National Tax Service enhances filing convenience through pre-filled tax returns

The National Tax Service is promoting its pre-filled tax return service to simplify comprehensive income tax filing for eligible individuals. While the digital system automatically populates items based on existing data, the agency warned that taxpayers must still manually verify and correct any missing income or deduction details.

In the Joseon era, before the existence of smartphones and the internet, how were urgent national news items delivered? From an era when people ran or horses galloped to deliver messages to the digital age where tax returns are completed with a few clicks, efforts to convey national information have continued, changing form according to the times.

A story shared by the National Tax Service contains the "relay courier system" and "court gazette," which were information delivery systems in the Joseon era, alongside the modern "pre-filled tax return service" that assists with smart tax filing.

Joseon's communication network of horses and people: relay courier system and court gazette

During the Joseon era, a communication system called the "relay courier system" was operated to deliver urgent official documents or pressing news. The relay courier system was divided into "mounted relay courier," which used horses, and "foot relay courier," where people ran to deliver messages. The system was gradually established after being reorganized following the Imjin War. While the beacon signaling system sent signals using torches and smoke, the relay courier system differed in that it could directly deliver documents and news containing specific details through people or horses.

The "court gazette" was the means used to regularly announce news from the royal court, such as the king's commands or major policies. It was a type of official gazette issued by the Royal Secretariat, comprehensively containing everything from royal commands to news from various government offices. Officials dispatched from each office would gather at the news office of the Royal Secretariat to transcribe the contents, then carry the news to their respective offices and regions. These court gazettes were mainly circulated among government agencies, officials, and classes with access to information. Just as the National Tax Service today delivers important tax administration information to the public through various channels, a meticulous system existed in the Joseon era to share core national information.

'Pre-filled tax return service' filled with data in advance

As information delivery methods shifted from the relay courier system to digital, tax filing methods have also changed innovatively. A representative example is the "pre-filled tax return service" provided by the National Tax Service. This service was introduced to reduce the inconvenience for taxpayers to individually calculate income and tax amounts when filing comprehensive income tax. It is a method where the service pre-writes the items of the tax return and the estimated tax amount based on the income and tax data held by the National Tax Service.

The pre-filled tax return service is not provided to all taxpayers. The National Tax Service sends notifications to eligible individuals selected based on the current year's filing type and income data. Eligible users can check the pre-written contents through Hometax or Sontax and easily complete their filing with just a few clicks. The video notes this change, focusing on the evolution into smart digital administration compared to the past when people had to run to deliver information, explaining that the nation's effort to deliver accurate information remains unchanged even as times change.

"Final confirmation is essential even with auto-fill" precautions

While it is a convenient service, there are clear points of caution. The National Tax Service emphasizes that one should not assume the pre-filled tax return service reflects all information perfectly. Even if the system automatically fills in the items, there is a possibility that the actual taxpayer's income, necessary expenses, or deduction details may be missing.

If the actual income differs from the filed data, or if there are missing deduction details, the taxpayer must directly reflect the corrections. The National Tax Service explained that "just because the pre-filled tax return service is provided does not mean it must be submitted as is," stating that a process of finally reviewing income and deduction items is absolutely necessary for accurate filing. The video mentions, "just because the pre-filled tax return service is provided does not mean it must be submitted as is," warning that actual income, necessary expenses, or deduction details may not have been automatically reflected. Therefore, if there is missing income in the filing data or a difference from actual expenses and deduction amounts, the taxpayer must check and reflect these corrections themselves before completing the filing.

The National Tax Service is encouraging citizens to use the "pre-filled tax return service" to file easily and accurately during the next comprehensive income tax filing period. It added that the process of re-checking whether there is essential tax information, such as income support programs or tax benefits applicable to oneself, is also important.

Source: original video (YouTube)