What is the personal & corporate taxi license transfer cost calculator?
In Korea, a taxi business license is not a car you simply buy and sell — it is a regulated transport-business license (여객자동차 운수사업 면허). An individual (personal) taxi license changes hands for a market premium of roughly KRW 100–200 million depending on the region, while a corporate taxi company is acquired as a whole, bundling the license count, vehicles, garage real estate, and assumed debt. This calculator adds every tax and fee on top of the headline price so you can see the buyer’s total cash needed, the seller’s net proceeds after capital gains tax, and the total acquisition cost of a corporate fleet.
It reflects Korea’s current 2026 rules: the Passenger Transport Service Act (여객자동차 운수사업법), the Local Tax Act (지방세법) registration license tax and acquisition tax, the Income Tax Act (소득세법) capital gains rules, and the VAT Act comprehensive-transfer exemption. Because these are Korea-specific rules, the results are estimates for the Korean market and do not replace an official license approval or a tax accountant’s calculation.
Why a taxi license transfer needs government approval
Under Article 14 of the Passenger Transport Service Act, both personal and corporate taxi transfers require the approval (인가) of the Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport or the city/provincial governor — not a mere notification. The authority reviews the business plan, financial capacity, management stability, employment succession, and public interest. Transferring without approval is punishable by a fine of up to KRW 10 million (Article 92, item 6), so the approval step is mandatory.
Buyer eligibility for a personal taxi license (2026)
- • 5+ years of accident-free driving experience (private driving counts; a single at-fault accident resets the clock).
- • A taxi driver qualification (Korea Transportation Safety Authority exam).
- • Traffic-safety experiential training (5 days), required since 2021 for applicants without commercial experience; must transfer within 1 year of completion or retake it.
- • A passing driving-aptitude precision test.
- • The seller can transfer only 5 years after obtaining the license (exceptions: long illness, emigration, age 61+).
Regional personal-taxi license premiums
Because new licenses are effectively frozen under a total-quantity cap, prices are set by local supply and demand and vary widely. The figures below are early-2026 reference prices (license only, vehicle excluded); they change daily by broker and cooperative, so enter your actual deal price.
Reference premiums, H1 2026 (KRW)
- • Seoul: about 110–120 million
- • Incheon: about 130 million (highest among the metros)
- • Busan: about 100–107 million
- • Daegu: about 55–70 million (lowest, oversupplied)
- • Gyeonggi (Suwon/Hwaseong, etc.): about 130–200 million (no rotation-rest areas trade higher)
- • Jeju / Sejong: around 200 million
The 2021 relaxation of buyer eligibility (letting ordinary drivers enter) is the main driver of the price surge. Conversely, platform-hailing fees (Kakao T), weak regional revenue, and a wave of retiring elderly owners push prices down.
Costs the buyer pays
Key items
- • Registration license tax: a personal taxi license is Class 4 under the Local Tax Act — a flat KRW 27,000 in special/metropolitan cities and cities of 500,000+, KRW 15,000 in other cities, KRW 9,000 in counties.
- • Local education tax: an extra 20% of the registration license tax.
- • Vehicle acquisition tax: if the car transfers too, commercial passenger cars are taxed at 4% (vs. 7% for private use; commercial use is exempt from the acquisition-tax local-education and rural-special surtaxes).
- • Side costs: cooperative deposit/joining fee, mutual-aid (insurance) succession, brand-hailing (Kakao T) franchise fees, and administrative agent/legal fees.
The most common mistake: the license premium has no acquisition tax
Acquisition tax applies only to the assets listed in Article 7 of the Local Tax Act — real estate, vehicles, and so on. The license (business goodwill) itself is not subject to acquisition tax, so any claim that “buying a KRW 100 million license means several million won of acquisition tax” is wrong. The only acquisition tax is on the commercial vehicle you take over, and even that is just 4%.
The seller’s capital gains tax
The biggest burden for the seller is capital gains tax. A personal taxi license (business goodwill) is an “other asset” under Article 94(1)4 of the Income Tax Act, so the gain is taxed as a capital gain — not as business income. The basic progressive rates of 6% to 45% (Article 104) apply; because it is an other asset, the holding period is irrelevant and the long-term holding special deduction does not apply. After subtracting the annual capital-gains basic deduction of KRW 2.5 million, a local income tax equal to 10% of the capital gains tax is added.
Acquisition cost drives the tax
The taxable gain is the sale price minus the acquisition cost. If you originally bought the license for a premium, that amount is deducted as a necessary expense and lowers the tax. But an owner who received a new license for free (original acquisition) has an acquisition cost near zero, so the entire gain is taxed and the burden is very large. Keep your original contract and bank-transfer records as proof.
If the deal is a comprehensive business transfer (assets, liabilities, and employees all succeeded), VAT is exempt under Article 10(9)2 of the VAT Act. If the comprehensive-transfer requirements are not met, VAT may apply, so confirm with a tax accountant.
Corporate taxi acquisition structure
A corporate taxi deal buys a whole company, so the cost structure differs. Total acquisition cost is generally the license value (per-license price × number of licenses) plus the succeeded vehicles, garage real estate, assumed debt, and advisory/due-diligence fees.
Business transfer vs. share transfer
Business (asset) transfer succeeds the license, vehicles, garage, and debt as assets and requires Article 14 approval. The transferred commercial vehicles carry 4% acquisition tax and the garage real estate carries acquisition tax; VAT is exempt if the comprehensive-transfer requirements are met.
Share transfer buys the corporation itself and keeps the license in the company’s name (no re-approval of the license). Instead, the seller pays capital gains tax on the shares, and a buyer who acquires more than 50% of the shares pays the oligopolistic-shareholder deemed acquisition tax on the company’s vehicles and real estate (Local Tax Act Article 7(5)). Some authorities still treat a change of control as an Article 14 approval matter, so check in advance.
How to use it
Step 1: Choose the mode
Pick personal or corporate taxi; the input fields change accordingly.
Step 2: Pick region and perspective (personal)
Selecting a region auto-fills a reference premium; choosing buyer or seller shows the matching result.
Step 3: Enter amounts and conditions
Enter your actual premium, whether the vehicle is included, side costs, or the seller’s acquisition cost and comprehensive-transfer flag. For a corporate deal, enter per-license price, vehicles, garage, debt, fees, and deal type.
Step 4: Review the breakdown
See the buyer’s total cash, the seller’s net proceeds, or the corporate total, itemized with the tax basis and cautions.
Frequently asked questions
Q. Do I pay acquisition tax when buying a personal taxi license?
A. Not on the license itself. Acquisition tax applies only to assets the law lists (real estate, vehicles), so only the transferred commercial vehicle carries 4% acquisition tax. The license registration is a flat Class 4 registration license tax plus local education tax.
Q. How much capital gains tax will the seller pay?
A. The gain (sale price minus acquisition cost) is taxed at the 6–45% basic rates plus a 10% local income tax. A free, newly issued license has no acquisition cost, so the full gain is taxed. Enter the original acquisition type and cost to estimate the tax.
Q. Can I just borrow a license name and operate without approval?
A. No. Article 14 requires approval for any transfer, and a violation can bring a fine of up to KRW 10 million. Name-lending (jiip) operation is separately penalized.
Q. Can I use this result for an official filing?
A. No. This is a reference estimate; the actual market price, cooperative fees, capital gains tax, and approval conditions vary by region, cooperative, and individual case. Confirm the approval and the tax with the local authority and a tax accountant.
Check your taxi license transfer cost now
Enter a region and premium to see the buyer’s total and the seller’s net proceeds instantly.
Based on Korea’s 2026 Passenger Transport Service Act, Local Tax Act, and Income Tax Act.