I receive payments from several production companies with 3.3% withheld each time — how do I file comprehensive income tax?
If you received payments from multiple clients with per-contract withholding (3.3%), you must combine all of that income into a single comprehensive income tax filing the following May, and you should always check the Hometax payment statement lookup against what you actually received. The withheld tax is credited as tax already paid, so accurately reflecting expenses such as editing software subscriptions and workstation depreciation often results in a refund — worth keeping in mind.
The most confusing part — combining 3.3% income from multiple clients
Because you deal with multiple production companies and YouTubers rather than a single client, this is easy to get wrong
Collect every withholding statement for an accurate filing
Because each client withholds 3.3% separately, reporting income from only one client leaves the rest omitted. Always check the Hometax payment statement lookup against what you actually received.
Accurately reflecting expenses often results in a refund
3.3% is a preliminary withholding rate, not your full tax rate, so it is common to have overpaid relative to your actual tax liability. Fully reflecting software subscriptions, equipment depreciation, and home-office-related costs increases your chances of a refund in the May comprehensive income tax filing.
Income structure of a freelance video editor
Key expense categories
Must-read for freelance video editors
Sort editing equipment and subscriptions by category to save on taxes
From workstations to outsourced colorists, sorting each item correctly reduces unnecessary tax
Long-term fixed assets — depreciable equipment
Workstation: Mac Studio/Mac Pro, high-spec custom PC (with editing GPU)
Monitor: reference monitor for color grading
Audio equipment: audio interface, monitor speakers/headphones
Expansion gear: external GPU/capture card
Anything over 1,000,000 KRW per unit is classified as a depreciable asset and must be expensed gradually over its useful life.
Consumables/rentals — expensed immediately
Consumables: SSD/external hard drive, cables and docks, backup media
Rentals/usage fees: short-term use of a high-spec cloud render farm, short-term specialty plugin licenses
Consumable spending and usage fees that are not assets are expensed in full at the time of purchase or payment.
Personal service costs — outsourcing withholding
Amounts paid per contract to assistant editors, colorists, and sound designers are business income subject to 3.3% withholding, filed and paid by the 10th of the following month.
Software/collaboration tool subscriptions
Adobe Creative Cloud, DaVinci Resolve Studio, various plugin licenses, and cloud collaboration tools like Frame.io are recurring monthly expenses and are expensed in full at the time of payment.
| Category | Examples | Tax treatment |
|---|---|---|
| Long-term fixed assets | Workstation, monitor, audio, expansion gear | Depreciated if over 1,000,000 KRW |
| Consumables/rentals | SSD/cables, render farm/plugin short-term use | Expensed in full immediately |
| Personal services | Assistant editors, colorists, sound designers | 3.3% withholding, filed by the 10th of the following month |
| Software/collaboration tools | Adobe CC, DaVinci Resolve, Frame.io | Expensed immediately |