South Korea VAT Return — 부가가치세 신고서 (General & Simplified Taxpayer)

Confirm whether the client is a 일반과세자 (general taxpayer) or 간이과세자 (simplified taxpayer), determine the filing period (semi-annual Period 1 Jan–Jun or Period 2 Jul–Dec, or a quarterly preliminary return), and establish whether any in-scope refusal conditions apply (VAT group, special industry regime, tax tribunal dispute). Annual revenue thresholds that matter: below KRW 48M means exempt from VAT payment; below KRW 104M means simplified taxpayer eligible; KRW 80M or above triggers mandatory e-tax invoice issuance for individual taxpayers.

Gather all source documents: the HomeTax e-tax invoice summary (전자세금계산서 합계표) for both issued and received invoices, credit card sales slip summary (신용카드매출전표), cash receipt summary (현금영수증), bank statement (거래내역), and the prior period VAT return showing any carried-forward credit. Reconcile e-tax invoices against the bank statement, flag any invoices transmitted late (must reach NTS within one business day of supply) and identify foreign-currency receipts that may qualify for zero-rating.

Classify every purchase transaction: determine which inputs carry recoverable VAT (via e-tax invoice on Line 12, or credit card/cash receipt on Line 14), which are blocked under Article 39, and which are outside VAT scope (wages, tax payments, insurance, bank fees). Apply Korea's two absolute input blocks first — entertainment expenses (접대비, Art. 39(1)4) and non-business passenger vehicles including lease and fuel (비영업용 소형승용차, Art. 39(1)5) — then process reverse-charge obligations for any imported SaaS or foreign services under Article 52.

Populate the VAT return form. For general taxpayers (일반과세자), complete the 일반과세자 부가가치세 신고서 in HomeTax: output tax lines (Lines 1–6 for taxable supplies; Lines 7–11 for zero-rated detail including direct exports on Line 7 and foreign-currency services on Line 10), input tax lines (Line 12 e-tax invoices, Line 13 fixed assets, Line 14 credit card), and adjustments (Line 17 for credit notes 수정세금계산서 and bad debt relief under Article 45). For simplified taxpayers (간이과세자), calculate tax as: supply value × industry value-added ratio × 10%, then subtract the flat input deduction (purchases × 0.5%).

Submit the return via HomeTax (홈택스) by the statutory deadline (25th of the month following the period end for final returns; 25th following quarter end for preliminary returns). Arrange payment of any net VAT due by the same date via HomeTax virtual account or bank transfer. If a refund is due (환급), confirm the client's bank account registered with NTS; refunds are typically processed within 30 days. Retain all supporting documents — e-tax invoices, credit card statements, bank statements, and the filed return — for five years.