9th November, 2026
By Anjali Kochhar
South Korea has proposed another two-year delay to its cryptocurrency income tax, moving the start date from January 2027 to 2029. Finance Minister Lee Hyoung-il announced the plan at a press conference in Seoul on November 5, Yonhap News Agency reported.
The tax was first legislated in 2020 and was due to begin in January 2022. It was later deferred to 2023, then 2025, and then January 1, 2027. If approved, this would be its fourth postponement. The National Assembly must still pass the change before the statutory date can move.
Lee said he made the announcement “with a heavy heart” and acknowledged the three earlier delays. He added that the ministry would work with lawmakers on a collection system that functions properly from 2029.
The rate is unchanged. Investors will owe 22% on annual crypto gains above 2.5 million won (about $1,869), made up of a 20% national income tax and a 2% local income tax. An investor with 5 million won in qualifying gains would pay tax on 2.5 million won, a bill of 550,000 won.
Why Seoul wants more time
Overseas data is the main concern. South Korea expects to begin exchanging crypto transaction information with the United States only in 2029. Officials fear a tax introduced before then would fall harder on users of local exchanges, while trades on foreign platforms would remain difficult to track.
Questions also remain over how authorities would calculate taxable profit, set acquisition costs and treat assets bought before the tax begins. The presidential office backed a delay in October, and on November 3 lawmakers from the ruling Democratic Party recommended the same 2029 date. As recently as August, the government had kept the January 2027 deadline in its tax reform plans.
Relief for losses
The ministry also plans a three-year loss carryforward, which would let investors set eligible losses against future gains. It said the model follows rules in the United States and Britain.
A public-private working group will study disclosure requirements and simpler tax returns, with its first meeting due soon. Talks are expected to run through the first half of 2027, and the ministry intends to submit amendments during the National Assembly’s regular session that year. It will also work with the Financial Services Commission to speed up wider digital asset legislation, including investor protection rules.
BlockWind Analysis: What the Crypto Tax Delay Means
Four delays in six years show how hard Seoul has found it to build the machinery for crypto taxation. The core of the policy, however, has held firm. The 22% rate and the 2.5 million won threshold remain intact, and the ministry continues to say that investment income should be taxed.
For retail investors, the loss carryforward is the bigger change. Crypto prices swing sharply from one year to the next, and under the original design a heavy loss in one tax year offered no relief against gains in the following one. A three-year window makes the regime fairer and could soften political resistance when the tax finally begins.
The decision to tie the start date to US data exchange is also telling. Seoul has effectively accepted that a crypto tax cannot work while offshore activity stays out of view, a problem regulators across Asia, including India, continue to face.
For domestic exchanges, the delay keeps the field level with foreign rivals for now. The cost is credibility. Each deferral makes the next deadline easier to doubt, and 2029 will hold only if the working group produces workable rules by 2027 and the US data exchange begins on schedule.
