About

This site helps you find out how much tax you will pay when importing goods into South Korea, and the HS code that applies to them. It covers 11,326 items in Korean, Japanese and English, based on the tariff schedule published by the Korea Customs Service.

Where the data comes from

Product names, HS codes and tariff rates come from Korea Customs Service open data (KOGL Type 1), as of 2026-01-01. The exchange rate is the rate the Customs Service publishes weekly — currently 1 USD = 1,427.06 KRW (as of 2026-08-09). This is the official rate used to assess duty, not a market rate.

How the tax is calculated

Whether goods are duty-free is judged on the goods price excluding shipping (Enforcement Rule of the Customs Act, Article 45(2)1). The limit is USD 150 (214,059 KRW), or USD 200 (285,412 KRW) for goods shipped from the United States.

Once goods are taxable, duty is assessed on the customs value including freight and insurance, and VAT of 10% is assessed on that value plus the duty (Value-Added Tax Act, Article 29(2)). If you go over the limit, tax applies to the full goods price, not just the amount exceeding it.

Some items are not calculated

Alcoholic beverages, tobacco and passenger cars carry liquor tax, education tax or individual consumption tax in addition to customs duty and VAT, and those amounts are then included again in the VAT base. Using this calculator's formula the result can be as low as a quarter of the real amount, so we do not calculate them — we show the applicable rates instead.

Jewellery, luxury watches and luxury bags are subject to individual consumption tax only when the declared price exceeds a statutory threshold, which cannot be determined from the HS code alone. For those we keep the calculator working and simply state the threshold.

We decided it is better not to calculate than to show a wrong number. If you budget too little and buy anyway, the shortfall lands on you at customs.

Limitations

• Amounts shown are estimates for reference and may differ from what is actually assessed.
• FTA agreement rates require a certificate of origin and other conditions.
• Classification is ultimately decided by customs. If you need a definitive classification, check the Korea Customs Law Information Portal or consult a licensed customs broker.
• This site does not provide tax or customs advice.

Contact

If you find an error or have a question, please use the contact page. Reports of incorrect tax amounts or rates are especially welcome.