What the meal allowance does
Since 2023, up to 200,000 KRW a month of meal allowance is non-taxable (previously 100,000). The non-taxable amount is also left out of social insurance premiums. Employers are not legally required to pay a meal allowance, and if the company already provides free meals, a separate meal allowance is generally not treated as non-taxable. Ask payroll how yours is set up.
Same salary, with and without it
50M KRW salary (about 4.17M a month), no dependents, app formula, 2025 rates, progressive tax.
| Line (KRW per month) | No non-taxable | 200,000 meal allowance |
|---|---|---|
| Pension | 187,500 | 178,500 |
| Health | 147,708 | 140,618 |
| Long-term care | 19,128 | 18,210 |
| Employment | 37,500 | 35,700 |
| Income + local tax | 291,500 | 261,635 |
| Take-home | 3,483,331 | 3,532,004 |
That is about 49,000 KRW a month, or roughly 580,000 a year.
The 19% flat rate for foreign employees
Foreign employees can choose a single 19% income tax rate on total pay instead of the progressive 6–45% rates. Under this option:
- No deductions, credits or non-taxable items apply, so the meal allowance is taxed too. Local income tax (10% of the tax) is added, about 20.9% in total.
- It is limited to 20 years from the start of work in Korea, and currently covers people who start work by 31 December 2026.
- The 2026 tax amendment proposal would raise the rate to 21% and extend the deadline to 2029 for income from 2027. Check whether it passed before relying on either figure.
In the app’s simplified model (single, no other deductions), progressive income and local tax on 100M KRW is about 14.3M a year versus about 20.9M at the flat rate; the two cross somewhere around 140–150M KRW. Real deductions push that point higher, so the flat rate mainly helps high earners. You can switch at the year-end settlement; ask payroll or the NTS.
Entering it in the app
The “Non-taxable / mo (meals)” field
Enter the monthly non-taxable total from your payslip. It starts at 200,000, so set it to 0 if your employer has no non-taxable meal allowance.
On the flat rate? Do the tax line yourself
The app only uses progressive tax. If you chose the flat rate, ignore its income tax and local tax lines and use total monthly pay × 20.9% instead (19% plus local tax).
FAQ
Is the meal allowance on top of my salary?
Usually it is part of the annual figure, with a slice marked as non-taxable. Check your contract or payslip.
Does the flat rate change my social insurance?
No. Premiums are separate from income tax and work the same way either way.
Sources: Forvis Mazars Korea, tax newsletter August 2026 (Korean) · Newsis, meal allowance tax-free limit raised to 200,000 KRW (Korean) · National Tax Service (English)
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