South Korea's 2026 tax reform plan does not reclassify married couples who jointly own one home as multiple-home owners for the comprehensive real estate tax. The main change from 2028 is instead in the fair market value ratio used to calculate the tax base: single-household, single-home taxpayers will face 70%, while joint owners of one home in regulated zones who do not elect the single-household, single-home exemption will face 80%, the same ratio applied to multiple-home owners. The Ministry of Economy and Finance said married joint owners are treated as standard single-home owners on an individual basis, and the option introduced in 2021 to choose the single-household, single-home exemption will remain. Tax outcomes vary by residency, location and home value. A simulation by tax accountant Kwak In-song showed resident couples with 50% stakes are as well off or better under joint ownership up to an assessed value of 1.92 billion won from 2028, while the exemption is more favorable between 1.92 billion won and 3.2 billion won, before joint ownership becomes more favorable again above that level because the tax base is split and the exemption's tax credit is capped at 6 million won. The reform is harsher for non-resident joint owners, whose basic deduction would fall from 1.8 billion won to 800 million won if they do not apply for the exemption. Officials say owners should compare standard joint ownership with the exemption case by case, while any switch to sole ownership also needs to account for gift and acquisition taxes.