In force since October 20, 1979
US–Korea Tax Treaty
Every rate below carries the article that sets it and the date we read it — because protocols move rates and leave the article numbers alone.
Every rate on this page is cited to the treaty article that authorises it. Treaty texts last read September 9, 2026.
Quick answer
The US–Korea income tax treaty has been in force since October 20, 1979. It reduces US withholding on Korea residents’ US-source income below the 30% statutory rate — portfolio dividends at 15%, interest at 12%. You claim it with Form W-8BEN before you are paid, not on a return afterwards.
Key takeaways
- In force since October 20, 1979.
- A totalization agreement is in force, so social security contributions are a separate and solvable problem.
- Claim it on Form W-8BEN before payment. A treaty rate you did not claim is recovered only by filing a US return.
The rates, by article
Each figure below is the ceiling the treaty sets on US withholding, with the article that sets it.
US–Korea withholding ceilings. Statutory rate without a treaty: 30%.
| Income type | Treaty rate | Instead of |
|---|---|---|
| Dividends — portfolio | 15%Article 12(2)(a) | 30% |
| Dividends — direct (corporate holder) | 10%Article 12(2)(b) | 30% |
| Interest | 12%Article 13(2) | 30% |
| Royalties — Copyright, and motion picture and broadcast film | 10%Article 14(2) | 30% |
| Royalties — All other royalties — patents, designs, know-how, equipment | 15%Article 14(1) | 30% |
The direct-dividend rate of 10% requires the beneficial owner to be a company holding at least 10% — Per cent of the outstanding voting stock, tested across the paying corporation's preceding taxable year as well as the current one..
A rate without its article is not an answer
Protocols replace whole articles and usually keep the article number while changing the rate inside it. That is why every figure above shows its article as amended. Reading the base treaty text alone — which is what the IRS-hosted PDF gives you — produces superseded rates for several treaties in this set.
Interest — the exceptions
The headline interest rate is not the whole story for this treaty.
Interest here splits by category rather than running at a single rate. Presenting the lowest as “the” treaty rate overstates the benefit, so every class is shown:
Interest rates by class
| Class of interest | Rate |
|---|---|
| General interest | 12%Article 13(2) |
| Beneficially derived by the other government, a local authority, its central bank, or a wholly owned instrumentality of either that is not subject to tax there | 0%Article 13(3) |
Where people get this wrong
Each of these is a claim we found stated incorrectly on other sites, or a condition that is routinely dropped.
This is an old treaty and it shows in the rates.
Signed in 1976 and never amended by protocol. Interest is 12% where six of the twelve treaties here charge nothing, and the best dividend rate is 10% rather than the 5% that is standard in treaties negotiated since.
There is no 5% dividend tier at all.
A corporation meeting the ownership test gets 10%, not 5%. Investors who assume the familiar 5%/15% structure will over-claim.
Students, teachers and pensions
These articles decide more real cases than the withholding rates do — and they are the ones the savings clause fights over.
Students and trainees
Not yet verified. We have not read the students and trainees article directly against the treaty text, so this page does not state it. Rather than summarise it from a secondary source, we leave it out — every other figure here carries the article it came from, and this one would not. Read the treaty text linked in Sources below, or ask a preparer who handles cross-border returns.
Teachers and researchers
Not yet verified. We have not read the teachers and researchers article directly against the treaty text, so this page does not state it. Rather than summarise it from a secondary source, we leave it out — every other figure here carries the article it came from, and this one would not. Read the treaty text linked in Sources below, or ask a preparer who handles cross-border returns.
Pensions
Not yet verified. We have not read the pensions articles directly against the treaty text, so this page does not state it. Rather than summarise it from a secondary source, we leave it out — every other figure here carries the article it came from, and this one would not. Read the treaty text linked in Sources below, or ask a preparer who handles cross-border returns.
How to claim it
Before you are paid, on a W-8BEN given to the payer. Not on a return afterwards.
- Give the payer a Form W-8BEN. Name Korea on line 9. For ordinary dividend and interest claims that is all Part II needs — leave line 10 blank.
- For royalties, scholarships or a conditioned claim, line 10 needs the article and rate. How to find your article number walks through it, and the articles for this treaty are in the table above.
- Check whether a disclosure is owed. Most individual FDAP claims are waived from Form 8833, but a position that overrides the Code may not be.
- If tax was already withheld at 30%, the routes are a refund claim on a US nonresident return, or the foreign tax credit in your own country.
Get the form in before the payment, not after
A treaty rate is applied by the payer at the moment they pay you. Submit the W-8BEN afterwards and the 30% has already gone — recovering it means filing a US return and waiting the better part of a year.
How this treaty compares
The same four rates for every country in this set, so you can see where Korea actually sits.
| Country | Dividends | Dividends (large stake) | Interest | Royalties (lowest) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brazil | No treaty30% statutory | No treaty30% statutory | No treaty30% statutory | No treaty30% statutory |
| Canada | 15%Article X(2)(b) | 5%Article X(2)(a), as amended by the 1995 protocol, Article 5(1) | 0%Article XI(1), as replaced by the 2007 protocol, Article 6split by category | 0%Article XII(3)split by class |
| China | 10%Article 9(2) | 10%Article 9(2) | 10%Article 10(2)split by category | 7%Article 11(2), read with the protocol, paragraph 6split by class |
| France | 15%Article 10(2)(b), as replaced by the 2009 protocol | 5%Article 10(2)(a), as replaced by the 2009 protocol+0% tier, conditional | 0%Article 11(1)split by category | 0%Article 12(1), as replaced by the 2009 protocol |
| Germany | 15%Article 10(2)(b), as substituted by the 2006 protocol | 5%Article 10(2)(a), as substituted by the 2006 protocol+0% tier, conditional | 0%Article 11(1) | 0%Article 12(1) |
| Italy | 15%Article 10(2)(b) | 5%Article 10(2)(a) | 10%Article 11(2)split by category | 0%Article 12(3)split by class |
| Japan | 10%Article 10(2)(b) | 5%Article 10(2)(a)+0% tier, conditional | 0%Article 11(1), as replaced by the 2013 protocol, Article IVsplit by category | 0%Article 12(1) |
| Mexico | 10%Article 10(2)(b), as substituted by the 2003 protocol, Article II(a) | 5%Article 10(2)(a), as substituted by the 2003 protocol, Article II(a)+0% tier, conditional | 15%Article 11(2)(c)split by category | 10%Article 12(2) |
| Philippines | 25%Article 11(2)(a) | 20%Article 11(2)(b) | 15%Article 12(2)split by category | 15%Article 13(2)(a) |
| Spain | 15%Article 10(2)(b), as replaced by the 2013 protocol, Article IV | 5%Article 10(2)(a), as replaced by the 2013 protocol, Article IV+0% tier, conditional | 0%Article 11(1), as replaced by the 2013 protocol, Article Vsplit by category | 0%Article 12(1), as replaced by the 2013 protocol, Article VI |
| United Kingdom | 15%Article 10(2)(b) | 5%Article 10(2)(a)+0% tier, conditional | 0%Article 11(1) | 0%Article 12(1) |
Every figure is read from the treaty text or a protocol, with the authorising article shown beneath it. Two flags matter as much as the numbers: split means the treaty charges different rates for different categories of payment, so the figure shown is the lowest and may not be yours; +0% tier means a conditional zero rate exists for large corporate holdings, which depends on ownership, a holding period and a limitation-on-benefits test that a table cannot resolve. Use the lookup for either.
Frequently asked questions
What is the US–Korea tax treaty withholding rate on dividends?
15% on portfolio dividends under Article 12(2)(a), against a statutory rate of 30% without a treaty. A corporate holder owning at least 10% qualifies for 10% instead. You claim it by giving the payer a Form W-8BEN naming Korea as your country of residence for treaty purposes — before the payment is made, not afterwards.
What is the interest withholding rate under the US–Korea treaty?
It depends on the kind of interest, which makes this treaty unusual — 12% on general interest, 0% on beneficially derived by the other government, a local authority, its central bank, or a wholly owned instrumentality of either that is not subject to tax there. Quoting the lowest of those as "the" treaty rate overstates the benefit, so you have to identify which class your interest falls into before claiming a rate. Our lookup shows every class rather than picking one.
What is the royalty rate under the US–Korea treaty?
There is more than one. This treaty splits royalties by class: 10% on copyright, and motion picture and broadcast film; 15% on all other royalties — patents, designs, know-how, equipment. Claiming the lowest rate for a payment that belongs in a higher class is a common error, and it is the payer who gets asked about it. Line 10 of your W-8BEN needs the article and the rate for your actual class.
How do I claim US–Korea treaty benefits?
Give the payer a Form W-8BEN before you are paid, naming Korea on line 9 as your country of residence for treaty purposes. For ordinary dividend and interest claims that is all of Part II you need — leave line 10 blank. Royalties, scholarships and conditioned claims do need line 10, with the treaty article and rate. The form goes to the payer, never to the IRS.
Does the US–Korea treaty cover social security?
No — but a separate agreement does. The income tax treaty does not touch social security contributions; a totalization agreement handles those, and one with Korea is in force. A totalization agreement with South Korea has been in force since 2001-04-01. It covers social security contributions and pension credits only — it does not touch income tax. You claim it with a certificate of coverage given to your employer, not with any tax form.
Can a US citizen use the US–Korea treaty?
Rarely. Nearly every US treaty contains a savings clause reserving the right for the United States to tax its own citizens and residents as though the treaty did not exist, with a short list of preserved articles. We have not read this treaty's savings clause directly, so we do not state its article here — but the practical answer for a US citizen is usually the foreign tax credit rather than the treaty.
Sources
Every figure on this page was read from a primary source on the date shown beside it. This country’s file was last read in full on September 9, 2026.
- US–Republic of Korea Income Tax Convention, signed 4 June 1976 — All Korea articles
- SSA POMS GN 01701.005 — International Social Security (Totalization) Agreements — Which countries have a totalization agreement in force, and each agreement's effective date
Treaty rates are ceilings on withholding, not a computation of your liability, and conditions inside an article can change the answer for you specifically. This page is educational and is not advice on your position.
Related
Tax Treaty Benefits & Country Lookup
Free tool: is there a treaty with your country, what rate, and which form claims it
Form W-8BEN
The form your broker or payer asks for, and what it actually does
Foreign Tax Credit
The relief that works when no treaty does — credit against deduction
Form 8833
When you must disclose a treaty position, and what to write on each line
Totalization Agreements
Social security, the second treaty network, and why it covers different countries
Educational information, not tax advice
Every rate and article on this page is cited to the treaty text it comes from, so you or your accountant can check it. Treaty provisions turn on facts we do not know about you — residency, beneficial ownership, limitation-on-benefits conditions and the savings clause can all change the answer. Read the article before you rely on the number, and take advice on anything material.
Social security
A separate agreement decides this, not the tax treaty — and it covers a different list of countries.
A totalization agreement with South Korea has been in force since 2001-04-01. It covers social security contributions and pension credits only — it does not touch income tax.
That means someone working across the two countries pays social security contributions into one system rather than both, on a certificate of coverage given to their employer. It does not reduce income tax, and the income tax treaty does not reduce social security. How totalization agreements work.