Providing detailed education on saving value-added tax (VAT) is crucial for businesses navigating tax regulations. In a series of posts, Korea’s National Tax Service (NTS) blog explains about VAT saving points related to purchasing.
Understanding VAT Issue Timing
When a business does not receive its e-tax invoice in time, it risks not being able to deduct the intended input VAT tax amount from its output VAT tax payables.
Assume a business made a construction contract worth KRW 1.1 billion with a construction contractor. When the construction is completed, and final inspections are passed around April 2023, the business owner could only be able to pay the construction cost in February 2024 due to his financial constraints and at this point, the e-tax invoice was issued. The business owner then claims for KRW 100 million of input VAT refund but he gets rejected. The tax office deems the e-tax invoice issued by the contractor to be inconsistent with the actual completion of the work which was April 2023. Worse still, he was taxed an additional 1.5 million won for penalty.
In the case above, if the business owner received the tax bill in April 2023 when the construction was completed, no extra penalties would have occurred. Thus, it’s essential to always receive and give e-tax invoices at the time of supplying goods or services, regardless of whether the goods or services have been paid for or not.
VAT Deduction on Credit Card Sales Slip
A business owner can deduct Output VAT payables based on a credit card sales slip or a cash receipt separately listed with VAT. The introduction of the credit card sales slip and cash receipt system encourages businesses to use a business credit card registered with Hometax.
Using a registered business credit card for all business-related transactions ensures that VAT specified in the transaction can be correctly accounted for as an input VAT for deduction. Remember, to get VAT deductions on transactions through the credit card of an employee or family member, the transaction must be objectively verified as a business expense.
In conclusion, managing and understanding VAT can be complicated. However, this detailed guidance from the National Tax Service provides some clear direction on saving points about VAT, specifically on purchase-related transactions, to support businesses in avoiding unintended penalties while maximizing VAT deductions.
Disclaimer : This content is a translation of material originally published in Korean by the National Tax Service of the Republic of Korea. While efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, this translation is provided for informational purposes only and does not carry legal weight. In the event of any discrepancy, the original Korean version shall prevail. Users should consult the official Korean documents for precise interpretation. This translation does not constitute legal advice. The translators and publishers shall not be held liable for any loss arising from reliance on this translation.