"Smart Tax Administration"... Gangnam District to Refund 167.75 Million Won in Duplicate Local Income Tax Payments

All 2,071 cases reviewed; comprehensive reviews to be conducted every six months
“We will pursue institutional improvements to build a tax administration people can trust”

Gangnam District in Seoul, headed by District Mayor Kim Hyun-ki, said on Oct. 20 that it had reviewed all 2,071 cases flagged as suspected duplicate payments of individual local income tax from last year through August this year. The district will refund 167,754,000 won or cancel the tax assessments for 139 taxpayers who had paid the same tax twice without realizing it.

Gangnam-gu Office building. Provided by Gangnam-gu.

Individual local income tax is paid directly by taxpayers and is divided into tax on comprehensive income, which is levied on business, wage, interest and dividend income, and tax on capital gains, which is levied on income from selling real estate, stocks and other assets. Duplicate payments can occur when taxpayers file and pay before receiving a bill and then pay again after it arrives, or when they pay the bill and subsequently file a return as well. Taxpayers are even less likely to notice the duplication when they file through a tax agent.

From January through September this year, the district used its tax system to identify cases involving multiple payments in the same year and compare them with actual tax records. The cases included 1,442 for tax year 2025 and 629 for January through August this year. The review found 108,844,000 won in duplicate payments of tax on comprehensive income by 112 people, and 58,910,000 won in duplicate payments of tax on capital gains by 27 people.

The district cited delays in updating electronic records as a major cause of duplicate payments. When some financial institutions or tax agents use paper payment forms, it can take more than a month for payment records to be entered into the electronic system. During that time, the tax may be treated as unpaid and billed again, or taxpayers may pay it a second time. The district plans to urge the central government to abolish paper payment forms.

Filing a return again by mistake is another cause. If a return for a previous tax year was not filed, the district office may calculate the tax and issue a bill. If taxpayers are unaware of this and file a late return because the system shows no record of a filing, they may end up paying the tax twice. The district plans to ask for improvements to the filing system so that taxpayers are prompted to check with the tax authority first in such cases.

The district said it would conduct comprehensive reviews of suspected duplicate payments every six months and strengthen training for staff responsible for the reviews.

“When the administration proactively identifies and refunds duplicate payments that taxpayers themselves may not have noticed, it provides meaningful protection for their rights,” District Mayor Kim Hyun-ki said. “We will not stop at this comprehensive review; we will also pursue institutional improvements to build a tax administration people can trust.”

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