KRW 20 Million in Total
The dependent income requirement does not look at each type of income separately. It adds business income, financial income, pension income, other income, and employment income and tests whether the total is KRW 20 million or less a year.
Receiving a pension while holding deposit interest is common, and in that case the pension and the interest are counted together. Even if each is below KRW 20 million, exceeding the combined figure breaches the requirement. Calculating by type produces a result different from the actual assessment.
Business income carries a separate standard. If you have a business registration, you must have no business income; without a business registration, it must be KRW 5 million or less a year. Persons with disabilities and those wounded in national service or eligible for veterans' compensation are allowed up to KRW 5 million a year even with a business registration.
Housing rental income is treated differently. Regardless of business registration, having any such income excludes you from dependent status. The amount is not considered.
For married people, both spouses must meet the income requirement. If either exceeds it, the status is not maintained.
Business income and housing rental income carry separate standards and are left out of the combinations above.
Converting interest of KRW 4 million and KRW 6 million into principal makes the difference clear. At 2.5% per year (pre-tax), KRW 4 million requires a principal of KRW 160 million and KRW 6 million requires KRW 240 million. For someone receiving a pension of KRW 15 million, the assessment changes as deposit principal passes KRW 200 million.
More Property Lowers the Income Threshold
The income requirement is not the only test. The income threshold applied changes with the property tax base.
The property tax base is the assessed base, not market value. It is the published price multiplied by the fair market value ratio, so it comes out lower than the actual transaction price.
For someone who owns a home and also has interest income, this bracket is where the outcome turns. Once the property tax base exceeds KRW 540 million, the combined income threshold halves, so the same interest produces a different assessment.
Tax and Premiums Move Separately
The figure of KRW 20 million appears on the tax side as well, but the results differ.
On the tax side, Article 62 of the Income Tax Act applies whichever of two calculation methods produces the larger amount, so with no other income there is no additional tax even above KRW 20 million. The detailed calculation is set out in How Much More Tax You Pay When Financial Income Exceeds KRW 20 Million.
Health insurance has no such cushion. Exceed the requirement and you lose dependent status and become a regional subscriber. That is where a case arises in which the tax is unchanged but a premium is newly created.
The scope of the income counted also differs. The KRW 20 million on the tax side counts only interest and dividends, while the KRW 20 million on the health insurance side includes pension and employment income. For someone receiving a pension, the total is reached first even with modest interest.
What Changes When You Lose Dependent Status
As a dependent you pay no premium. Lose the status and you become a regional subscriber paying premiums in your own name, assessed on both income and property.
Tax rises only in step with income, but a premium arises every month from the moment the status changes. That is why crossing KRW 20 million in financial income by a small margin can create a burden while the tax stays the same.
How to Check in Advance
Dependent status is reassessed when income data is reflected. You can look up changes in status and income amounts on 국민건강보험공단 (the National Health Insurance Service) website and app, and you are notified when the status changes.
Data on interest and dividends comes from what financial institutions report to 국세청 (the National Tax Service). Even when accounts are spread across several places, they are captured per person. Counting them one place at a time understates the total.
When maturities fall in the same year, the interest lands in that year too. Interest is treated as income of the year in which it is actually received, so splitting maturities spreads the annual total. Dividing a deposit into several accounts with different maturity dates falls into this approach.
A two-year deposit that pays interest in a single year and two one-year deposits that pay across two years produce different annual income even when the total is the same. If you are only slightly over the requirement, changing the maturity structure alone can change the assessment.
Savings on which no income tax is imposed, such as tax-free comprehensive savings, are excluded from taxable income. Those aged 65 or older, persons with disabilities, and certain other groups can hold up to a principal of KRW 50 million this way. The conditions and limits are in Savings Taxed at Lower Rates.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it easy to exceed KRW 20 million on deposit interest alone?
Interest alone requires a considerable principal. Calculated at 2.5% per year (pre-tax), about KRW 800 million is needed. That said, the health insurance threshold adds pension and employment income, so if you receive a pension the total can be reached even with modest interest.
Can a premium arise even when the tax has not risen?
It can. With no other income there are cases where financial income above KRW 20 million produces no additional tax, but dependent status is assessed on total income and is lost separately.
How much is the premium if I lose dependent status?
Regional subscriber premiums are assessed on both income and property, so they differ by person. The exact amount can be looked up with your own data at 국민건강보험공단.
What if only one spouse has income?
For married people, both spouses must meet the income requirement to be recognised as dependents. If either exceeds it, the status is not maintained.
Does owning a home change the threshold?
If the property tax base exceeds KRW 540 million and is KRW 900 million or less, the combined income threshold falls to KRW 10 million. Siblings must have a property tax base of KRW 180 million or less.
Does interest from tax-free savings count toward the total?
It does not. Interest on which no income tax is imposed, such as tax-free comprehensive savings, is not taxable income. Those aged 65 or older, persons with disabilities, and certain other groups can hold up to a principal of KRW 50 million this way.
What if I receive monthly rent?
Housing rental income excludes you from dependent status if it exists at all, regardless of business registration. The test is the existence of the income, not the amount.
Sources and basis
- Dependent income requirement — 국민건강보험공단, business, financial, pension, other, and employment income totalling KRW 20 million or less a year
- Business income standard — no business income if registered; KRW 5 million or less a year if not registered
- Housing rental income — excluded if it exists, regardless of business registration
- Property requirement — property tax base of KRW 540 million or less; income of KRW 10 million or less for a base over KRW 540 million up to KRW 900 million; KRW 180 million or less for siblings
- Threshold for comprehensive taxation of financial income KRW 20 million — 국세청 guidance on financial income taxation
Health insurance eligibility criteria are subject to change. The criteria were verified on August 8, 2026.