Starting from July 1, 2021, individuals trading presale houses shall be required to file the house and land income tax return.
National Taxation Bureau of the Northern Area, Ministry of Finance indicated that starting from July 1, 2021, any individual trading a presale house with its building location acquired on or after January 1, 2016, which is regarded as a transaction of the house and land, regardless of at a profit or loss, shall file their house and land income tax return within 30 days from the day following the day of signing the sales contract.
The Bureau stated that in order to cooperate with Executive Yuan's "Proposal to Improve the Real Estate Market" and prevent the unreasonable situation of earning high profits through short-term speculation or raising the price of presale houses while paying low or no income tax. Paragraph 2 of Article 4-4 of Income Tax Act have been amended and promulgated to include the transactions of presale housing within the scope of house and land income tax on April 28, 2021. In addition, the house and land income tax system adopts a self-declaration system. As mentioned previously, taxpayers trading presale houses with its building location, regardless of the taxable amount, shall fill out and file the tax return with the competent tax authority of the location of the taxpayer’s household registration within 30 days from the day following the day of signing the sales contract, attached with a photocopy of the contract and other relevant documents; the payment receipt of the tax payable, if any, shall be attached in accordance with the provisions of Article 14-5 of this Act. In the case that the taxpayer fails to file the tax return within the period as specified in the provisions of Article 14-5, a fine shall be imposed in accordance with the provisions of Article 108-2 of this Act.
The Bureau provided an example: Mr. A bought a presale house with its building location for NT$16 million in July 2020, and sold it for NT$18 million on August 10, 2022. At the time of sale, the presale house had not yet been completed and obtained a use license. Mr. A mistakenly thought that this income derived from transactions of the presale house was income from property transaction from application of Category 7, Paragraph 1, Article 14 of Income Tax Act, and failed to file the income tax return within 30 days from the day following the day of signing the sales contract (i.e. August 11, 2022) in accordance with the provisions mentioned above. After being found out by the Bureau, the tax payable was levied and a fine was imposed. In addition, Mr. A was provided guidance on how to file income derived from transactions of the presale house in 2022 during the reporting period of comprehensive income tax for 2023.
The Bureau would like to remind taxpayers that starting from July 1, 2021, an individual who has any income derived from transactions of a presale house with its building location acquired on or after January 1, 2016, shall file their house and land income tax return within 30 days from the day following the day of signing the sales contract. In the case that the taxpayer fails to file the tax return, as long as there is no report or investigation by investigators designated by the tax collection agency or the Ministry of Finance, taxpayers who voluntarily file the tax return to the National Taxation Bureau where the taxpayer’s household registration is located and pay the tax arrears and the accrued interest shall be remitted from any punishments in accordance with the provisions of Article 48-1 of the Tax Collection Act. If you have any further questions, please call the toll-free number 0800-000-321. The Bureau will assign a professional to serve you.
〔Contact Person: Ms. Yang, Head, Individual Income, Estate and Gift Tax Division Tel: (03)3396789 Ext.1420〕
Reference URL：https://www.mof.gov.tw/Eng/singlehtml/f48d641f159a4866b1d31c0916fbcc71?cntId=d9e060cc188041b681061844b121f7a7