韩国确认加密资产所得税明年1月1日如期开征，稳定币用于支付产生的汇差也计入应税所得

When South Korea begins taxing cryptocurrency next year, using stablecoins such as Tether (USDT) to pay for goods or services could also trigger a tax bill. If a stablecoin is worth more at the moment of payment than when it was acquired, the difference counts as taxable income. Stablecoins are increasingly used for payments, but the tax code does not distinguish them from cryptocurrencies held for investment, and calls are growing for the rules to be revised with just over 100 days left before the levy takes effect.
Income from transferring or lending cryptocurrency will be taxed starting Jan. 1, the government said on the 13th. Annual gains and losses are netted, 2.5 million won is deducted, and the remainder is taxed at 20%. Including local income tax, the effective rate is 22%.
Lee Hyung-il, the nominee for deputy prime minister and minister of economy and finance, said on the same day that "specific standards will be announced through a National Tax Service public notice within the year." The remarks reaffirmed the government's plan to implement the tax as scheduled from next year.
Market participants broadly agree that crypto income should be taxed but say the current framework cannot properly capture a market that has changed rapidly. The tax structure was designed in 2020, before stablecoins, staking, decentralized finance (DeFi) and real-world assets (RWA) spread quickly as new products and trading methods.
Stablecoins are the clearest problem. A senior government official said that under the Income Tax Act, gains on stablecoins are taxable not only when they are cashed out into won or swapped for another cryptocurrency, but also when they are used to buy goods and services.
If an investor buys 1 USDT at 1,350 won and later pays for something when it is worth 1,400 won, the 50-won gain is treated as income. That differs from the treatment of physical dollars, where an individual who buys foreign currency at a low exchange rate and spends it after the rate rises owes no separate tax on the gain.
On domestic exchanges, the so-called kimchi premium can further inflate taxable income. A comparison of USDT prices on Upbit with overseas prices from June 19, 2024, through the 10th of this month showed an average premium of 1.09% and a peak of 8.55%. On 599 of the 814 days examined, or 73.6%, the domestic price was higher than abroad. That means gaps between domestic and overseas markets, not just moves in the dollar, can feed into taxable income.
The issue grows more complicated once won-denominated stablecoins enter the regulated system. If stablecoins are used as an everyday means of payment rather than simply as an investment asset, users may have to compare the acquisition price with the price at the time of use to calculate a gain or loss on every transaction. As small, high-frequency transactions increase, including automated payments by artificial intelligence agents, the calculation burden on taxpayers could grow.
Hwang Seok-jin, a professor at Dongguk University's Graduate School of International Information Protection, said stablecoins used as a means of payment should be treated differently from trades made for investment purposes.
Crypto Losses Cannot Be Carried Forward, but Crypto ETF Losses Can
The current framework, which classifies crypto income as "other income," is also contentious. When the government built the crypto tax structure in 2020, it placed such income in a separate other-income category rather than alongside stocks and bonds, citing the unclear legal status of cryptocurrency.
The biggest drawback cited for the other-income classification is that losses cannot be carried forward. An investor who loses money on crypto in one year cannot deduct that loss from the following year's gains.
If an investor loses 200,000 won on bitcoin in the first year and earns 500,000 won the next, the net economic gain is 300,000 won. But because the first-year loss cannot be carried forward, taxable income for the second year is calculated as 500,000 won.
By contrast, exchange-traded funds tied to cryptocurrency that are listed overseas fall under the tax regime for capital gains on foreign stocks. Losses on such an ETF can be offset against gains on other foreign stocks and ETFs within the same tax period. Even with exposure to the same crypto prices, the way losses factor into a tax calculation differs depending on whether the holding is a spot coin or a financial product.
Lee said the other-income classification was appropriate for applying a tax regime favorable to taxpayers, citing comprehensive taxation of income and lower compliance costs. A senior government official said the legal nature of cryptocurrency must first be defined under the Digital Asset Basic Act before any discussion of changing the tax structure is possible.
Stocks Are Untaxed, but Crypto Is Taxed Above 2.5 Million Won
Questions of fairness surrounding the basic deduction also remain. Because the financial investment income tax was repealed before taking effect, capital gains earned by small shareholders trading domestic listed stocks are in principle untaxed. Crypto gains, by contrast, are taxed on any amount above 2.5 million won a year.
The Digital Asset eXchange Alliance (DAXA) argues that the basic deduction should be raised and that the rules should be changed to allow losses to be carried forward for at least five years. Over the longer term, it says, a broader tax framework should be created to cover both financial investment products such as stocks and cryptocurrency.
Critics also say the tax rules remain stuck in their 2020 form even as the market has changed. Back then, buying and selling coins on exchanges was the center of the market. Now transaction structures have diversified to include staking, lending and airdrops, as well as DeFi, NFTs and RWAs.
Because each type of transaction generates income in a different way and has a different economic character, a uniform standard is hard to apply, they say. In cases where assets are acquired without a direct purchase, such as staking rewards or airdrops, how the acquisition date and acquisition price are set also determines the actual tax owed.
How to Prove the Acquisition Price of Coins Arriving From Overseas Wallets
Practical enforcement poses problems as well, chief among them verifying acquisition prices. Transaction records are relatively easy to check for crypto bought and sold within domestic exchanges, but it is difficult to confirm the original acquisition date and price for assets that entered the country through overseas exchanges or personal wallets.
DAXA said there is no public system for verifying the acquisition date and price of cryptocurrency that arrives through overseas exchanges or personal wallets, adding that if even one transaction with an unverified acquisition price is included, calculating the capital gain becomes impossible.
Taxation of overseas investors is another variable. Current law imposes income tax on crypto gains earned by residents and applies withholding to non-residents. But many of the tax treaties South Korea has signed contain no separate income classification for cryptocurrency. If domestic law and a tax treaty characterize the income differently, that could spark disputes over South Korea's taxing rights or over withholding and refunds.
The industry is calling for detailed standards for each type of transaction to be clarified before the tax takes effect. In particular, it argues that the government is creating a policy conflict by institutionalizing won-denominated stablecoins while imposing the same tax on each payment as on the disposal of an investment asset.
An official in the cryptocurrency industry said the legal nature of cryptocurrency and the classification of each type of asset should first be clarified through the Digital Asset Act, adding that if the related rules are not sufficiently prepared, a further delay in the start of taxation should be considered.