Freelance Withholding Calculator
Computes the 3.3% withholding on freelance income both ways — from gross and from the amount received.
3.3% is 3% 사업소득 원천징수 under the 소득세법 (Income Tax Act) plus 지방소득세 at 10% of that tax, which is why it is 3.3 and not 3. Contracts are quoted sometimes gross and sometimes net, so this computes it in both directions.
Amount
Takes the withholding off the gross figure.
Result
Contract amount
1,000,000원
Income tax, 3%
30,000원
Local income tax, 0.3%
3,000원
Withheld in total
33,000원
Actually paid
967,000원
The 3% income tax and the local tax at 10% of it are each truncated to the won, so for most amounts the total is not exactly 3.3%. Working backwards, several contract amounts can produce the same payment, and the smallest is returned — invoicing for more and being paid less is the worse error.
Withholding is money taken in advance, not the final tax. It is settled in the 종합소득세 filing the following May, and where expenses are allowed a good deal of it comes back.
How to use it
Enter the amount you know
From the gross, it gives what will arrive. From the amount received, it works back to what must have been invoiced.
Check the two components separately
소득세 and 지방소득세 are withheld and reported separately, and they appear as two lines on the 원천징수영수증. A figure that matches in total but not line by line is usually a rounding difference.
Keep the record for May
Withholding is not a final tax. It is an advance payment credited against the 종합소득세 you settle in May, and for many freelancers the settlement is a refund.
Common questions
Is 3.3% the tax I actually owe?
No. It is withheld on the way through. Your real liability is computed on the year’s total income after expenses and deductions at the 소득세법 §55 (Income Tax Act, art. 55) rates, and settled in May — which is where you get some of it back, or pay more.
Why do some contracts withhold 8.8%?
Because that is 기타소득, not 사업소득 — a different category with its own rate after a deemed-expense deduction. Which one applies depends on whether the work is your continuing business, and the payer decides how to report it.
Does VAT come into this?
Not for someone without a business registration — withholding and VAT are separate systems. A registered business issues a 세금계산서 with VAT on top and is not subject to 3.3% withholding on that supply. Use the VAT calculator for that side.
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