The Korean government's national tax revenue through April rose by nearly 22 trillion won from a year earlier, driven by a sharp increase in stock trading volume and the reinstatement of higher securities transaction tax rates.
According to the "April 2026 National Tax Revenue Status" released by the Ministry of Economy and Finance on Tuesday, cumulative national tax revenue from January through April reached 164.1 trillion won, up 21.9 trillion won from the same period a year earlier. The revenue collection progress rate based on this year's supplementary budget stood at 39.5%, exceeding both last year's settlement-based progress rate of 38.0% and the five-year average of 38.6%. National tax revenue for April alone amounted to 55.2 trillion won, up 6.3 trillion won from the same month a year earlier.
The expansion in stock market trading drove the revenue increase. Listed stock trading value soared 305.9% to 1,449.4 trillion won in March this year from 357.1 trillion won in March last year. The securities transaction tax rate also rose from 0% to 0.05% for KOSPI and from 0.15% to 0.20% for KOSDAQ. As a result, April securities transaction tax revenue reached 1.3 trillion won, an increase of 1.1 trillion won from a year earlier, representing a 506.2% growth rate.
The rise in securities transaction tax was also pronounced on a cumulative basis. Securities transaction tax revenue from January through April this year totaled 4.1 trillion won, up 3.1 trillion won from the same period a year earlier, a 290.9% increase. The Special Rural Development Tax, which is affected by KOSPI trading volume, brought in 5.7 trillion won, up 3.4 trillion won from a year earlier. The growth rate for the rural tax was 150.5%.
Corporate and income taxes also increased. Cumulative corporate tax through April reached 39 trillion won, up 3.2 trillion won from the same period a year earlier. The increase reflects improved corporate earnings, with operating profit at KOSPI-listed companies rising 29.5% to 137 trillion won in 2025 from 105.8 trillion won in 2024. Operating profit on a consolidated basis also climbed 25.4% to 244.8 trillion won from 195.2 trillion won during the same period.
However, the recent improvement in semiconductor companies' operating profits has not yet been fully reflected in tax revenue. April corporate tax mainly reflected installment payments from semiconductor companies' March filings and consolidated tax filings from financial institutions. Additional corporate tax gains from the semiconductor industry's recovery could be larger in the August interim prepayment and September installment payments.
Income tax revenue through April totaled 44.7 trillion won, up 5.9 trillion won from a year earlier. Wage and salary income tax rose due to increased performance bonuses, while capital gains tax also increased due to higher real estate transaction volumes. Value-added tax revenue reached 44.4 trillion won, up 4.7 trillion won, driven by reduced refunds and higher import values.
With revenue trends performing better than expected, the likelihood of meeting the excess revenue forecast incorporated in the supplementary budget has grown. When drafting the supplementary budget, the government factored in 25.2 trillion won of excess revenue compared to the main budget. Based on last year's results, this year's national tax revenue would need to increase by 41.5 trillion won to match the supplementary budget forecast. With 21.9 trillion won already collected through April, about half of that target has been met based on the previous year's results.
Inside and outside the Ministry of Economy and Finance, officials view that since the revenue forecast at the time of the supplementary budget was set conservatively, meeting the forecast should not be difficult given the current trend. However, the scale of additional excess revenue will only become clear after first-half corporate earnings and August corporate tax filings are confirmed. "We expect to be able to meet the supplementary budget benchmark, but it is still difficult to say exactly how much it will increase," a government official said.
Some tax categories declined. Customs duties for April amounted to 600 billion won, down 100 billion won from a year earlier, and liquor tax also fell by 100 billion won to 600 billion won. Education tax stood at 1.9 trillion won on a cumulative basis through April, similar to the previous year's level.
