Plan Korean building-permit charges alongside construction costs
A construction price per square metre does not necessarily cover the cash needed before and after a Korean building permit.
A detached home or neighbourhood commercial project can also involve registration licence tax, a local application fee, National Housing Bonds, water and sewer infrastructure charges, and land-conversion costs.
A contractor may include some of these in a filing package while expecting the owner to pay others directly.
Without checking that scope, an owner can either omit an expense or count the same expense twice.
This calculator creates an itemised planning statement that keeps checked amounts separate from unresolved items.
Use it when preparing a new-build or extension budget, then take the statement to the architect and the responsible public offices.
Korea-specific rules for 2026 · checked 2026-09-06
All amounts use KRW and Korean law, including on this English page.
Local tariff coverage is none: the calculator does not contain municipality-specific water, sewer or application-fee tables.
Enter amounts checked with the relevant authority instead of assuming that one regional tariff applies nationwide.
The result is neither a final assessment notice nor a finding that construction is permitted.
The permitting authority and each charging authority must confirm liability, exemptions and actual payment timing.
Three budget groups and one unresolved-item list
Known permit-stage costs
Registration licence tax, application fees, bond sale loss and checked utility or road charges can sit in this group.
Change the assigned stage if the notice or responsible office gives a different payment schedule.
Later-stage reserves
The default stage for a development-charge reserve and a septic installation quote is later.
This keeps those amounts visible without presenting them as bills payable on the permit date.
Actual professional quotes
Enter VAT-inclusive design, filing and supervision quotes in a separate group.
The calculator does not impose a nationwide private architect fee or apply public procurement compensation rates to a private contract.
Unresolved items
An unknown liability or missing amount stays on the unresolved list.
A small known subtotal is not a complete funding plan when several items still require confirmation.
Documents to gather and steps to follow
- Gather the drawings and area schedules.
Identify gross floor area, exclusive residential area and floor count separately; also obtain the project land area and land-use records.
- Select new construction or extension / design amendment.
Use the tax-assessment area and floors confirmed by the tax office, including the increased portion where the amendment rule applies.
- Check whether the bond basic table covers the building.
Use a checked face value for apartments, mixed-use buildings, factories, extensions and other special cases.
- Update each utility, road and land-conversion row from a notice or documented check.
No bill received yet does not establish that the charge is exempt.
- Check VAT, filing scope and stamp-duty inclusion in design and supervision quotes.
Confirm the taxable contract document and the share you actually agreed to pay.
- Print the statement or save it as a PDF.
Use the unresolved list for follow-up enquiries and update it when a drawing, notice, tariff or exemption changes.
The optional location and zoning memo identifies the project for discussion; it does not perform an address-based ordinance lookup.
Inputs stay in the current browser page state, so save the statement before refreshing if you need a record.
Registration licence tax: apply the higher class
Schedule 1 of the Local Tax Act Enforcement Decree classifies building permits and reports using either floor count or gross floor area.
Class 1 applies at 10 floors or 2,000 m²; Class 2 at five floors or 1,000 m²; and Class 3 at two floors or 500 m², with the higher class taking priority.
Buildings outside those three bands use Class 5 for this item.
A two-floor, 150 m² building therefore falls into Class 3, while a one-floor, 2,000 m² building falls into Class 1.
There is no invented Class 4 building-permit band between these categories.
Basic building-permit licence tax under Local Tax Act Article 34, in KRW| Class | Large-city column | Other city | County column |
|---|
| Class 1 | 67,500 | 45,000 | 27,000 |
| Class 2 | 54,000 | 34,000 | 18,000 |
| Class 3 | 40,500 | 22,500 | 12,000 |
| Class 5 | 18,000 | 7,500 | 4,500 |
The same city can contain different tax-rate areas
Special and metropolitan cities generally use the large-city column, but a county within a metropolitan city uses the county column.
Article 34(2) distinguishes urban neighbourhoods from townships in special autonomous cities and combined urban-rural cities.
For those combined-city rules, the 500,000-resident threshold refers to the urban neighbourhood population.
Ordinance-based treatment of certain neighbourhoods and transitional rules for merged cities also need checking.
Do not equate this tax jurisdiction with urban zoning for development-charge screening.
If you have an assessed amount or confirmed relief, select the checked-amount method instead of the basic table.
National Housing Bond face value and immediate-sale loss
Building-permit bond purchases use a different table from property ownership-transfer registration.
Subtable item 6 of the Housing and Urban Fund Act Enforcement Decree annex uses exclusive residential area for residential buildings and gross floor area for ordinary non-residential buildings.
The detached-home basic table here assumes one newly built dwelling.
It does not automatically aggregate apartment units or perform the mixed-use comparison required in some cases.
New detached dwelling bond purchase rate per square metre of total exclusive residential area| Exclusive residential area band | KRW/m² |
|---|
| At or below national housing scale | 0 |
| Above housing scale, below 100 m² | 300 |
| 100 to below 132 m² | 1,300 |
| 132 to below 165 m² | 2,400 |
| 165 to below 231 m² | 5,000 |
| 231 to below 330 m² | 10,000 |
| 330 to below 660 m² | 17,000 |
| 660 m² or more | 28,000 |
Housing Act Article 2(6) generally defines national housing scale as no more than 85 m² per dwelling or household.
A 100 m² limit applies to qualifying non-urban townships outside the Seoul Capital Area.
Select that exception only after checking the location; a dwelling of exactly 100 m² in that qualifying area remains within the limit.
For covered ordinary non-residential buildings, the basic threshold is 165 m² of gross floor area.
At or above that threshold, the rates are KRW 1,300/m² for reinforced concrete or steel, KRW 1,000/m² for brick or stone, and KRW 600/m² for cement brick or block construction.
The selected band rate applies to the whole relevant area, not only the portion above the threshold.
Factories have separate area rules and location exclusions, while tourist accommodation and certain entertainment uses have separate rates.
Extensions can require post-extension area, a credit for prior bond purchases and special treatment for old permits.
Mixed-use buildings can require comparing use-specific calculations with an all-non-residential calculation.
For these cases, exemptions or urban-rail bond substitution, enter the final face value checked with the authority rather than using the ordinary table.
Do not add the bond principal twice
The basic-table result is rounded to KRW 10,000 units: a remainder of at least KRW 5,000 rounds up, while a smaller remainder is discarded.
For example, KRW 214,500 becomes KRW 210,000, whereas KRW 215,000 becomes KRW 220,000.
Immediate-sale loss equals final face value × the checked same-day customer loss rate, rounded to whole KRW.
Only that loss enters the expense subtotal.
The pre-sale cash comparison replaces the loss with the face value, showing the effect of funding the purchase before sale proceeds are received.
This comparison is not a dated peak cash requirement for the whole project.
Leave an unknown loss rate blank and ask the bank whether the rate includes transaction fees and when sale proceeds become available.
Check water, sewer, road and land-conversion amounts
Water: confirm pipe diameter and works scope
Water Supply Act Article 71 and Enforcement Decree Article 65 provide for costs attributable to new or expanded water infrastructure, with detailed calculation rules set locally.
Ask the water office about the pipe diameter, expected demand, reuse of an existing connection, road reinstatement and whether service installation works are included.
If an infrastructure charge and connection works already appear in one quoted total, do not repeat them in another row.
Sewer: discharge increase is not necessarily billable quantity
Sewerage Act Article 61(1) and Enforcement Decree Article 35(1) use an increase of at least 10 m³/day.
Charges for other works or development under Article 61(2) are separate, so an increase below 10 m³/day is not an automatic exemption.
The discharge increase field provides a screen; the quantity used for multiplication is a separate, authority-checked billable quantity.
Existing payments, credits and the applicable local method can make those quantities differ.
Use quantity × unit price only when both inputs and that method have been confirmed; otherwise enter the checked notice amount.
Entering a septic installation quote neither exempts nor automatically offsets the sewer charge.
Road occupation and farmland or forest conversion
Ask the road authority about occupation, duration and reinstatement if access or equipment uses a public road.
Bring checked farmland and forest conversion charges into the appropriate rows.
Check whether a forest restoration deposit is separate from the charge and whether any quoted amount can later be returned.
A refundable deposit requires separate treatment in a net-expense analysis, even when it must be funded initially.
The existing land-conversion calculator can help with a detailed estimate, but actual notices and confirmed relief take priority.
Development-charge screening is not a liability decision
Article 4 of the Development Gains Recovery Act Enforcement Decree sets basic project-area thresholds of 660 m² in urban areas of special, metropolitan and special autonomous cities, 990 m² in other urban areas, and 1,650 m² outside urban areas.
The original-owner greenbelt exception uses a separate 1,650 m² threshold when its conditions are met.
These are project land areas, not building floor areas; a land-category conversion project may use the area actually subject to conversion.
Schedule 1 project eligibility must also be checked.
The screen does not call a large site liable merely because its area crosses a threshold.
Adjoining development effectively split by the same person within five years after a prior project can require aggregation.
The relevant same-person definition includes certain family relationships, and multiple zones can require statutory area conversion.
Read the result carefully
- Area threshold met means the selected project, region and area satisfy the basic size comparison.
It is not a final assessment.
- Below the entered area threshold remains subject to aggregation, project scope and exceptions.
- Further review needed means the project category, region or additional legal conditions remain unresolved.
- The development-charge amount row stays separate.
Keep it unconfirmed until you have a checked reserve amount or a confirmed exclusion.
Separate contract stamp duty from professional quotes
Stamp Tax Act Article 3 and Enforcement Decree Article 2-3 cover specified construction contract documents and architect-engagement documents.
They do not impose one flat stamp tax on every building-permit application.
This calculator handles one confirmed taxable document, applies the statutory amount band, then includes only your agreed payment share.
The stated taxable document amount is entered separately from the VAT-inclusive quote total.
Check how VAT is separately stated in the document instead of assuming the two input amounts must match.
Basic duty by document amount
- Up to KRW 10 million: zero
- Above KRW 10 million through KRW 30 million: KRW 20,000
- Above KRW 30 million through KRW 50 million: KRW 40,000
- Above KRW 50 million through KRW 100 million: KRW 70,000
- Above KRW 100 million through KRW 1 billion: KRW 150,000
- Above KRW 1 billion: KRW 350,000
If there are multiple document copies or separate design and supervision contracts, check the treatment of each document and the agreed payment allocation.
Put other checked stamp-duty amounts in the other-cost row only if they are not already included in a professional quote.
The calculator does not assume that both parties pay half.
Entering a construction contract amount for stamp duty does not add the entire construction contract principal to the permit-cost budget.
Worked example: a 150 m² detached dwelling
Every quote and the 10% customer loss rate in this example is fictional; these are not local tariffs or current market prices.
Assume a two-floor detached dwelling in the other-city tax column, with both tax-assessment area and exclusive residential area entered as 150 m².
Those two areas can differ in real drawings and should never be copied blindly.
Tax and bond calculations
Two floors produces Class 3 registration licence tax of KRW 22,500 in the other-city column.
The bond calculation is 150 m² × KRW 2,400 = KRW 360,000 face value.
At the fictional 10% customer loss rate, immediate-sale loss is KRW 36,000.
A taxable document amount of KRW 30,000,000 produces KRW 20,000 full stamp duty; an agreed 50% share adds KRW 10,000.
Fictional checked quotes
Enter KRW 20,000 for the application fee and KRW 1,000,000 for water.
Sewer uses a checked billable quantity of 12 m³/day × a fictional KRW 500,000 unit price = KRW 6,000,000.
Design and supervision quotes are KRW 3,000,000 and KRW 2,000,000.
All remaining items are confirmed not due only within this fictional example.
Check that principal is not double-counted
The total entered-item budget is KRW 12,088,500.
It contains KRW 36,000 of bond sale loss, not the full KRW 360,000 bond face value.
The pre-sale cash comparison is KRW 12,088,500 − KRW 36,000 + KRW 360,000 = KRW 12,412,500.
If you change water to unconfirmed, the complete total is withheld and the known subtotal becomes KRW 11,088,500, with water remaining on the unresolved list.
Practical scenarios and omissions to avoid
Before buying land for a country home
Use the statement as a checklist for conversion, water supply, wastewater treatment and road access.
It does not establish that a home can legally be built on the land; permit feasibility, contract conditions and land rights need separate review.
When a commercial use changes
Unchanged floor area does not guarantee unchanged wastewater demand or bond treatment.
Recheck the use category and previous payments; use checked amounts for special uses rather than forcing them into the ordinary non-residential table.
When comparing two architect quotes
Align the scope of filing services, public charges, VAT and supervision before comparing totals.
A design-only quote cannot be compared directly with one including taxes and administrative costs.
When extending an existing building
Check tax assessment of the added portion separately from the bond rules for post-extension area and previous purchases.
The original permit date can affect special bond treatment, so enter the checked face value instead of the new-build table.
The entered-item total is not a guaranteed all-inclusive project cost.
Land purchase, main construction, acquisition tax, finance costs, negotiated donations and district-plan obligations remain outside this calculation.
Refundable deposits, exact due dates and date-by-date funding peaks need a separate cash-flow plan.
The permit, later and professional groups are planning categories; update their timing when actual notices arrive.
Frequently asked questions
How does unconfirmed differ from zero?
Unconfirmed means the amount or liability is unresolved.
Only a checked zero amount or a confirmed not-due selection contributes a resolved zero.
Can the face value appear without a customer loss rate?
Yes, a basic-table or checked face value can be known first.
If it is positive and the loss rate is blank, sale loss stays unresolved; a zero face value produces zero loss without a rate.
Is an increase below 10 m³/day exempt from sewer charges?
It is below the Article 61(1) increase threshold.
Other works or development and the local assessment still require checking, so the cost row is not automatically exempted.
Does land below 990 m² avoid the development charge?
990 m² is the basic threshold for other urban areas, not a universal exemption threshold.
Other regions use 660 m² or 1,650 m², and aggregation, project category, conversion area and exceptions must also be checked.
Can I use the same result for a building report or major repair?
The licence tax table covers specified permits and reports, but bond obligations and procedural requirements need separate confirmation.
The current bond subtable excludes major-repair permits; use the dedicated major-repair calculator for that work and procedure.
Should I add VAT again?
Cost inputs use actual VAT-inclusive quotes, so the calculator does not add blanket VAT.
Check the taxable document amount separately for stamp duty and avoid repeating tax already inside a quote.
What should I do after calculating?
Divide unresolved questions among the permit, tax, water, sewer and conversion offices.
Print or save the statement and align every checked amount with its evidence and payment timing in the owner funding plan.
Official sources and future updates
Current status, articles and annexes were checked through the National Law Information OPEN API on 2026-09-06.
The Local Tax Act is ID 001649 / MST 282559, effective 2026-07-01; its Decree is ID 005077 / MST 287223 with the same effective date, and the licence-class annex is ID 18423161.
The Housing and Urban Fund Act Enforcement Decree is ID 012323 / MST 281291, effective 2026-01-02; the bond annex is ID 17855199 and its subtable was amended on 2025-08-26.
Housing Act ID 001809 / MST 283191, effective 2026-08-04, supplies the national housing-scale definition.
Water Supply Act MST 276757 and Sewerage Act MST 276803 are effective 2025-10-01; their Decrees are MST 286843 effective 2026-06-09 and MST 286151 effective 2026-06-03 respectively.
Development Gains Recovery Act Decree MST 269103 is effective 2025-02-14, with project annex ID 17153031.
Stamp Tax Act MST 276139 and Decree MST 280881 are effective 2026-01-02; Building Act Enforcement Rule MST 283727 is effective 2026-02-27.
Future maintainers should recheck licence classes and rates, housing scale, bond rates, exemptions and rounding, development project scope and area exceptions, sewer thresholds and stamp-duty bands.
Local ordinances, public tariff notices, daily bank loss rates and private quotes must be checked at the time of use, independently of the legal verification date.
Keep checked costs and open questions on one statement
Start with the amounts you actually know and preserve the unresolved list.
A statement that identifies what still needs checking is more useful than one completed with unsupported zeroes.
After confirming amounts and timing, keep the printed statement with the owner funding plan.
Also estimate detached-home construction costs