National Housing Bond Calculator

What is the National Housing Bond Calculator?

When you register ownership of real estate in Korea — after a purchase, inheritance, or gift — you are legally required to buy a Type 1 National Housing Bond (국민주택채권).
This bond purchase is separate from acquisition tax and registration license tax, and it is easy to overlook when you estimate the total cost of registering a property.
This calculator uses the 2026 purchase-rate table under the Enforcement Decree of the Housing and Urban Fund Act to compute the bond purchase amount, and it also shows the real out-of-pocket cost most people pay when they sell the bond immediately.

It answers practical questions such as “How much bond do I need to buy for a self-registration?” or “Is the bond discount fee my judicial scrivener charged correct?”
You do not have to look up the complex rate table yourself — choose a few options and the purchase amount and personal cost appear instantly.

Korea-specific: This calculator is based on Korean rules — the Housing and Urban Fund Act Enforcement Decree (appendix under Article 8(2), rate table last amended 2022-02-17, decree effective 2026-01-02). It is a planning estimate and does not replace official registration filings, bank quotes, or a judicial scrivener’s advice.

Who is this for?

• Buyers about to register ownership after a property purchase
• People preparing a self-registration without a judicial scrivener
• Those registering property received by inheritance or gift
• Owners filing preservation registration for a newly built property
• Anyone checking whether a scrivener’s bond discount fee is reasonable
• Investors estimating the full acquisition cost (tax + registration + bond)

Why must you buy the bond?

The National Housing Bond funds the Housing and Urban Fund, the government’s source for housing stability for lower-income households.
Under the Housing and Urban Fund Act, anyone who files a property registration must purchase a set amount of Type 1 National Housing Bond, and this is a requirement for the registration itself.
In other words, without buying the bond your ownership transfer or preservation registration will not be accepted.

Type 1 vs Type 2

• Type 1 National Housing Bond: Purchased when you register property or obtain a permit. It is a small bond with a 5-year maturity and a 1.3% annual compound coupon (2026 basis). This is what the calculator covers.
• Type 2 National Housing Bond: Formerly bought when winning a price-capped apartment subscription; it is effectively no longer issued.

Rather than tying up a lump sum for five years, most buyers sell the bond back to the bank immediately after buying it.
In that case you do not pay the full face value — only the difference from the market price (the discount loss), and that amount is your personal out-of-pocket cost.

How is the purchase amount calculated?

The purchase amount is the property’s statutory standard value multiplied by a set purchase rate.
The rate depends on the property type (house, land, or non-residential), the region (special/metropolitan city vs elsewhere), and the standard-value bracket.

Bond purchase amount = Standard value × Purchase rate (per 1,000)
→ rounded up to the nearest KRW 5,000

Immediate-sale personal cost = Purchase amount × Discount rate

The standard value here is not the market transaction price but the government-assessed value for taxation.
For housing it is the official apartment or individual house price; for land it is the individual publicly announced land price; for commercial buildings it is the building standard value.

House purchase rate (2026, per 1,000)

Standard value (KRW)	Special/metro city	Other regions
20M – 50M	13‰	13‰
50M – 100M	19‰	14‰
100M – 160M	21‰	16‰
160M – 260M	23‰	18‰
260M – 600M	26‰	21‰
600M and above	31‰	26‰

※ Houses with a standard value below KRW 20 million are exempt from bond purchase.

Land and non-residential rates

The exemption threshold is KRW 5 million for land and KRW 10 million for non-residential buildings (shops, officetels, factories).
For the same standard value, land rates tend to be higher than house rates.

• Land (special/metro): under 50M 25‰ / under 100M 40‰ / 100M and above 50‰
• Land (other): under 50M 20‰ / under 100M 35‰ / 100M and above 45‰
• Non-residential (special/metro): under 130M 10‰ / under 250M 16‰ / above 20‰
• Non-residential (other): under 130M 8‰ / under 250M 14‰ / above 18‰

How to use

Step 1: Choose the property type

Select house, land, or non-residential (shop/officetel). The rate table and exemption threshold differ by type.

Step 2: Choose the region

Select whether the property is in a special/metropolitan city or elsewhere. The same value carries a higher rate in large cities.

Step 3: Enter the standard value

Enter the official house price, individual land price, or building standard value. You can look these up at realtyprice.kr or Wetax.

Step 4: Check the discount rate and read the result

Adjust the immediate-sale discount rate to see the real personal cost. Confirm the exact rate at a bank on the day you register.

Worked examples

Seoul apartment (standard value KRW 200M)

Suppose you buy a Seoul (special city) house with a KRW 200 million standard value and register ownership.
It falls in the 160M–260M bracket, so the rate is 23‰.

Purchase amount = 200M × 23 / 1,000 = KRW 4.6M
Personal cost = 4.6M × 13% (discount) ≈ KRW 598,000

So the bond face value is KRW 4.6M, but selling it immediately costs only about KRW 600,000.

Inherited land in Gyeonggi (standard value KRW 80M)

For land in a non-metropolitan area with an individual land price of KRW 80 million, inherited and registered.
Land in the 50M–100M bracket in other regions carries a 35‰ rate.

Purchase amount = 80M × 35 / 1,000 = KRW 2.8M
Personal cost = 2.8M × 13% (discount) ≈ KRW 364,000

Inheritance and gift registrations are ownership transfers, so the same rate table applies.

Low-value house (standard value KRW 15M)

A house with a KRW 15 million standard value is below the exemption threshold (KRW 20 million).
There is no bond purchase obligation, so the bond cost is zero.

Thresholds differ by type: below KRW 20M for houses, KRW 5M for land, and KRW 10M for non-residential property.

Frequently asked questions

Q. Must I hold the bond to maturity?

A. No. Most people sell the bond at the bank on the same day and pay only the discount loss (personal cost).
If you have spare cash, you can hold it for the 5-year maturity and earn 1.3% annual compound interest.

Q. Where do I find the standard value?

A. Look up the official apartment/house price at realtyprice.kr, or the individual land price for land.
You can also check Wetax (wetax.go.kr) or Government24.

Q. Why does the discount rate change daily?

A. The bond trades on the market, so its price moves every day.
When rates rise, bond prices fall and the discount loss grows; when rates fall, the opposite happens. Check the bank’s posted rate on your registration day.

Q. Why is the amount in KRW 5,000 units?

A. The bond is issued in a minimum unit of KRW 5,000, so the computed amount is rounded up to that unit.
For example, KRW 433,290 becomes KRW 435,000.

Q. Is this separate from acquisition tax and registration cost?

A. Yes, the bond purchase is entirely separate from acquisition tax, registration license tax, and scrivener fees.
To estimate the true total registration cost, always add this bond personal cost.

Useful tips

Co-ownership uses your share: For jointly owned property, compute the amount on the standard value of your share, not the whole.
Apartments use the per-unit value: For apartments and other multi-unit housing, use the per-household official price as the standard value.
A lower discount rate helps: When rates fall, the discount loss shrinks and your personal cost drops.
Check the scrivener quote: If a scrivener’s bond discount fee differs greatly from this result, verify the standard value and discount rate used.
Keep the receipt: If you choose to hold to maturity, keep the purchase receipt (bond number) to redeem principal and interest after 5 years.

Check the bond cost before you register

Enter the property type, region, and standard value to see the bond purchase amount and your real personal cost instantly.

Use it together with the acquisition tax and registration cost calculators to see the full acquisition cost.

Real estate scenario inputs

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