cases of name lending, as well as their achievements, before final selection is made.

Those selected as exemplary taxpayers will receive various benefits depending on the honor, including a two to three-year postponement of tax investigations, discounts on railway fares, reduced hospital medical expenses, and preferential treatment from financial institutions. Notably, starting with those chosen for the 61st Taxpayers’ Day, additional benefits will be provided through policy collaboration between the National Tax Service and the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, such as exemption from ex officio investigations related to subcontracting and consignment transactions, eased eligibility requirements for SME policy loan programs, and preferential support for guarantees from the Korea Technology Finance Corporation.

Nominations for exemplary taxpayers can be submitted through Hometax or at local tax offices. Further information is available on the National Tax Service website.

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