Vehicle Tax Calculator
Calculates annual vehicle tax by engine displacement and vehicle age, with the prepayment discount.
자동차세 under 지방세법 §127 (Local Tax Act, art. 127) is charged per cubic centimetre of engine displacement in three bands, and the band boundary at 1,600cc is a cliff — a few cubic centimetres either side changes the annual bill by more than 40%. This computes it with the two things people forget: the education surtax and the age reduction.
지방세법 제127조 — 자동차세 세율 (Local Tax Act, art. 127 — vehicle tax rates)
For a private passenger car. Commercial vehicles, buses, goods vehicles and special vehicles are on separate rates and are not calculated here.
The prepayment discount rate is set by decree and can change each year. 7% in 2023 and 5% in 2024. It was to fall to 3% from 2025, but an amendment to the decree kept it at 5%, and 5% is what is published for 2026. Check the 위택스 notice each January.
Vehicle
Displacement × the rate per cc
Reduced from the third year
Tax
자동차세 — vehicle tax
379,810원
Over 1,600cc · 200 won per cc
지방교육세 — local education tax
113,940원
30% of the vehicle tax
Annual total
493,750원
Per half-year
246,875원
June and December
Reduced by 5% for a vehicle 3 years old. Before the reduction the vehicle tax is 399,800원.
Payable if prepaid in month 1
471,120원
Discount
22,630원
4.58% of the annual tax
The discount rate is 5%, but it applies only to the remaining 11 months, so against the full year it is 4.58%. That is why “5% off” never quite adds up.
The 1,600cc line
1,598cc
290,830원
140 won per cc
1,601cc
416,260원
200 won per cc
Difference
43%
3cc apart
Of the three bands this boundary is the steepest. It is also why so many domestic engines are 1,598cc.
Rate table
| Displacement | Per cc |
|---|---|
| Up to 1,000cc | 80 won |
| Over 1,000cc up to 1,600cc | 140 won |
| Over 1,600cc | 200 won |
| Other passenger vehicles (electric, hydrogen) | 100,000 won a year |
- Vehicle tax is charged in two halves, in June and December. Prepayment means paying the whole year in January.
- The age of the vehicle is counted from first registration and re-assessed each half-year. This works in whole years, so the real bill may differ by a few hundred won.
- The prepayment discount rate is set by decree and can change each year. Check the January notice on 위택스.
- Commercial, bus, goods, special vehicles and motorcycles have their own rate structure and are not covered here.
The acquisition tax paid when you buy the car is separate. To look at a loan alongside it, use the loan repayment calculator.
How to use it
Enter the displacement
From the vehicle registration certificate. An electric or hydrogen car has no displacement and is charged a flat amount instead.
Enter the year of first registration
차령 감면 starts in the third year and takes 5% a year down to a floor of half the tax at twelve years. A car old enough is paying half of what the displacement alone would suggest.
Read the total including 지방교육세
A non-commercial passenger car pays a further 30% of the tax as 지방교육세. Anyone who multiplies displacement by the rate and stops is a third under.
Check the 연납 figure
The prepayment discount applies to the remaining months only, so paying in January discounts eleven twelfths of the year — a little under the headline rate, not equal to it.
Common questions
Which vehicles does this cover?
비영업용 승용자동차, plus the flat rate for electric and hydrogen cars. 영업용, 승합, 화물 and 특수 vehicles have their own tables in the same article and are not computed here — saying so beats a plausible wrong number.
Why does 1,600cc matter so much?
Because the per-cc rate steps up at that line rather than tapering. A 1,598cc car and a 1,601cc car differ by three cubic centimetres and by more than 40% of the annual tax, which is the reason the 1,600cc engine exists as a market segment at all.
Is this the exact amount on my bill?
Close, but a bill is issued per half-year and pro-rated by days of ownership when a car changes hands, and local practice on rounding differs. Treat this as the annual figure rather than as a copy of the notice.
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