If you are curious about whether you have tax money to be returned, you can start by using the National Tax Service's 'Find Unclaimed Tax Refunds' service. This service allows users to look up amounts that have already been approved for refund but never claimed, and it should be distinguished from refunds that may arise from newly filing taxes such as comprehensive income tax.

■ How to Check on Hometax

The lookup is available through the 'Find Unclaimed Tax Refunds' menu on Hometax. You can view the results by entering your resident registration number or business registration number along with your name or business name. According to the National Tax Service, this menu shows unclaimed refunds from the past five years since the refund determination date. If a refund is found, you can check how to request payment through 'Refund Detail Inquiry.'

■ Beware of Confusion with Comprehensive Income Tax Refunds

It is important not to confuse unclaimed refunds that have already been determined and appear in the 'Find Unclaimed Tax Refunds' service with comprehensive income tax refund amounts that may be finalized after filing. This is because an amount not showing up does not mean there are no taxes to be refunded through future filings.

Conversely, even if search results appear, the actual payment status must be verified through the detail inquiry. Hometax notes that refunds already paid by banks may temporarily appear in the search results due to a time lag in processing procedures.