South Korea Confirms Crypto Tax Will Cover Private Wallets, Foreign Exchanges

South Korea's government has reaffirmed that its planned 22% digital asset tax will cover income earned through private wallets and foreign exchanges. The tax, set to take effect on January 1, 2027, applies to income exceeding the 2.5 million won deduction.

The National Tax Service (NTS) plans to track unreported transactions made through private wallets by introducing transaction tracking and analysis programs. However, authorities acknowledged that enforcing this rule may be difficult due to users' ability to create multiple addresses without relying on a centralized intermediary.

For income earned through foreign platforms, the NTS will obtain information using South Korea's overseas financial account reporting system and the Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework (CARF). CARF is designed to provide tax authorities with access to information that may otherwise remain outside domestic reporting systems.