How Small-Scale Sole Proprietors Can Apply for the 2026 Special Tax Arrears Collection Provision

If you restarted a business after closing one, or resumed economic activity through employment or providing labor, first check whether the combined amount of delinquent comprehensive income tax and value-added tax is at most KRW 80 million. If you meet the requirements and the special collection provision for delinquent taxes is approved, the additional tax for late payment incurred after the delinquency will be waived, and the principal amount of the eligible tax may be paid in installments over up to five years.

This program is not a subsidy that pays or eliminates the principal tax amount. It is a national tax program that helps former business owners get back on their feet by adjusting how the principal is paid and the burden of additional tax for late payment, and approval is not automatic upon application.

Step 1: Check Your Delinquent Taxes and Jurisdictional Tax Office

Look up your delinquency details on Hometax or Sontax and organize the following information.

• Delinquent comprehensive income tax
• Delinquent value-added tax
• Principal tax and additional tax for late payment by tax category
• The jurisdictional tax office managing the delinquent taxes
• Whether delinquency enforcement measures, such as seizure, are underway

KRW 80 Million Is the Total Amount, Not an Amount per Tax Office

As of the application date, determine whether the combined amount of delinquent comprehensive income tax and value-added tax eligible for the special provision is at most KRW 80 million. Even if multiple tax offices have jurisdiction, the KRW 80 million threshold does not apply separately to each tax office.

Do not assume that withholding tax, capital gains tax, corporate tax, local taxes, and other taxes are automatically included in this total or covered by the special provision. The primary targets of this program are comprehensive income tax and value-added tax owed by small-scale individual business owners, so confirm other tax categories separately with the relevant authority.

Step 2: Check the Business Closure, Revenue, and Restart Requirements

Based on the 2026 guidance, you must check all of the following requirements. Because the applicable periods for the closure date and restart date may vary under transitional provisions following tax law amendments, it is safest to check the National Tax Service guidance and confirm with the jurisdictional tax office immediately before applying.

Confirm the period recognized for restarting economic activity in the National Tax Service guidance and with the jurisdictional tax office immediately before applying. However, separate transitional provisions may apply if you already restarted under previous rules. Do not disqualify yourself based only on the dates; instead, provide the tax office with your closure date and restart date for confirmation.

Minimum Continuous Period by Type of Restart

• Business restart: You must actually continue operating the business for the required period, rather than merely registering it, and you must confirm the specific period in the National Tax Service guidance and with the jurisdictional tax office.
• Employment: You must prove that you continuously worked under the same employment relationship for the required period, and you must confirm the specific period in the National Tax Service guidance and with the jurisdictional tax office.
• Provision of labor: The scope was expanded for applications filed on or after April 1, 2026, and you must prove that you provided labor for at least three months through contracts, payment records, and other documentation.

The application deadline may vary depending on the business closure date, restart date, and transitional provisions. In particular, do not mistake the last day of the recognized restart period for a common deadline applicable to all applicants. Check the filing period in the official civil service guidance in effect when you apply.

Step 3: Prepare Application Documents

Documents that the National Tax Service can verify electronically may not need to be submitted, but it is advisable to prepare documents proving the type of restart in advance.

Common Documents

• Application for the Special Collection Provision for Delinquent Taxes
• Identification document for identity verification
• Trade name, business registration number, and closure date of the closed business
• List of delinquent tax categories, amounts, and jurisdictional tax offices
• If applying through a representative, documents proving authority to act, such as a power of attorney and the representative’s identification

If You Restarted a Business

• New business registration number and opening date
• Business registration certificate or documentation verifying business registration
• Supplementary documents requested by the tax office, such as sales, lease, or transaction records showing that you continuously operated the business for at least one month

If You Became Employed

• Certificate of employment or employment contract
• Salary payment records or earned-income withholding documentation
• Documents verifying the employment period under the official requirements, such as health insurance or employment insurance eligibility records

If You Are a Labor Provider, Including a Special-Type Worker

• Labor provision contract
• Documentation verifying the period of service or labor provision
• Evidence of activity for at least three months, such as income payment statements, settlement statements, or deposit records

Whether you qualify as a labor provider may not be determined solely by the title of the contract. Because the jurisdictional tax office may review the actual contractual relationship together with income records, prepare documents that connect the period of activity with payments received.

Step 4: Submit a Separate Application to Each Jurisdictional Tax Office

If two or more tax offices have jurisdiction over the delinquent taxes, you must submit an application to each tax office. This is because each jurisdictional tax office manages the assessment and collection data and delinquency enforcement records for the delinquent taxes, and each office reviews whether the special provision applies to the delinquent taxes under its management.

For example, if Tax Office A manages delinquent comprehensive income tax and Tax Office B manages delinquent value-added tax from a former business, proceed as follows.

1. Add together all eligible delinquent taxes and confirm that the total is at most KRW 80 million.
2. List the delinquent taxes managed by Tax Office A and apply to Tax Office A.
3. List the delinquent taxes managed by Tax Office B and submit a separate application to Tax Office B.
4. Check each tax office’s requests for supplementary documents and review results separately.

If you apply to only one office, the special provision may not apply to delinquent taxes managed by another tax office.

Step 5: Apply Through an Official Channel

Choose an available method from the following official channels.

Hometax

In Hometax’s general tax document application menu, search for Special Collection Provision for Delinquent Taxes by the name of the civil service request and apply. If the screen layout has changed, look under Certificates, Registration, and Applications for the tax-related application or general tax document application menu.

The main information to enter is as follows.

• Applicant’s personal information
• Closed business information and closure date
• Business registration number and opening date of the restarted business
• Employment date or start date of labor provision
• Tax office with jurisdiction over the delinquent taxes
• Tax categories and delinquent amounts for which the special provision is requested
• Information related to installment payments
• Supporting document attachments

Sontax

You may also submit the application through the relevant tax application menu in Sontax. If you cannot find the request on the mobile screen or have difficulty uploading attachments, use Hometax or apply in person at the tax office.

Government24

The Government24 guidance for applying for the Special Collection Provision for Delinquent Taxes provides information about application methods, processing agencies, and required documents. After logging in, check whether an online application button is available and where the application must actually be submitted.

Visit a Tax Office

You may submit the application to the department responsible for delinquent tax collection at the jurisdictional tax office managing the delinquent taxes. If you must apply to multiple tax offices, ask each office about the required documents and submission method before visiting to reduce repeat visits.

What Changes If You Are Approved

The approval notice will show the covered tax amount and payment schedule. Before making the first payment, cross-check the principal tax, the amount subject to waiver, the number of payments, and the payment dates.

An Easily Overlooked Point: Review Your Payment Plan Before Applying

Rather than only checking your eligibility and automatically choosing the maximum five-year installment period, it is important to establish a payment plan that fits your actual cash flow.

• Calculate the amount you can pay from monthly business income or salary after fixed expenses.
• Separately organize existing seizures, other national and local taxes, and financial debt.
• Check the approval notice and ask the jurisdictional tax office how a missed payment date will be handled after approval.
• If your address changed after closing the business, check that your contact information and service address in Hometax are current.
• If two or more tax offices are involved, manage all payment schedules in a single calendar.

This program is not a procedure for deleting the fact of delinquency itself. Therefore, separately from applying for the special provision, you must ask the relevant authorities about the release of seizures, eligibility for issuance of a tax payment certificate, and local tax delinquency issues.

What to Check After Applying

1. Check the civil service request results in Hometax or Sontax, or the notice from the tax office.
2. If supplementary documents are requested, submit the business restart, employment, or labor provision documents within the specified period.
3. Confirm that the approved tax amount does not omit other tax categories or delinquent taxes managed by another tax office.
4. Check the waived additional tax for late payment separately from the remaining principal.
5. Add the approved installment payment schedule to a calendar or automatic reminder.

If the application is denied or only some delinquent taxes are approved, obtain written confirmation of the reason for denial and the tax amounts covered. If the issue concerns the closure date, continuous business operation or employment period, delinquent tax category, or insufficient evidence, you may prepare additional documents and ask the responsible tax office about available procedures.