US Stock Capital-Gains Tax
the 250-Man-Won Deduction Tax-Saving Guide
A capital gain on US stocks is taxed at 22% after an annual 250-man-won basic deduction. Understanding loss offsetting, exchange-rate application, and year-end sale timing lets you legally reduce your tax burden. This article is for educational information only and is not tax advice.
The Basic Tax-Rate Structure
A US stock capital gain is taxed on an annual combined basis. After subtracting the 250-man-won basic deduction, 22% (20% capital-gains tax + 2% local income tax) applies to the remainder.
- Annual gain of 250-man-won or less → 0 won in tax
- Annual gain of 1,000-man-won → taxable base of 750-man-won → 165-man-won in tax
- Annual gain of 2,000-man-won → taxable base of 1,750-man-won → 385-man-won in tax
If tax was withheld in the US, you can deduct it via the foreign tax credit. That said, most US individual investment trades have no withholding, so in practice you only pay in Korea.
Key Tax-Saving Strategy 1 — Loss Offsetting
You net together the gains and losses that occur within the same year (January 1–December 31). If Stock A is +500-man-won and Stock B is −200-man-won, your taxable base is 300-man-won − 250-man-won = 50-man-won × 22% = 11-man-won.
Selling a position sitting on an unrealized loss at year-end (December) to offset it against your gains — a "loss-crystallizing sale" — is the core strategy. Buying it back in January of the following year isn't a tax problem, but there's an opportunity cost: you could miss a rebound in the meantime.
Key Tax-Saving Strategy 2 — Spreading a Gain Across Years to Use the 250-Man-Won Deduction Repeatedly
You sell a position with a large expected gain in installments across multiple years. Example: for a position sitting on 1,000-man-won of unrealized gain, selling 500-man-won worth this year and 500-man-won worth next year lowers your tax each year. That said, it's a decision made in exchange for price-decline risk.
How the Exchange Rate Is Applied
Your capital gain = (sale price × the exchange rate at sale) − (purchase price × the exchange rate at purchase). Selling in an environment where the dollar has risen includes an FX gain, which raises your taxable amount. Conversely, in a weak-dollar environment, an FX loss has the effect of reducing your capital gain.
How and When to File
- Filing deadline: every May (filing the prior year's capital gains)
- How to file: Hometax → Comprehensive Income Tax (overseas stock capital gains) filing
- Required documents: your broker's annual overseas-stock transaction statement
- Auto-calculation: major Korean brokers (Kiwoom, Mirae Asset, etc.) offer an automatic overseas-stock capital-gains calculation service
Things to Watch Out For
- ETF, fund, and derivative income follows separate tax rules
- Dividend income is taxed separately from capital gains, at the dividend income tax rate (15.4%)
- Check the latest tax law for whether the Financial Investment Income Tax has been revised since 2025