Korean Cosmetics Tax Refund: When to Buy and What You Get Back
What to buy is written everywhere already.
What is here is when it is cheaper, how much of it you can claim back, and what you need on you for that to work.
Unlike prices, none of this moves often.
You do not have to come to Korea to get itWhat you get back
Visitors can reclaim the VAT on goods bought in ordinary shops.
The terms changed twice recently, and most English-language guides still carry the old numbers.
Minimum per receipt
₩15,000Lowered from ₩30,000 in 2024.
Any guide still saying thirty thousand is out of date.
Instant refund cap
₩1m per purchase, ₩5m in totalBoth doubled on 1 January 2026.
Above the cap you claim at the airport instead.
Deadline to leave
Three months from purchaseAfter three months the claim lapses.
What to carry
Your passportIt is needed at the till.
Leave it at the hotel and that day's purchases cannot be claimed.
When it is cheaper
Olive Young runs four big sales a year, each about a week, at the start of March, June, September and December or the last days of the month before.
Reductions reach 70%.
If your dates fall in one of those weeks the same basket costs far less.
There is also a discount on the 25th to 27th of each month, but that one is for membership holders, so the four big weeks are the realistic ones for a short visit.
Booking through this link costs you nothing extra - the price is exactly the same.
If a booking or a purchase completes, we separately receive a commission.
Olive Young gift card
An e-gift card you can have in hand before you go in, issued instantly and spent in the shop. Useful if you want to fix a budget before you start.
You do not have to come to Korea to get it
Booking through this link costs you nothing extra - the price is exactly the same.
If a booking or a purchase completes, we separately receive a commission.
No trip planned?
The same shelves ship home. Olive Young Global delivers to 60+ countries, and code KSTYLETRIP5 takes 5% off at checkout.
Which side is cheaper
🛍️ Buying in a store
- VAT refund over 15,000 KRW (passport required)
- Big sale weeks (early Mar·Jun·Sep·Dec) cut prices hard
- Every item adds luggage weight and cabin-liquid limits
📦 Shipping it home
- Always 5% off with code KSTYLETRIP5
- Free international shipping over US$60
- Zero weight - it arrives at your door
The verdict
- In Korea during a sale week - the store wins. Up to 70% off plus the VAT refund beats 5% online.
- Not coming to Korea - there is nothing to compare: shipping home is the only option, and the 5% code is a free bonus.
- In Korea outside sale weeks - buy one or two in store (refund), but if you are buying a boxful, shipping home wins on luggage weight and cabin liquids.
- Add to cart and check out with just an email - no Korean address, no Korean card.
- In the cart, under "Promos & Offers", enter KSTYLETRIP5 in the Promo Code box and hit Apply - 5% comes off.
Guide graphic, recreated for illustration.
- Shipping is free over US$60, by couriers like DHL and FedEx, to your door.
Worth knowing even if you are in Korea: check products in a store, then ship them home instead of packing them - no cabin liquid limits, no luggage weight. Compare store prices with the 5% code in hand.