Resources · Glossary
Korea–Australia money and tax glossary
When the vocabulary stalls, the decision stalls. Here are the 92 terms that keep coming up when money moves between Korea and Australia, defined in the context where they actually matter.
Rates, thresholds and dollar limits are deliberately left out. Numbers that change every year would turn a glossary into a stale document. Each entry explains what the term is and why it matters; for the current figures, follow the linked article, where they are cited with sources.
Tax & residency 27
- # Tax File Number (TFN) 세금번호 (TFN)
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Your personal tax identifier with the Australian Taxation Office. Without it, employers and banks must withhold tax at the top rate, so it is usually the first money task after arrival. It stays with you for life, including if you leave and come back.
- # Australian Business Number (ABN) 사업자번호 (ABN)
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The identifier used when you invoice as a business or contractor rather than being paid as an employee. Holding an ABN changes who is responsible for tax and super: you are, not a payer.
- # ATO (Australian Taxation Office) 호주 국세청 (ATO)
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Australia's tax authority. It also administers superannuation guarantee compliance and holds much of the data (payroll, bank interest, share sales) that is pre-filled into your return.
- # NTS (National Tax Service, Korea) 국세청 (NTS)
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Korea's tax authority. For people moving between the two countries it matters most at two moments: when you become a Korean tax resident again, and when overseas assets or income have to be reported.
- # Financial year (Australia) 호주 회계연도
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Australia's tax year runs 1 July to 30 June, not the calendar year. Korea uses the calendar year, so income earned in one country routinely straddles two tax years in the other — the root of most double-counting confusion.
- # Tax return (Australia) 택스리턴 (소득세 신고)
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The annual income tax return lodged after the financial year ends. Most employee data is pre-filled, so the real work is in deductions you claim and can substantiate.
- # PAYG withholding PAYG 원천징수
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Tax your employer withholds from each pay and remits to the ATO on your behalf. It is an estimate, which is why a return can produce either a refund or a bill.
- # PAYG instalments PAYG 예납
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Prepayments of tax on income that is not withheld at source — business income, rent, investment income. The ATO puts you into the system once that income is large enough, and instalments arrive quarterly.
- # Tax-free threshold 면세 구간
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The first slice of annual income that is not taxed, claimable from one employer at a time. Claiming it from two jobs at once is a common cause of an unexpected tax bill.
- # Deduction 공제 (deduction)
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An expense you can subtract from assessable income because it was incurred in earning that income. A deduction reduces taxable income, not tax owed dollar for dollar — a distinction people routinely overestimate.
- # Work-from-home deduction 재택근무 공제
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A deduction for running costs of working at home, claimable either by a fixed hourly rate or by calculating actual expenses. Each method has its own record-keeping requirement, and the records must be kept as you go, not reconstructed later.
- # Substantiation 증빙 요건
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The evidence rule behind every deduction: you must be able to show it was spent, was work-related, and was not reimbursed. In practice the audit question is rarely "was this deductible" but "can you prove it".
- # Notice of Assessment (NoA) 세액 통지서 (NoA)
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The ATO's formal statement of your assessed income and tax for a year, issued after your return is processed. It is the document most often accepted as proof of income for loans, visas and Korean filings.
- # Medicare levy 메디케어 부담금
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A levy on taxable income that funds Australia's public health system, collected with income tax. People who are not entitled to Medicare can apply for an exemption, which matters for some temporary visa holders.
- # Medicare levy surcharge (MLS) 메디케어 추가부담금 (MLS)
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An additional levy on higher-income earners who do not hold an appropriate level of private hospital cover. It is the reason private cover can be cheaper than the surcharge it avoids for some households.
- # Capital gains tax (CGT) 양도소득세 (CGT)
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Tax on the gain when you dispose of an asset — property, shares, crypto. In Australia it is not a separate tax: the net gain is added to your income for the year, so timing a sale can change the rate that applies to it.
- # CGT discount CGT 할인
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A reduction of the taxable capital gain for individuals who held the asset longer than twelve months. Eligibility interacts with residency, so a move can quietly change the outcome of a sale.
- # Main residence exemption 주거주지 면제
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The rule that generally exempts the home you live in from capital gains tax. It is one of the largest exemptions in the system and one of the most sensitive to residency status when you leave Australia.
- # Tax residency (Australia) 세법상 거주자 (호주)
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Whether Australia taxes your worldwide income or only Australian-sourced income. It is decided by tests of where you actually live and intend to live — not by your visa, your citizenship, or how many days you happen to count.
- # Residency tests 거주자 판정 테스트
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The set of tests used to decide Australian tax residency: where you ordinarily reside, your domicile and permanent place of abode, physical presence, and Commonwealth super membership. Meeting any one of them can make you a resident.
- # Korean tax residency 한국 거주자 판정
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Korea treats you as a resident based on having an address (주소) or a prolonged place of abode (거소) in Korea, judged by where your family, occupation and assets are centred. Both countries can find you resident at once — that is what the tax treaty is for.
- # Korea–Australia tax treaty 한-호 조세조약
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The bilateral agreement that decides which country taxes what when both could. It includes tie-breaker rules for dual residents and caps withholding on cross-border interest, dividends and royalties.
- # Foreign income tax offset / credit 외국납부세액공제
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Relief that lets tax already paid in one country reduce tax on the same income in the other. It prevents double taxation but rarely refunds the difference, so the higher of the two rates usually ends up being what you pay overall.
- # Double taxation 이중과세
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The same income being taxed by both countries, typically during the year you move or while you hold assets in the country you left. Treaties and credits reduce it; timing your move can reduce it further.
- # Non-resident withholding 비거주자 원천징수
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Tax withheld at source on Australian income paid to someone who is no longer a tax resident — commonly on interest, dividends and rent. Rates are often capped by the tax treaty, but only if the payer knows you are non-resident.
- # Fringe benefits tax (FBT) 부가급여세 (FBT)
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Tax paid by employers on non-cash benefits given to employees, such as a car. It is why salary packaging and novated leases work the way they do — and why changes to FBT exemptions move the real cost of a car.
- # Living away from home allowance (LAFHA) 거주지 이탈 수당 (LAFHA)
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An employer allowance for the extra cost of living away from your usual home for work. It is treated under the FBT rules rather than as ordinary salary, and eligibility is narrower than most people assume.
Superannuation & pensions 12
- # Superannuation (super) 슈퍼애뉴에이션 (슈퍼)
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Australia's compulsory retirement savings system. Money goes into a fund in your name, is preserved until a condition of release is met, and is taxed at concessional rates on the way in and while invested.
- # Super guarantee (SG) 슈퍼 의무납입 (SG)
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The employer contribution that must be paid on top of your wage into your super fund. It is not deducted from your pay — which is why a package quoted "including super" is worth less than the same number quoted "plus super".
- # Concessional contribution 세전 납입 (concessional)
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Contributions made before income tax — employer SG and salary sacrifice — taxed inside the fund at a concessional rate. They are capped annually, and the cap is the boundary most salary-sacrifice plans are built around.
- # Non-concessional contribution 세후 납입 (non-concessional)
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Contributions from money you have already paid tax on. They are not taxed again going in, are capped separately, and are the usual route for putting a lump sum — such as proceeds from a Korean property sale — into super.
- # Preservation age 인출 가능 연령 (preservation age)
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The age from which super can generally be accessed, which depends on your year of birth. Reaching it is one condition of release; leaving Australia permanently as a temporary resident is a different one.
- # DASP (Departing Australia Superannuation Payment) DASP (출국 슈퍼 인출)
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The payment a former temporary resident can claim after leaving Australia permanently and their visa ceases. It is taxed at its own withholding rate before you receive it, and Korea may also look at it as income — the two questions are separate.
- # SMSF (self-managed super fund) 자가운용 슈퍼펀드 (SMSF)
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A super fund you run yourself as trustee, with full control over investments and full responsibility for compliance. Residency of the trustees matters: moving overseas can jeopardise the fund’s concessional status.
- # Korean National Pension (국민연금) 국민연금
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Korea's public pension. Once you have contributed, the entitlement does not disappear because you live abroad — but how and where it is paid, and how it is taxed, depends on your residency and the social security agreement.
- # Lump-sum refund (반환일시금) 반환일시금
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A one-off refund of Korean pension contributions available in limited circumstances, such as losing Korean nationality. Taking it closes the entitlement — often the more expensive of the two options over a lifetime.
- # Voluntary continued coverage (임의계속가입) 임의계속가입
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Continuing to contribute to the Korean pension voluntarily while living overseas, usually to reach or extend the qualifying period. It is a decision about lifetime income, not about this year’s cash flow.
- # Korean basic pension (기초연금) 기초연금
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A means-tested pension for older Koreans, assessed on income and assets. For returnees the assessment is where overseas assets — including super and crypto — can become visible.
Remittance & FX 16
- # Mid-market rate 중간환율 (mid-market)
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The midpoint between the buy and sell price of a currency — the rate you see on Google or Reuters. No retail provider gives you exactly this rate; the gap between it and the rate you are quoted is the real price of the transfer.
- # FX spread (exchange rate margin) 환율 스프레드 (마진)
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The margin a provider adds to the mid-market rate, expressed as a percentage. Because it scales with the amount while fixed fees do not, on larger transfers the spread — not the fee — is almost always the dominant cost.
- # Transfer fee 송금 수수료
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The flat charge for sending a transfer, quoted separately from the exchange rate. A "zero fee" offer is not free if the rate carries a wider spread — the two have to be read together.
- # Intermediary (correspondent) bank fee 중계은행 수수료
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A deduction taken by a bank in the middle of a SWIFT payment chain, which is why the amount received can be less than the amount quoted. It is invisible at the time of sending and is the usual explanation for a "missing" difference.
- # Telegraphic transfer (TT) 전신환 송금 (TT)
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The traditional bank-to-bank international wire. Slower and usually more expensive than specialist providers, but still the default for large or documentation-heavy transfers.
- # SWIFT / BIC code SWIFT(BIC) 코드
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The international identifier for a bank, used to route cross-border payments. Getting it wrong usually means a delay and a fee rather than a lost payment.
- # ISO 20022 ISO 20022
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The global payment messaging standard that carries richer, structured data than the older format — including structured addresses for sender and recipient. Incomplete address data is increasingly a reason transfers are held.
- # Beneficiary details 수취인 정보
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The recipient information a transfer carries: legal name as held by their bank, account number, bank identifiers and, increasingly, a structured address. Most "stuck" transfers are a mismatch here, not a compliance problem.
- # Purpose of remittance / supporting documents 송금 사유·증빙
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The declared reason for a transfer and the evidence behind it — sale contract, employment record, gift documentation. Korean rules key off this: the same amount can be routine or document-heavy depending on the stated purpose.
- # Korean remittance limits 한국 송금 한도
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The annual and per-transaction limits Korea applies to outbound personal transfers, above which supporting documents or reporting are required. The framework was substantially rewritten in 2026, so older guidance circulating in community forums is often out of date.
- # Designated FX bank (지정거래외국환은행) 지정거래외국환은행
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The long-standing Korean requirement to nominate a single bank for personal foreign exchange dealings, so your cumulative transfers could be tracked in one place. The 2026 reform changed this framework — check the current rule before assuming it still applies.
- # Small-sum overseas transfer business (소액해외송금업) 소액해외송금업
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The licensed non-bank category in Korea that allows fintech providers to send money abroad. It is why alternatives to bank wires exist in the Korea corridor at all, and it operates under its own limits and reporting rules.
- # Travel Rule (crypto) 트래블룰 (암호자산)
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The requirement that crypto exchanges pass sender and recipient information along with a transfer above a threshold. It is the main reason moving value by crypto is no longer the quiet workaround people assume.
- # Crypto as a remittance route 암호자산 송금
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Moving value between countries by buying, transferring and selling crypto. The headline cost looks low, but exchange spreads, withdrawal fees, tax on disposal and Travel Rule reporting usually close most of the gap.
- # Cut-off time 커트오프 시간
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The daily deadline after which a transfer is processed on the next business day. With a time difference and two banking calendars, a transfer sent Friday afternoon in Sydney can land days later than expected.
- # Won internationalisation 원화 국제화
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The policy direction of allowing the Korean won to be traded and settled more freely offshore, including extended trading hours. For individuals it eventually shows up as narrower spreads and longer windows to transact.
Banking & payments 7
- # BSB BSB 코드
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The six-digit code identifying an Australian bank branch, used with the account number for domestic payments. International transfers into Australia need the SWIFT code as well.
- # PayID / Osko PayID · Osko
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Australia’s near-instant domestic payment rails: PayID lets you receive using a phone number or email instead of BSB and account number, and Osko is the fast-transfer service behind it.
- # Direct debit 자동이체 (direct debit)
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An authority you give a business to pull money from your account on a schedule. Cancelling the card is not the same as cancelling the authority — a common trap when leaving Australia.
- # BPAY BPAY
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The bill payment system used for most Australian utilities and invoices, addressed by a biller code and reference number rather than a bank account.
- # 100 point identity check 100포인트 신원확인
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Australia’s points-based identity verification: documents are worth points and you need one hundred in total. New arrivals often stall here because a passport alone is not enough.
- # Credit file / credit score 신용 이력·신용 점수
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Your borrowing history held by Australian credit bureaus. It does not transfer from Korea, so migrants start from zero regardless of assets or income — which is why the first year of credit behaviour matters more than it seems.
- # Offset account 오프셋 계좌
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A transaction account linked to a mortgage where the balance reduces the interest charged. Effectively it earns the loan rate tax-free, which is usually better than the same money sitting in savings.
Visa & settling in 15
- # Skills in Demand visa (subclass 482) 482 기술인력 비자 (SID)
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The employer-sponsored temporary work visa that replaced the TSS structure, with streams set by salary and skill level. From a money angle it decides two things: how long your employer holds leverage, and how soon permanent residence becomes reachable.
- # Student visa (subclass 500) 학생 비자 (500)
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The study visa, which requires evidence of genuine study intent and financial capacity. The financial capacity requirement is what turns a study plan into a funding plan.
- # Genuine Student (GS) requirement GS (진정한 학생) 요건
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The test replacing the old genuine temporary entrant requirement, assessing whether your study plan and circumstances hold together. Financial evidence is read as part of that story, not as a separate box to tick.
- # Working Holiday visa (417 / 462) 워킹홀리데이 비자 (417·462)
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The short-term work-and-travel visas, with their own tax treatment and rules for extending. Startup costs in the first city usually decide whether the year works financially.
- # Permanent residence (PR) 영주권 (PR)
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Permanent status in Australia. Beyond the right to stay, it changes access to Medicare, study costs, some benefits, and how superannuation is treated if you later leave.
- # Visa application charge 비자 신청료
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The government fee for lodging a visa application, payable per applicant and generally not refunded if refused. For families it is one of the larger single line items in a migration budget.
- # OSHC (Overseas Student Health Cover) OSHC (유학생 건강보험)
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The health cover student visa holders are required to maintain for the duration of their visa. It is a visa condition, not an optional purchase, and is usually paid up front for the whole period.
- # OVHC (Overseas Visitor Health Cover) OVHC (방문자 건강보험)
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The equivalent cover for temporary visa holders who are not students, including many work visas. Whether it satisfies your visa condition depends on the policy level, not the brand.
- # Rental bond 렌트 본드 (보증금)
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The security deposit for a rental, lodged with a state authority rather than held by the agent. It is refundable, but it is cash locked away for the whole tenancy — which is why it belongs outside your monthly budget.
- # Rent in advance 선납 렌트
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Rent paid up front at the start of a tenancy, on top of the bond. Together they create the largest single cash outflow of the first month in Australia for most arrivals.
- # Rental ledger 렌트 납부 이력 (ledger)
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The record of your rent payment history held by the agent. It functions as a de facto credit reference for newcomers who have no Australian credit file yet.
- # Condition report 입주 상태 기록 (condition report)
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The documented state of a property at move-in, agreed between tenant and agent. It is the evidence that decides bond disputes at the end of the lease.
- # F-4 visa (Overseas Korean) F-4 비자 (재외동포)
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The Korean visa for people of Korean heritage who hold foreign nationality, allowing long-term stay and most economic activity. For returnees it is the usual alternative to restoring Korean nationality.
- # F-5 visa (Permanent residence, Korea) F-5 비자 (한국 영주)
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Permanent residence status in Korea. It sits between an F-4 and restored nationality, and the choice between them has tax, pension and military service consequences that differ by family.
Investing & property 15
- # Franking credit 프랭킹 크레딧 (배당세액공제)
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A credit for company tax already paid on the profits behind an Australian dividend, used to avoid taxing the same profit twice. Non-residents generally cannot use them the same way, which changes the value of Australian shares after you leave.
- # ETF (exchange-traded fund) ETF (상장지수펀드)
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A fund traded like a share. For Korea-Australia investors the practical questions are where it is domiciled, what currency it settles in, and how its distributions are taxed in each country.
- # Brokerage account (cross-border) 해외 증권계좌
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The account used to hold shares across markets. The decisions that matter are currency conversion cost, tax reporting in both countries, and what happens to the account when your residency changes.
- # Omnibus account 옴니버스 계좌
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A pooled account through which a foreign broker holds many clients’ positions under one name. Korea opening its market to this structure is what makes direct access to Korean shares from abroad simpler.
- # Investing in Korean shares from Australia 호주에서 한국 주식 투자
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Buying Korean-listed shares while resident in Australia, either directly through a broker or indirectly through funds. The cost is rarely the trade — it is the currency conversion and the tax reporting on both sides.
- # FIRB approval FIRB 승인 (외국인 투자 심사)
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Foreign Investment Review Board approval, required before a foreign person buys certain Australian residential property. Approval fees and the restriction to particular property types are part of the real purchase cost.
- # Stamp duty (transfer duty) 인지세 (stamp duty)
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The state tax on property transfer, paid by the buyer. Rates and foreign-buyer surcharges are set by each state, so the same purchase price costs materially different amounts in different cities.
- # Land tax 토지세 (land tax)
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An annual state tax on the value of land you own beyond exempt categories, with surcharges for foreign owners in most states. It is a holding cost, which is why it hits absentee owners hardest.
- # Negative gearing 네거티브 기어링
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Holding an investment whose costs exceed its income, with the shortfall deducted against other income. It converts a cash-flow loss into a tax benefit, so it only works while there is other income to offset.
- # Korean acquisition tax (취득세) 취득세
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The Korean tax on acquiring property, the counterpart to Australian stamp duty. Rates step up with the number of properties owned and the region, which is what makes a second Korean apartment expensive to hold onto after emigrating.
- # Korean holding taxes (재산세·종합부동산세) 보유세 (재산세·종부세)
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Annual Korean taxes on owning property, with the comprehensive real estate tax applying above a valuation threshold. For emigrants they are the recurring cost of keeping a Korean home "just in case".
- # Korean loan regulation (LTV / DSR) 대출 규제 (LTV·DSR)
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Caps on how much can be borrowed against a property (LTV) and against income (DSR). Overseas residents are often assessed more tightly, which is why refinancing from abroad frequently fails even with equity.
- # Selling Korean property and moving the funds 한국 부동산 매각·자금 이동
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The sequence of selling in Korea, clearing tax, and remitting the proceeds to Australia. The order matters: residency at the time of sale, Korean capital gains treatment, and remittance documentation all key off each other.
- # Inheritance and gift tax (Korea vs Australia) 상속·증여세 (한국 vs 호주)
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Korea taxes inheritances and gifts directly; Australia has no separate inheritance tax but can tax the underlying assets through CGT. Families split across both countries are exposed to both systems at once.
- # Novated lease 노베이티드 리스
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A three-way car lease between you, your employer and a financier, paid from pre-tax salary. Its value depends almost entirely on FBT treatment, so changes to exemptions move the economics sharply.
Next steps
- Remittance cost calculator
Put the spread and the fee together and see what a transfer actually costs.
- Resources — checklists
First 90 days in Australia · Returning to Korea money checklist.
- The Korea–Australia money map
If you want the whole picture before the vocabulary, start here.
This glossary is general information, not personalised tax, financial, legal or migration advice. Confirm your own situation against current official sources and a qualified professional.
The agreement that coordinates the two pension systems so periods are not lost and contributions are not duplicated when you have worked in both countries.
Read next: Can You Draw Korea's National Pension While Living in Australia — Retirement Cash Flow Across Two Countries See also: Korean National Pension (국민연금) · Superannuation (super)