Car Tax Calculator (KR)
Enter engine displacement (cc) and vehicle age to estimate a non-commercial passenger car's 2026 Korean annual automobile tax — base tax, age reduction, the 30% local education tax, the yearly total, and the January lump-sum discount. Displacement-based (not a plate lookup); everything runs in your browser.
※ A reference estimate for a non-commercial passenger car under 2026 law, computed from displacement and age only — actual assessments may differ. Not a plate lookup. It excludes commercial/cargo vehicles, won-rounding, half-year billing, proration, exemptions and prepayment discounts. Confirm the exact amount at WeTax or your local office; this tool bears no legal or financial liability.
🔒 Inputs are calculated in your browser and never sent to a server.
How Korean automobile tax is calculated
For a non-commercial passenger car, the annual automobile tax equals <strong>engine displacement (cc) × the per-cc rate</strong>. Under the 2026 Local Tax Act the per-cc rate is <strong>80 won up to 1,000cc</strong>, <strong>140 won up to 1,600cc</strong>, and <strong>200 won above 1,600cc</strong>. Crucially this is not a marginal/progressive rate: the single rate for the bracket your total displacement falls into is applied to the <strong>entire</strong> displacement. So a 2,000cc car is 2,000 × 200 = <strong>400,000 won</strong> of base tax, while a 1,601cc car jumps to the 200-won bracket. This tool is <strong>displacement-based, not a plate lookup</strong>, so enter the exact cc from your vehicle registration.
Age reduction: 5% a year from year 3
The tax falls as the car ages. From the car's <strong>third year</strong>, the tax is reduced <strong>5% each year</strong>, reaching a <strong>maximum 50% at year 12</strong> and no further. A simple formula is <strong>(age − 2) × 5%</strong> — so year 3 is 5%, year 5 is 15%, year 10 is 40%, and year 12+ is 50%. Age is counted from the <strong>first registration date</strong>, which can differ from the model year. Note that <strong>electric and hydrogen cars</strong> have no displacement and are taxed at a flat rate instead, and commercial, cargo, and van vehicles follow entirely different rules.
Adding the 30% local education tax
Your bill is more than the base tax. A <strong>local education tax equal to 30% of the automobile tax</strong> is added on top. Multiply the age-reduced automobile tax by 0.3, and the two together are the yearly total — e.g. a 380,000-won automobile tax adds <strong>114,000 won</strong>, for <strong>494,000 won</strong> a year. The tax is normally billed in two halves (<strong>June and December</strong>), each subject to won-unit rounding, so totals may differ by tens of won. If you own the car for less than a full year, the tax is <strong>pro-rated by days of ownership</strong>.
January prepayment discount — the rate changes yearly
Paying the full year's tax up front in January (prepayment) earns a discount. But the prepayment discount rate is adjusted every year by the Ministry, having fallen from 10% to 7% to 5%, with many sources citing about 3% recently — so it varies by year and source. Because a January prepayment only discounts the remaining months, the effective discount is a little smaller than the headline rate. For that reason this calculator does not commit to a specific prepayment amount; confirm the exact rate and discount at WeTax or your local office.
Frequently asked questions
Can I look up the tax by license plate?
No — this tool has <strong>no plate lookup</strong>. It estimates the tax only from the <strong>displacement (cc) and vehicle age</strong> you enter. To see the confirmed amount for a car registered in your name, use <strong>WeTax (wetax.go.kr)</strong>, Gov24, or your local district office. Entering the exact cc from your vehicle registration gives a close reference figure.
Does it work for EVs or hybrids?
<strong>Electric and hydrogen cars</strong> have no displacement and are taxed at a flat rate (about 130,000 won a year including education tax for non-commercial passenger use), so they do not match this calculator. <strong>Hybrids</strong>, however, have an engine displacement and are taxed just like petrol/diesel cars, so you can use this tool as-is.
Why does my actual bill differ slightly?
Bills are <strong>split into June and December halves</strong> with won-unit rounding, so totals can differ by tens of won. Ownership under a full year is <strong>pro-rated by days</strong>, and exemptions (compact-car, multi-child, disability, national-merit) or the lump-sum discount change the amount. This tool is an <strong>annual estimate</strong> that excludes those variables.
Is my input sent to a server?
No. All calculation happens <strong>entirely in your browser</strong>; the displacement, age, and other inputs are never transmitted or stored. No personal data such as a plate number is collected, so you can use it with confidence.