In January, national tax revenue this year was 620 billion won higher than the same period a year earlier. Increases in value-added taxes, income taxes, and the security transaction tax drove the gain. The government said it is uncertain whether this will lead to an improvement in annual revenue, noting that temporary factors such as reduced value-added tax refunds played a significant role.
According to the "Status of national tax revenue in January 2026" released on the 27th by the Ministry of Finance and Economy, national tax revenue in January was 52.9 trillion won, up 6.2 trillion won from a year earlier. The execution rate against this year's national tax revenue budget (390.2 trillion won) was 13.5%, exceeding the recent five-year average (12.5%).
By tax item, value-added taxes rose the most, increasing by 3.8 trillion won to 26.1 trillion won from the same month a year earlier. A decrease in refunds and an increase in import value had an impact. The import value in January was $57.1 billion, up 11.7% from the same month last year ($51.1 billion).
Income taxes increased by 1.5 trillion won to 15.1 trillion won. Earned income tax was largely affected by higher year-end bonuses, and tax revenue also expanded with the increase in the number of employed people. Capital gains taxes also increased with higher real estate transaction volumes. The number of regular employees rose from 16.44 million at the end of 2024 to 16.64 million at the end of last year, and dwelling transaction volumes increased from 49,000 in November 2024 to 61,000 in November last year.
The security transaction tax was 400 billion won, up 200 billion won, and The Special Tax for Rural Development also rose by 300 billion won to 600 billion won. This was due to a sharp increase in KOSDAQ and KOSPI transaction amounts. Inheritance and gift taxes also increased by 300 billion won to 1.1 trillion won.
In contrast, corporate taxes (2.7 trillion won) and tariffs (600 billion won) remained similar to a year earlier. The special consumption tax and the liquor tax fell slightly.
A government official said, "In the case of value-added taxes, there is a January-specific factor of reduced refunds, so it is difficult to overinterpret the increase as an annual trend," adding, "There are limits to inferring that total tax revenue will rise significantly this year."