Korea Tax Refund for Tourists: Instant Refund, Limits, Changes (2026)

By Gape · 6 min read · Published October 10, 2026

Quick answer: If you’re visiting Korea for less than six months, you can get the VAT (and any individual consumption tax) back on goods you take home. The purchase must be ₩15,000 or more in one store. At stores with immediate tax refund, purchases under ₩1,000,000 each, up to ₩5,000,000 per trip, are rung up without the tax. For bigger purchases, you claim the refund at the airport (or a downtown refund booth) and leave Korea within three months of buying.

Korea’s tourist tax refund (외국인 관광객 택스리펀드, also called 사후면세) is for shoppers who spend in regular stores, not in duty-free shops. Look for a “Tax Free” or “Tax Refund” sign at the entrance or till. This guide covers who qualifies, the three ways to get the money back, and what changed for 2026.

Who can get a tax refund in Korea?

According to the Korea Tourism Organization (VISITKOREA), you qualify if you are:

• A foreigner staying in Korea for less than six months, or
• An overseas Korean who has lived abroad for two years or more and is staying in Korea for three months or less

You don’t qualify if you’ve stayed six months or longer, if you’re a diplomat, US Forces Korea personnel, or employed in Korea, or if you’re buying for a company or on someone else’s behalf.

Bring your passport every time you shop. Stores need it to issue the refund receipt, and you can’t add it later.

Which tax refund method should you use?

There are three ways to get the tax back. Most travelers end up using two of them: instant refunds for everyday shopping and the airport for one big purchase.

Limits are from VISITKOREA’s tax refund pages (last updated October 2025). Whatever the method, you must take the goods out of Korea within three months of buying them.

How does the immediate tax refund work?

The immediate tax refund is the easiest option: you never visit a refund counter for those purchases.

1. Look for a store showing an Immediate Tax Refund sign. Not every tax-free store offers it.
2. Pay at least ₩15,000 in one receipt (but less than ₩1,000,000) and hand over your passport.
3. The store charges you the price without VAT. Your receipt shows the tax-free price.
4. Your instant refunds count toward the ₩5,000,000 trip limit, so keep your receipts.

Keep the goods with you when you leave. Under the general rule, tax-free goods have to leave Korea, and customs can check them.

Over the limit? A purchase of ₩1,000,000 or more, or one that takes you past ₩5,000,000 for the trip, can’t go through as an instant refund. Ask the store for a regular tax refund receipt instead, and claim the refund at the airport or a downtown booth.

How do you claim a tax refund at the airport?

For purchases that didn’t go through as instant refunds, you claim at the airport on your way out.

1. Before check-in, decide what goes in your hold bag. If customs needs to see an item, it has to be with you. Ask at the refund counter before you check in anything you bought tax-free.
2. Get export confirmation. Use a tax refund kiosk (무인 환급 키오스크) or go to the customs/refund area with your passport, refund receipts and the goods. Larger refunds may need a customs officer to see the items; the kiosk or counter will tell you.
3. Collect your money. At Incheon Airport, VISITKOREA lists refund counters in Terminal 1 on the 3rd floor, in the duty-free area near Gate 28, and in Terminal 2 at the 3rd-floor check-in counters G and F and in the duty-free area near Gate 253.
4. Choose how to be paid. Depending on the counter, refunds come in Korean won, US dollars, Chinese yuan or Japanese yen, or to Alipay or WeChat Pay. If you choose a credit card refund, expect it to take one to two months.

Opening hours for staffed counters are roughly 07:00–22:00 at Incheon T1 and 06:30–20:00 at Gimpo, and unstaffed kiosks run 24 hours. Arrive early on peak days. Lines at the refund area add time after check-in.

Downtown refund: If you’d rather have cash in hand before the airport, downtown refund booths pay out in the city, for receipts up to ₩6,000,000. You still have to show your goods and documents when you leave. Ask at the booth what proof of departure they need.

Can you get tax back on hotels or cosmetic surgery?

These are two separate schemes from shopping refunds, and both are changing.

Hotels (숙박 부가세 환급): Foreign tourists can get the VAT back on room charges at hotels designated by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. This applies to stays of up to 30 nights, for individual tourists only (package tours don’t count), and you must leave Korea within three months. For Q3 2026, the ministry designated 110 properties. Ask your hotel whether it’s on the list before you book. In its August 2026 tax reform plan, the government proposed ending this scheme on 30 June 2027 instead of 31 December 2028.

Cosmetic surgery and dermatology (미용성형 부가세 환급): The VAT refund on cosmetic procedures for foreign patients ended on 31 December 2025 and was not extended. Bills to bring it back have been introduced in the National Assembly in 2026, but none had passed as of this writing. If a clinic quotes you a “VAT refund” price, ask them to show you the current rule.

What changed recently

• 1 January 2024: The immediate refund limits doubled, from ₩500,000 to ₩1,000,000 per purchase and from ₩2,500,000 to ₩5,000,000 per trip. The minimum purchase dropped from ₩30,000 to ₩15,000.
• 31 December 2025: The VAT refund on cosmetic surgery for foreign tourists ended.
• 7 August 2026: The government’s 2026 tax reform plan proposed ending the hotel VAT refund early, on 30 June 2027 (previously 31 December 2028). It’s a proposal, so check before you rely on it either way.

FAQ

Can I combine several small receipts to reach ₩15,000? The ₩15,000 minimum applies per purchase in one store. Small purchases on different receipts at different stores don’t add up. Do your shopping in one go at a single store where possible.

Do I need to show my passport, or is a photo enough? Bring the physical passport. Stores and refund counters use it to verify your eligibility and link the refund to you.

I put my tax-free items in my checked bag. Can I still get the refund? Only if customs doesn’t need to see them. Ask at the refund counter before you check in. If an inspection is required and the goods are already in the hold, you may lose the refund.

Do duty-free shops and tax-free shops work the same way? No. Duty-free shops (면세점) sell goods without duties for pick-up at departure. Tax-free shops (사후면세점) are regular stores where you get the VAT back through the methods above.

Can I use a tax refund on the T-money card or subway passes? No. Tax refunds cover goods you take out of Korea, not transport or services. For transit, see our guide to T-money vs the Climate Card.