Korea Apartment Gift Appraisal vs Comparable Sale | Gift and Acquisition Tax

Gift value, acquisition base, gift tax, acquisition tax, fee, current burden, future effect and net burden by filing
Filing	Gift-tax value	Gift-tax base	Gift tax	Acquisition base	Acquisition taxes	Fee	Current burden	Future effect	Net burden
A Comparable-sale filing	1,350,000,000 KRW	1,300,000,000 KRW	349,200,000 KRW	1,250,000,000 KRW	47,500,000 KRW	0 KRW	396,700,000 KRW	-31,880,640 KRW	364,819,360 KRW
B Appraisal filing	1,230,000,000 KRW	1,177,800,000 KRW	301,786,400 KRW	1,230,000,000 KRW	46,740,000 KRW	2,200,000 KRW	350,726,400 KRW	0 KRW	350,726,400 KRW

Similar-property tests, window inclusion, selection and qualifying gift dates by sale
Sale	Contract	Price	Official gap	Similar	Gift window	Acq. window	Selected	Gift dates that include it
C1	2026-10-20	1,320,000,000 KRW	10,000,000 KRW	Yes	Yes	Yes	—	2026-07-20 ~ 2027-04-20
C2	2026-11-28	1,350,000,000 KRW	5,000,000 KRW	Yes	Yes	Yes	Gift	2026-08-28 ~ 2027-05-28
C3	2026-03-10	1,250,000,000 KRW	0 KRW	Yes	No · review	Yes	Acquisition	2025-12-10 ~ 2026-09-10
C4	2026-08-05	1,400,000,000 KRW	160,000,000 KRW	Area > 5%	Yes	Yes	—	2026-05-05 ~ 2027-02-05

For an apartment gift, the filed value sets both gift tax and acquisition tax

When parents give an apartment to a child or spouse in Korea, the biggest driver of tax is not the rate but the value at which the gift is reported.
Gift tax is levied on the market value on the gift date, and since 2023 the acquisition tax on a gift also uses the recognized market value as its base.
If a unit in the same complex recently sold, that price becomes the market value, and a high sale raises both taxes.
If you instead obtain an appraisal within the valuation period and file at that value, the appraisal of the gifted unit takes priority over the comparable sale and can lower the tax.

Enter the gift and filing dates, the official apartment price and exclusive area, same-complex sales and the desk-appraisal estimate.
The calculator then computes gift tax, acquisition taxes and the appraisal fee for filing A (comparable sale) and filing B (appraisal).
It reflects that the two taxes use different valuation windows, shows which sale each tax selects, and checks whether the appraisal falls below the re-appraisal threshold.
With a holding plan it also adds a future capital-gains effect that respects the 10-year carryover rule and compares the net burden.

This calculator is based on Korean rules: the 2026 Inheritance and Gift Tax Act, Local Tax Act and Income Tax Act, verified through the National Law Information OPEN API on 2026-10-29.
Default values are a fictional example, not the price or appraisal of a real complex.

How the market value of a gifted apartment is set

Inheritance and Gift Tax Act Article 60 values gifted property at its market value on the valuation date (the gift date), and market value includes sale, appraisal, expropriation, auction and public-sale prices.
Decree Article 49 recognizes those prices only within the valuation period and applies them in the order below.

1st: the unit’s own value

A sale or appraisal of the very apartment being gifted.
If one exists within the period, other sales in the complex are ignored.

2nd: a similar unit’s sale

The sale price of another unit in the same complex within 5% of area and 5% of official price.
For gift tax, only sales up to the filing date within the period count.

3rd: supplementary valuation

The official apartment price applies only when market value is hard to determine (Act Article 61(1)4).
It is common for small complexes with few trades.

The key is the relationship between the first and second levels.
The proviso to Decree Article 49(2) states that similar-property prices do not apply when the property itself has a sale or appraisal value.
Even if a recent sale in the complex was high, an appraisal obtained within the period and used in the return becomes the market value.

Gift-tax and acquisition-tax valuation windows compared

Gift tax and gift acquisition tax set market value on similar principles, but the windows and floors differ.
The calculator therefore selects the sale separately for each tax.

Gift tax versus gift acquisition tax: valuation windows, appraisal floor and filing deadline
Item	Gift tax	Gift acquisition tax	Basis
Sale or appraisal of the gifted unit itself	6 months before to 3 months after the gift date	6 months before to 3 months after the acquisition date	Gift Decree §49(1) · Local Decree §14(1)
Sale of a similar unit in the same complex	6 months before the gift to the filing date within the period	1 year before acquisition to the filing deadline (or the filing date if filed on time)	Gift Decree §49(4) · Local Decree §14(5)
Sales outside the period	Within 2 years before the gift and similar cases may count after a valuation committee review	Within 2 years before acquisition and similar cases may count after a local tax committee review	Gift Decree §49(1) proviso · Local Decree §14(3)(6)
Appraisal floor	Below min(official price, comparable × 90%) the tax office orders a new appraisal	Below the standard value the local government orders a new appraisal	Gift Decree §49(1)2 · Local Decree §14(1)2
Filing deadline	Three months after the end of the gift month	Three months after the end of the acquisition month	Gift Act §68(1) · Local Tax Act §20(1)

The acquisition-tax window for similar property starts one year before acquisition.
A sale from seven to twelve months earlier, excluded from the gift-tax period, can therefore set the acquisition tax.
Neither tax counts similar sales made after the filing date, so once a favorable value is fixed, filing promptly is safer.

The three similarity tests and the selection order

Gift Tax Enforcement Rule Article 15(3)1 and Local Tax Enforcement Rule Article 4-3(4)1 define similar apartments the same way.

The unit is in the same apartment complex as the gifted unit.
The exclusive residential area differs by no more than 5% of the gifted unit’s area.
The official apartment price differs by no more than 5% of the gifted unit’s official price.
If several units qualify, choose the one with the smallest official-price gap.
If that unit has several prices, use the contract date nearest the gift date, averaging prices at the same distance (Decree Article 49(2)).

Test: |comparable area − subject area| ≤ subject area × 5% and |comparable official price − subject official price| ≤ subject official price × 5%

Order: smallest official-price gap → nearest contract date → average on ties

Many owners assume the most recent sale or the closest floor plan is the market value, but the first legal criterion is the official-price gap.
Sales of units with nearly identical official prices, such as the same line and floor band, are selected first, so cross-check the Hometax valuation service.

Appraisal threshold, number of firms and fee deduction

Gift-tax threshold = min(official apartment price, similar-property value × 90%)

If the appraisal < threshold, the tax office uses another firm’s appraisal (unless that value is lower than yours)

Number of firms

One or more firms up to KRW 1 billion official price, and the average of two or more above it (Act Article 60(5), Decree Article 49(6)).

Valuation period

Both the price base date and the report date must fall within six months before to three months after the gift.

Fee deduction

When you file at that appraisal, the fee is deducted from the gift-tax base up to KRW 5 million (Act Article 55(1), Decree Article 46-2).

Official apartment prices often sit around 60–70% of market prices, so in practice the threshold is usually the official price.
Where comparable sales are low, 90% of the comparable can become the threshold, so the calculator computes both and uses the smaller.
If the original appraisal is below 80% of the re-appraisal, the firm can be designated as an unrecognized appraiser, so pressing for an unrealistically low value backfires.

Gift acquisition tax: recognized market value and the regulated-area surcharge

Local Tax Act Article 10-2 sets the base for gratuitous acquisition at the recognized market value (comparable sale, appraisal or public-sale price).
Only property with a standard value of KRW 100 million or less may choose between market value and standard value.
The rate is 3.5% under Article 11(1)2, rising to 12% under Article 13-2(2) for homes in a regulated area with a standard value of KRW 300 million or more.

Home gift acquisition tax, local education tax and rural special tax rates as a share of the base
Case	Acquisition tax	Education tax	Rural special tax	Total
Ordinary home gift (gratuitous acquisition)	3.5%	0.3%	0.2% (above 85㎡ only)	3.5%–3.7%
Regulated area, standard value KRW 300M or more	12%	0.4%	1.0% (above 85㎡ only)	12.4%–13.4%
One-home household gifting to a spouse or lineal relative	3.5%	0.3%	0.2% (above 85㎡ only)	3.5%–3.7%

When a spouse or lineal relative receives the home of a one-home household, Decree Article 28-6(2) removes the surcharge.
Since 2023 the filing and payment deadline for gift acquisition tax is three months after the end of the acquisition month, matching the gift-tax deadline.
If you use the appraisal for acquisition tax, a value below the standard value can trigger a local re-appraisal, which the results flag.

The two filings in a fictional example

An 84.97㎡ apartment with an official price of KRW 820,000,000 is gifted to an adult child on 2026-12-15 and reported on 2027-01-20.
Same-complex sales are C1 (2026-10-20, KRW 1,320,000,000), C2 (2026-11-28, KRW 1,350,000,000), C3 (2026-03-10, KRW 1,250,000,000) and C4 with a different area.
The gift-tax window selects C2 with the smallest official-price gap, while the one-year acquisition window selects C3 with a gap of zero.
One firm appraises the unit at KRW 1,230,000,000 for a KRW 2,200,000 fee, above the KRW 820,000,000 threshold.

Fictional example comparing the comparable-sale filing and the appraisal filing, in KRW
Item	A Comparable sale	B Appraisal
Gift-tax value	1,350,000,000	1,230,000,000
Gift-tax base	1,300,000,000	1,177,800,000
Final gift tax	349,200,000	301,786,400
Acquisition-tax base	1,250,000,000	1,230,000,000
Acquisition and education tax	47,500,000	46,740,000
Appraisal fee	0	2,200,000
Current burden	396,700,000	350,726,400
Future capital-gains effect (12 years, 26.4%)	−31,880,640	0
Net burden	364,819,360	350,726,400

On taxes paid now, the appraisal filing is KRW 45,973,600 cheaper.
Assuming a 12-year hold and a 26.4% marginal rate, A’s higher basis cuts future capital-gains tax by KRW 31,880,640, yet B still wins by KRW 14,092,960.
If a one-home exemption is expected to remove capital-gains tax, set the rate to 0 and compare current burden only.

Future capital-gains tax and the 10-year carryover rule

Selling after 10 years or more

The recipient’s cost is the gift-tax value, and the gift acquisition tax is an acquisition expense.
A higher value shrinks the gain and the future tax.

Selling within 10 years

Income Tax Act Article 97-2 applies the donor’s cost.
The value gap disappears and only the gift tax paid counts as an expense.

The calculator multiplies the basis gap between the two filings by your marginal rate as a simple estimate of the future effect.
It does not compute the long-term holding deduction, the one-home exemption or the carryover exclusions in Article 97-2(2), so check a capital-gains calculator before an actual sale.
The 10 years follow the registered ownership period, and carryover does not apply when it would produce less tax than the ordinary method.

Step-by-step use

Enter the gift date and the planned filing date.
The filing date must fall within three months after the end of the gift month, and both taxes are assumed to be filed that day.
Enter the official apartment price and exclusive area, and tick the regulated-area and one-home spouse or lineal gift boxes.
From the MOLIT real-transaction database, add same-complex sales from two years before the gift through the filing date with their contract date, price, area and official price.
Enter the desk-appraisal estimate, base date and fee per firm.
Choose two firms when the official price exceeds KRW 1 billion.
Enter the relationship, 10-year gift history, holding period and marginal rate, then calculate.
Review the table, sale timeline and warnings, and save the checklist and TXT for your adviser.

Changing inputs hides earlier results until you recalculate.
A withheld result does not mean zero tax; it means a date or appraisal input needs correcting first.

When this calculator helps most

A recent high sale in the complex

A comparable-sale filing uses that price as the tax base.
Check how much an in-period appraisal saves after the fee.

The gift date is still open

The qualifying gift-date range shows when a sale leaves the valuation period.
Remember that new sales may still appear later.

Near the KRW 1 billion line

Above KRW 1 billion two firms are required and the fee rises.
The comparison shows whether the appraisal still wins.

A spouse gift using the KRW 600 million exemption

The gift-tax gap may be small, but acquisition tax and the 10-year capital-gains effect can decide.
Enter the holding plan to compare net burden.

Cautions and limits

The calculator never predicts or steers an appraisal.
Inputs must come from real desk estimates by an appraisal firm.
Sales within two years before the period or after it may be recognized by a valuation committee, so they trigger a warning without changing the result.
Only a single apartment gift is covered.
Encumbered or fractional gifts, houses, land, commercial property, the unit’s own sale or auction, and capital-expenditure add-backs are out of scope.
The prior gift tax credit cap is simplified and future capital-gains tax is a marginal-rate estimate.
Have a tax adviser review before filing.

Whether the value is set by your appraisal or another market value, extra principal tax from a valuation difference carries no under-reporting penalty, and no late-payment penalty if you filed and paid on time (Framework Act Articles 47-3(4) and 47-4(3)).
Fraud is the exception, and a fee paid for a rejected appraisal is not refunded, so avoid unrealistic appraisal requests.

Frequently asked questions

Can I simply file an apartment gift at the official price?

Apartments trade often, so if a similar unit in the same complex sold within the valuation period, that sale price becomes the market value.
The official apartment price (supplementary valuation) is used only when market value is hard to determine.
If a comparable exists and you file at the official price, the tax office will assess the comparable value and collect the extra tax.

Which sale counts as the comparable?

A similar unit must be in the same apartment complex with an exclusive area and an official price each within 5% of the gifted unit.
If several units qualify, the one with the smallest official-price gap is chosen, and if that unit has several prices, the contract date nearest the gift date wins.
Prices on the same distance are averaged.

Does an appraisal override the comparable sale?

Under the proviso to Decree Article 49(2), similar-property prices are not used when the gifted property itself has a sale or appraisal value.
So filing at an appraisal made within the period keeps a higher sale in the same complex out of the valuation.
If the appraisal falls below the threshold, however, the tax office may use another appraisal firm’s value.

How many appraisal firms do I need?

Real estate with a standard (official) value of KRW 1 billion or less needs at least one firm; above KRW 1 billion the value must be the average of two or more firms.
Acquisition tax follows the same KRW 1 billion line.
The appraisal fee can be deducted from the gift-tax base up to KRW 5 million.

Will a low appraisal trigger penalties?

Article 47-3(4) of the Framework Act on National Taxes removes the under-reporting penalty when the tax base is determined at a value assessed under Gift Act Article 60(2) or (3).
If you filed and paid on time, Article 47-4(3) also removes the late-payment penalty.
Fraud is the exception, and you still pay the additional principal tax at the assessed value.

Can the gift-tax and acquisition-tax market values differ?

Yes.
Gift-tax similar sales start six months before the gift, but acquisition-tax similar sales start one year before acquisition.
A lower sale from seven to twelve months earlier can therefore set the acquisition tax while a more recent sale sets the gift tax.
With an appraisal both taxes can use the same appraised value.

Does a higher appraisal help if I sell within 10 years?

If property received from a spouse or lineal relative is sold within 10 years, Income Tax Act Article 97-2 applies carryover basis and uses the donor’s acquisition cost.
A higher gift value then does not reduce the gain, and only the gift tax paid counts as an expense.
A higher value lowers future capital-gains tax only when you plan to hold for more than 10 years.

Does moving the gift date change the result?

A sale counts only when its contract date falls within six months before to three months after the gift date, so changing the gift date changes which sales enter the window.
The qualifying gift-date range in the calculator table shows when a high sale drops out.
Filing early also excludes any comparable sale made after the filing date.

Official sources and check date

Statutes were checked directly through the National Law Information OPEN API on 2026-10-29.
The Inheritance and Gift Tax Act MST276123 (effective 2026-01-02), Decree MST290845 (effective 2026-10-01) and Rule MST284609 (effective 2026-03-20) are the basis.
The Local Tax Act MST282559 (effective 2026-07-01), Decree MST290815 (effective 2026-10-01), Rule MST287031, Income Tax Act MST280405 and Framework Act on National Taxes MST289999 were cross-checked.

Recheck the formulas when the valuation period, similarity tests, appraisal threshold or acquisition surcharge change.

Compare both filings before ordering an appraisal

An appraisal costs money, and the gift date cannot be undone once the contract and registration are complete.
Save this comparison as a TXT file and bring it to the appraisal firm and your tax adviser to decide whether to appraise, when to gift and when to file.
For inherited property use the inherited real-estate valuation calculator, and for rates only use the gift acquisition tax calculator.

Korean Apartment Gift Valuation Calculator: Appraisal vs Comparable Sale

1. Gift date, filing date and the apartment

2. Same-complex sales

3. Appraisal (desk estimate)

4. Recipient and gift exemptions

5. Future sale assumption (optional)

Appraisal vs comparable-sale total burden