South Korea early-disburses 2.87 trillion won in tax credits

The South Korean National Tax Service has announced the early disbursement of the 2025 regular Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and Child Tax Credit (CTC). Scheduled for August 27, the payment arrives one month ahead of the legal deadline of October 1.

A total of 2.7 million households will receive 2.8741 trillion won. This includes 2.04 million households receiving 2.2551 trillion won for EITC, and 660,000 households receiving 619 billion won for CTC. The average payment per household is approximately 1.06 million won.

Demographic data shows that single-person households make up the largest portion of EITC recipients (70.1%), with those in their 20s being the most frequent age group (28.9%). For the CTC, single-income households represent 66.7% of recipients, with the 40s age group being the most prominent (47.0%).

While the total number of households receiving support has slightly decreased due to rising income and asset levels, the government plans to expand eligibility through tax reforms. Future plans include increasing income thresholds for single, single-income, and dual-income households and raising the maximum payment to 3.6 million won.

Households that missed the initial May application period can still apply for late payments through Hometax or automated systems until December 1. However, late applicants will receive only 95% of the total amount.