Corporate Income Tax

The deadline

Corporate income tax is filed and paid within three months from the end of the month in which the fiscal year ends — 31 March for a company with a December year end. An interim prepayment is also due during the year.

How we run the engagement

1. Document request. We send a checklist in the month before or of the filing, so you can work through it item by item.

2. Financial statements finalised. Revenue confirmed through the VAT returns, plus costs not captured digitally, are reflected in the balance sheet and income statement.

3. Credits reviewed, expected tax given first. As soon as the statements are settled we review available credits and exemptions and tell you the expected tax before filing, so you can arrange funds.

We check these in particular, because they are easily missed:

• R&D tax credit for research and human resources development
• Special tax reduction for SMEs
• Integrated investment tax credit
• Employment-related credits

Our principal has lectured on the R&D tax credit for the Korea Industrial Technology Association’s Daejeon branch. If your company runs qualifying development work, raise it at the consultation.

4. Filing and booklet. After your confirmation we file and send the payment slip and documents. You then receive the tax adjustment booklet as a PDF and one to three printed copies — useful when a bank or a public tender asks for financial statements.

Companies requiring external adjustment

Companies above a certain size must attach a tax adjustment statement prepared by an outside certified tax accountant. We confirm whether this applies to you and proceed accordingly.

Questions we are often asked

We have a large provisional payment to the representative. Is that a problem? It creates both deemed interest income for the company and disallowed interest expense. The cost of unwinding it grows over time, so it is better addressed while the balance is small.

How much salary should the representative take? Corporate tax, the representative’s personal income tax and social insurance have to be looked at together. Optimising the corporate side alone often increases the combined burden.

We made a loss. Do we still file? Yes. Losses can be carried forward against future income, but only if they are reported.

Bookkeeping and corporate tax together

A corporate return is built on twelve months of records. If the monthly bookkeeping is accurate, the closing is accurate. Taken together with our monthly bookkeeping service, withholding tax, social insurance and VAT are handled in one place.