Register your business, don’t delay, invest just 30 minutes

Registering a sole proprietorship is not difficult. However, most people put it off for a month because they wonder “What should I do first?”

This article is an action sequence that can be completed in 30 minutes today. You can do this with just a cell phone.

The overall flow is 4 steps.

Phase 1	Check before application	5 minutes
Phase 2	Apply at Hometax	15 minutes
Phase 3	Processed immediately after issuance of registration certificate	10 minutes
Phase 4	Finished within this week	(separately thereafter)

Phase 1 — Pre-application inspection (5 minutes)

Have supplies on hand

✅ ID card (resident registration card or driver’s license)
✅ Lease Agreement PDF (if the business is leased)
✅ Joint certificate or simple authentication (for hometax login)
✅ Business address (exact street name + detailed number)

Pre-check business address

If there are abnormally many businesses registered at the same address, registration may be rejected or taxation type may be restricted.

Home tax → Inquiry/Issuance → Business registration status inquiry → Search by address

If you plan to use a non-residential or shared office, check with the company in advance, “Can I register a business here?”

Phase 2 — Apply at Home Tax (15 minutes)

1. Hometax access

PC: hometax.go.kr → Login → Application/Submission → Business registration application/correction

Mobile: The same is available on the Sontax app.

2. Enter personal information and business location

Confirm automatic input of personal information
Business address: Exact road name + lake
Classification of business: Own/Other (rental) selection
If renting, attach a PDF of the rental agreement.

3. Select an industry (key!)

Find the industry code of the business you will actually be conducting in advance.
You can check it by searching for industry at Statistics Korea KSIC or Hometax.
Enter only 1 main industry + 1 secondary industry if necessary (don’t be greedy and add 5 or 6 — this will only increase tax complexity)

4. Select tax type

Simplified taxpayer	Annual sales expected to be less than 104 million won, focused on B2C
general taxpayer	VAT refund required, many B2B transactions, large sales volume

5. Enter business start date

Just enter today's date or the day you actually started your business.

6. Submit

Once you receive the registration number, you are done. Registration certificates are usually issued within the same day or the next day.

Phase 3 — Immediately after issuance of registration certificate (10 minutes)

1. Download business registration certificate PDF

Home Tax → You can download it directly from My Home Tax.

2. Open a business account (5 minutes)

Non-face-to-face recommendations: Toss Bank, Kakao Bank — same-day opening possible
Offline: Main bank (takes 30 minutes to 1 hour)
What you need: Business registration + ID + cell phone in your name

3. Business account home tax report (2 minutes)

Home Tax → Application/Submission → Business Account Report

Although it is not a legal obligation, it is automatically reflected when reporting comprehensive income tax and allows you to avoid additional taxes.

4. Application for business card issuance

Apply for a business card from Toss, Kakao, Hyundai Card, etc. After receiving the card, go to Hometax → register your business credit card, and automatic expense counting will begin.

Phase 4 — To be completed within this week

1. Convert fixed spending to a business card

Communication expenses (mobile phone, internet)
Subscription service (business tools/cloud)
office rental
→ Tax savings due to automatic processing of all business expenses

2. Register cash receipt business number

3. Leave a record of registration completion

Please note the date, business registration number, industry, and tax type. You can save a lot of time when organizing reports and data for the next quarter.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q. Can I use my home address without a place of business?

This is possible depending on the industry. However, there may be restrictions on the type of lease contract (owner/tenant) and handling of management fees.

Q. Can I just register and have no sales?

it's possible. However, there is an obligation to report value-added tax and general consumption tax, so be careful of additional taxes for non-reporting.