Open Decision Ledger · Tax & international taxation
Commissions above the brokerage cap as non-deductible costs
Supreme Court, May 14, 2026, 2026Du30158 (judgment)
Case name: 법인세부과처분등취소청구[여신금융기관이 대부중개업자에게 구 대부업법상 대부중개수수료 상한제를 위반하여 지급한 중개수수료의 손금 산입 여부가 문제 된 사건]
Official text on the National Law Information Center
Question
May brokerage commissions paid by a moneylender or a financial credit business to a loan brokerage firm in breach of the cap under the former Moneylending Act be treated as ordinary costs generally recognised or costs directly related to income under Article 19(2) of the former Corporate Tax Act and deducted?
Holding
No. Ordinary costs generally recognised mean costs that another corporation of the same kind of business would also have incurred in the same circumstances, judged objectively in the light of the course and purpose, form, amount and effect of the expenditure. Absent special circumstances, a cost incurred in breach of social order falls outside that category and cannot be treated as directly related to income either; paying brokerage commissions above the cap directly defeats the purpose of the former Moneylending Act to protect financial users by regulating unlawful debt collection, so it may not be deducted.
Summary of the holding, verbatim
그러므로 이러한 약정에 따라 지급한 중개수수료는 사회질서를 위반하여 지출된 비용에 해당하고, 이를 가리켜 구 법인세법(2018. 12. 24. 법률 제16008호로 개정되기 전의 것) 제19조 제2항에서 말하는 ‘일반적으로 인정되는 통상적인 비용이나 수익과 직접 관련된 비용’에 해당한다고 볼 수 없다. 따라서 이를 손금에 산입할 수 없다.
Unofficial English translation
Accordingly, the brokerage fees paid pursuant to such an agreement constitute an expense disbursed in violation of public order, and such expense cannot be regarded as the 'expenses generally recognized as ordinary expenses or expenses directly related to income' referred to in Article 19 (2) of the former Corporate Tax Act (the text prior to the amendment by Act No. 16008 on December 24, 2018). Therefore, such expenses cannot be included as deductible expenses.
Disposition
Dismissed Stated in the decision
상고를 모두 기각한다. 상고비용은 원고들이 부담한다.
Unofficial English translation
All appeals are dismissed. The costs of the final appeal shall be borne by the plaintiffs.
Form of the test
Circumstances weighed Stated in the decision
그러한 비용에 해당하는지는 지출의 경위와 목적, 형태, 액수, 효과 등을 종합적으로 고려하여 객관적으로 판단해야 하는데
Unofficial English translation
whether it is such an expense must be objectively determined by comprehensively considering the circumstances and purpose of the disbursement, its form, amount, effects, and the like
Factors
- 지출의 경위와 목적, 형태, 액수, 효과 등을 종합적으로 고려하여 객관적으로 판단해야 하는데
- 특별한 사정이 없는 한 사회질서를 위반하여 지출된 비용은 여기에서 제외되며
- 수익과 직접 관련된 비용에 해당한다고 볼 수도 없다
- 대부업자와 여신금융기관의 불법적 채권추심행위 등을 규제함으로써 금융이용자를 보호하고자 하는 구 대부업법의 목적에 정면으로 위배되는 행위이다
Unofficial English translation
• the circumstances and purpose of the disbursement, its form, amount, effects, and the like must be comprehensively considered in making an objective determination, and
• unless there are special circumstances, expenses disbursed in violation of public order are excluded herefrom, and
• such an expense cannot be regarded as an expense directly related to income
• it is an act that squarely violates the purpose of the former Money Lending Business Act, which is to protect financial users by regulating unlawful debt collection practices of money lenders and credit finance institutions and the like
Relation to precedent
Follows earlier decisions Stated in the decision
대법원 2017. 10. 26. 선고 2017두51310 판결(공2017하, 2211)
Unofficial English translation
Supreme Court Decision 2017Du51310 decided October 26, 2017 (Gong 2017 Ha, 2211)
Decisions referred to
[1] 대법원 2015. 1. 29. 선고 2014두4306 판결, 대법원 2017. 10. 26. 선고 2017두51310 판결(공2017하, 2211), 대법원 2026. 4. 30. 선고 2025두36013 판결(공2026상, 1270)
Burden of proof
Not addressed Not in the decision
Open question and revisit condition
What special circumstances could take a payment made in breach of the brokerage fee cap outside the exclusion of costs incurred in breach of social order?
A later decision on whether re-financing fees of this kind are brokerage commission under Article 11-2 of the former Moneylending Act would require this entry to be read again. So would an amendment to Article 11-2 or to Article 19 of the former Corporate Tax Act or of the former Moneylending Act, in either its old or its current numbering.
Cross-family AI independent reading & axis check
7 of 8 axes matched GPT-6 Astra (OpenAI, codex CLI) · 2026-10-24
A reader from another model family (GPT-6 Astra), given the official text but not the primary reading, agreed on 7 of the 8 axes; the readings differed on axis 4 (form of the test).
Axis 4 (Form of the test): Primary “Circumstances weighed” vs Independent “Elements stated”
The primary emphasizes the text's comprehensive assessment of expenditure circumstances, while the independent emphasizes the stated requirements for deductible expenses and exclusion for social order violations.
특별한 사정이 없는 한 사회질서를 위반하여 지출된 비용은 여기에서 제외되며, 수익과 직접 관련된 비용에 해당한다고 볼 수도 없다.Raw responses and comparison record: Protocol · Blind readings (JSONL) · Axis comparison (JSONL) · SHA-256 (JSON)
Lower-court contrast & scope of application
Lower-court reading vs. Supreme Court holding
Lower-court context: The Seoul High Court, in its judgment of 17 December 2025 (2025Nu6324), found that the portion of the re-financing commissions paid by the plaintiff capital company to a loan brokerage firm above a certain rate was brokerage commission paid in excess of the cap under the former Moneylending Act. It held that such a payment was a cost incurred in breach of social order and could not be deducted.
Supreme Court standard: The Supreme Court found no error in the appellate judgment. Read against the relevant provisions and the settled law, the court below had not misunderstood the scope of re-financing commissions or the rule on deducting costs that breach social order, had not violated precedent and had not contradicted itself; the decisions the appellants cited differed in their facts and were unfit to be relied on. All appeals were dismissed, with the appellate costs borne by the plaintiffs, on the unanimous opinion of the Justices concerned.
Distinguishing conditions
- Brokerage commissions paid within the ceiling set by Article 11-2(3) and (4) of the former Moneylending Act, since only payments above the cap were held to breach social order.
- A payment that is not brokerage commission for arranging a loan, such as an inventory-financing fee that does not fall within the commission category.
- A payment where special circumstances take it outside the exclusion of costs incurred in breach of social order, the qualification the Court stated as absent special circumstances.
Record verification notes
Confirm the versions applied: the former Corporate Tax Act as amended before 24 December 2018 by Act No. 16008, and the former Moneylending Act as amended before 21 January 2025 by Act No. 20714, whose Articles 19(2)(vi) to (ix) now sit at Article 19(4)(vi) to (ix). Then trace each payment from contract to ledger: what it was called, what rate it bore against the loan amount, and whether the counterparty was a registered brokerage firm, since the court below found the excess portion to be brokerage commission paid above the cap.
From the official text
Points at issue
[1] 법인세법 제19조 제2항에서 말하는 ‘일반적으로 인정되는 통상적인 비용’의 의미 및 그러한 비용에 해당하는지 판단하는 방법 / 사회질서를 위반하여 지출된 비용이 일반적으로 인정되는 통상적인 비용 또는 수익과 직접 관련된 비용에 해당하는지 여부(원칙적 소극) [2] 대부업자나 여신금융기관이 대부중개업자에게 대부중개수수료 상한제를 위반하여 지급한 중개수수료를 구 법인세법 제19조 제2항에서 정한 ‘일반적으로 인정되는 통상적인 비용이나 수익과 직접 관련된 비용’에 해당한다고 보아 손금에 산입할 수 있는지 여부(소극)
Unofficial English translation
[1] Meaning of the 'expenses generally recognized as ordinary expenses' referred to in Article 19 (2) of the Corporate Tax Act and the method for determining whether a given expense falls under such expenses / whether an expense disbursed in violation of public order falls under expenses generally recognized as ordinary expenses or expenses directly related to income (negative in principle) [2] Whether brokerage fees paid by a money lender or credit finance institution to a loan broker in violation of the cap system on loan brokerage fees may be included as deductible expenses on the ground that they fall under the 'expenses generally recognized as ordinary expenses or expenses directly related to income' as provided in Article 19 (2) of the former Corporate Tax Act (negative)
Summary of the holding
[1] 구 법인세법(2018. 12. 24. 법률 제16008호로 개정되기 전의 것) 제19조는 제1항에서 원칙적으로 "손금은 해당 법인의 순자산을 감소시키는 거래로 인하여 발생하는 손비의 금액으로 한다."라고 규정하면서, 제2항에서 원칙적으로 "손비는 그 법인의 사업과 관련하여 발생하거나 지출된 손실 또는 비용으로서 일반적으로 인정되는 통상적인 것이거나 수익과 직접 관련된 것으로 한다."라고 규정하고 있다. 여기에서 말하는 ‘일반적으로 인정되는 통상적인 비용’이란 납세의무자와 같은 종류의 사업을 영위하는 다른 법인도 동일한 상황 아래에서는 지출했을 것으로 인정되는 비용을 의미하고, 그러한 비용에 해당하는지는 지출의 경위와 목적, 형태, 액수, 효과 등을 종합적으로 고려하여 객관적으로 판단해야 하는데, 특별한 사정이 없는 한 사회질서를 위반하여 지출된 비용은 여기에서 제외되며, 수익과 직접 관련된 비용에 해당한다고 볼 수도 없다. [2] 구 대부업 등의 등록 및 금융이용자 보호에 관한 법률(2025. 1. 21. 법률 제20714호로 개정되기 전의 것, 이하 ‘구 대부업법’이라 한다) 제1조, 제2조 제1호, 제2호, 제8조 제2항, 제11조의2, 제19조 제2항 제6호, 제7호, 제8호, 제9호 규정의 내용, 체계 및 입법 취지를 종합하면, 대부업자나 여신금융기관이 대부중개업자에게 대부중개수수료 상한제를 위반하여 중개수수료를 지급하는 것은, 대부업자와 여신금융기관의 불법적 채권추심행위 등을 규제함으로써 금융이용자를 보호하고자 하는 구 대부업법의 목적에 정면으로 위배되는 행위이다. 그러므로 이러한 약정에 따라 지급한 중개수수료는 사회질서를 위반하여 지출된 비용에 해당하고, 이를 가리켜 구 법인세법(2018. 12. 24. 법률 제16008호로 개정되기 전의 것) 제19조 제2항에서 말하는 ‘일반적으로 인정되는 통상적인 비용이나 수익과 직접 관련된 비용’에 해당한다고 볼 수 없다. 따라서 이를 손금에 산입할 수 없다.
Order
상고를 모두 기각한다. 상고비용은 원고들이 부담한다.
Unofficial English translation
All appeals are dismissed. The costs of the final appeal shall be borne by the plaintiffs.
Provisions referred to
[1] 구 법인세법(2018. 12. 24. 법률 제16008호로 개정되기 전의 것) 제19조 제1항, 제2항 / [2] 구 대부업 등의 등록 및 금융이용자 보호에 관한 법률(2025. 1. 21. 법률 제20714호로 개정되기 전의 것) 제1조, 제2조 제1호, 제2호, 제8조 제2항, 제11조의2, 제19조 제2항 제6호(현행 제19조 제4항 제6호 참조), 제7호(현행 제19조 제4항 제7호 참조), 제8호(현행 제19조 제4항 제8호 참조), 제9호(현행 제19조 제4항 제9호 참조), 구 법인세법(2018. 12. 24. 법률 제16008호로 개정되기 전의 것) 제19조 제1항, 제2항
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