Orthognathic (Double Jaw) Surgery Cost Calculator
This calculator estimates the total cost and the real out-of-pocket burden of orthognathic surgery in Korea — bimaxillary (double jaw) surgery, which moves the upper jaw (Le Fort I osteotomy) and lower jaw (bilateral sagittal split osteotomy) together, or a single-jaw correction. The key point is not a single price but the fact that the same operation is treated completely differently depending on purpose. A cosmetic-purpose surgery is a non-covered benefit paid fully out of pocket and is subject to 10 percent VAT, is excluded from the medical-expense tax credit, and is not reimbursed by private indemnity. A therapeutic-purpose orthognathic surgery — for a skeletal malocclusion or dentofacial deformity that causes functional (chewing/speech) impairment — is health-insurance covered (inpatient self-pay 20 percent), VAT-exempt, eligible for the tax credit, reimbursable by inpatient indemnity, and protected by the annual out-of-pocket ceiling. The calculator computes both paths under 2026 Korean rules so you can compare the cosmetic and therapeutic burden side by side.
Cosmetic vs therapeutic: the decisive divide
The single most important cost factor is purpose. The same upper/lower jaw repositioning is billed and taxed in opposite ways depending on whether it is primarily for appearance (cosmetic) or to correct a skeletal malocclusion / dentofacial deformity with functional impairment (therapeutic).
A therapeutic orthognathic surgery gets health-insurance coverage, VAT exemption, the medical-expense tax credit, private inpatient indemnity, and the out-of-pocket ceiling — so the real burden falls sharply compared with a cosmetic case, which is fully self-paid, taxed, and excluded from the credit and indemnity.
- Cosmetic purpose: non-covered (100% self-pay) + 10% VAT + no tax credit + no indemnity.
- Therapeutic purpose: covered (inpatient self-pay 20%, or 10% for a registered congenital special case) + VAT-exempt.
- Therapeutic purpose: eligible for the medical-expense tax credit and inpatient indemnity, and protected by the ceiling.
- Coverage is decided by the hospital and confirmed by the National Health Insurance Service — confirm before surgery.
VAT 10 percent: cosmetic is taxed, therapeutic is exempt
Medical services are generally VAT-exempt in Korea, but cosmetic surgery is taxable. VAT Enforcement Decree Article 35 (the scope of VAT-exempt medical/health services, effective 2026-04-01) lists cosmetic procedures — double eyelid, rhinoplasty, breast augmentation/reduction, liposuction, wrinkle removal, facial-contouring surgery, tooth cosmetic work — and "orthognathic surgery" as excluded from exemption (i.e., taxed), with one crucial proviso.
The proviso reads (translated): "…facial-contouring surgery … and other cosmetic surgery (excluding treatment of post-surgical complications, reconstructive surgery for congenital anomalies, and reconstructive surgery following tumor removal) and orthognathic surgery (excluding orthognathic surgery preceded by orthodontic treatment)." Because "excluding" here means "excluded from the taxable list, i.e. exempt," a cosmetic-purpose orthognathic (double jaw) surgery is taxed at 10 percent VAT, while an orthognathic surgery preceded by orthodontic treatment — the standard sequence for therapeutic correction (pre-surgical orthodontics → surgery → post-surgical orthodontics) — is VAT-exempt. The government’s exemption test (preceding orthodontic treatment) lines up exactly with the clinical marker of therapeutic intent.
- Cosmetic double jaw surgery: 10% VAT added to the surgery fee (VAT Enforcement Decree Article 35).
- Orthognathic surgery preceded by orthodontic treatment (therapeutic): VAT-exempt.
- Check whether a cosmetic quote already includes the 10% VAT.
Cost components: surgery fee, orthodontics, extras
Bimaxillary (double jaw) surgery moves both jaws and is the largest in scope; single-jaw (maxilla-only or mandible-only) is smaller; adding genioplasty (chin surgery) increases the fee. Costs vary widely by hospital, region, technique, materials, and length of stay, so the defaults here are representative estimates to be replaced with an actual quote.
For a cosmetic case the non-covered surgery fee for double jaw surgery is roughly KRW 8-18 million (about 12 million typical), with 10 percent VAT added; single-jaw is lower. For a therapeutic case you enter the covered total (the health-insurance benefit cost), of which 20 percent (or 10 percent under a special case) is the covered self-pay, plus non-covered extras (upper-grade room differential, some materials). Pre/post-surgical orthodontic treatment is mostly non-covered (except specific cases such as cleft lip/palate) and typically KRW 3-8 million, but when tied to therapeutic surgery it can count toward the medical-expense tax credit.
- Double jaw (Le Fort I + BSSO): largest scope, ~4-7 inpatient days.
- Single jaw (maxilla or mandible only): lower fee and shorter stay.
- Genioplasty add-on: extra fee (representative +KRW 2M cosmetic / +KRW 1M covered total).
- Orthodontics: mostly non-covered, KRW 3-8 million, creditable when tied to therapeutic surgery.
Ceiling, tax credit, and indemnity
For a therapeutic (covered) case, the 2026 annual out-of-pocket ceiling ranges from about KRW 900,000 (income decile 1) to KRW 8,430,000 (decile 10) and refunds covered self-pay above the income-tier cap, usually the following August. A one-off surgery rarely exceeds the cap on its own, but covered self-pay is aggregated with other covered care in the same year.
The medical-expense tax credit (Income Tax Act Article 59-4) refunds 15 percent of expense above 3 percent of the payer’s salary — but Income Tax Enforcement Decree Article 118-5 excludes "expenses for cosmetic or plastic surgery," so a cosmetic double jaw surgery earns no credit, while therapeutic surgery cost and tied orthodontics do. A registered special-case severe patient, a disabled person, or someone aged 6 or under or 65 or over is exempt from the usual KRW 7 million cap. Private indemnity reimburses inpatient medical expense only for therapeutic surgery (cosmetic is not reimbursed); ceiling-refunded and indemnity-reimbursed amounts are excluded from the tax credit.
How to read the result
Choose the purpose (cosmetic or therapeutic), the scope (double jaw / mandible / maxilla), and whether genioplasty is added; then enter the cosmetic non-covered surgery fee, or for a therapeutic case the covered total and non-covered extras, plus whether orthodontics is done and its cost, the hospital days, the covered self-pay rate, any congenital special case, the income decile, the indemnity generation, and the payer salary. The result shows the final real burden for the chosen purpose, a cosmetic-vs-therapeutic comparison, the cost breakdown (surgery fee, VAT, orthodontics), the ceiling refund, and the indemnity and tax-credit amounts.
This is a cost-planning estimate based on 2026 Korean rules — not medical advice, a hospital quote, or an insurer decision. Whether a specific case qualifies as therapeutic/covered is decided by the hospital and confirmed by the National Health Insurance Service (coverage-criteria Notice 2026-144); confirm coverage, VAT, and eligibility with the surgeon and insurer.
This calculator is based on Korean rules (2026): a cosmetic-purpose orthognathic (double jaw) surgery is non-covered and taxed at 10 percent VAT (VAT Enforcement Decree Article 35, which exempts orthognathic surgery preceded by orthodontic treatment) and is excluded from the medical-expense tax credit (Income Tax Enforcement Decree Article 118-5), while a therapeutic-purpose surgery for skeletal malocclusion or dentofacial deformity is health-insurance covered (inpatient self-pay 20 percent, or 10 percent for a registered congenital special case), VAT-exempt, credit-eligible, indemnity-reimbursable, and protected by the out-of-pocket ceiling. Coverage is decided by the hospital and confirmed by the National Health Insurance Service (Notice 2026-144). Figures are planning estimates, not medical advice, a hospital quote, or an insurer decision; confirm coverage, VAT, and eligibility with the surgeon and insurer.