South Korea Proposes Fourth Delay of 22% Crypto Tax Until 2029

South Korea’s government is considering postponing the introduction of its 22% cryptocurrency tax until 2029, marking the fourth delay to the policy. Finance Minister Lee Hyoung-il announced that officials will consult lawmakers on moving the current January 2027 start date back by two years. The proposal would apply to annual digital asset gains exceeding 2.5 million won, or approximately $1,860.

The government said the delay would align South Korea with the planned start of information exchanges with the United States under the Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework (CARF). Officials also want to incorporate changes expected from upcoming digital asset legislation, arguing that taxing crypto gains before international reporting begins could place local companies at a competitive disadvantage.

South Korea is also planning to introduce a three-year loss carryforward provision, enabling investors to offset cryptocurrency losses against profits earned during the following three years. Tax amendments are expected to be submitted during parliament’s regular session in 2027, with detailed implementation guidelines scheduled for the first half of 2028.

The proposal reverses the government’s May position that taxation would begin in 2027. The tax was initially scheduled to start in January 2022 before being postponed to 2023, 2025 and 2027. Finance officials have recently consulted major cryptocurrency exchanges amid industry concerns about unclear rules for different transaction types and insufficient time to build the required tax infrastructure.