Woman Denied Property Tax Refund After Transaction Canceled Due to Missed Deadline

A woman in Taoyuan has been denied a refund for property tax she paid after a real estate transaction was canceled, with the tax bureau citing a critical deadline. The woman had paid a gift tax in June 2014 for a property. However, before the ownership transfer was registered, both parties agreed to terminate the contract in May 2015.

She and the seller formally submitted a request to cancel the tax declaration and seek a refund in May 2024. The Taoyuan City Local Tax Bureau rejected the application, explaining that the right to claim a tax refund has a legal time limit. According to administrative law, this 10-year period begins from the date the contract is mutually rescinded.

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The refund request deadline is 10 years from the date the contract is mutually rescinded.

In this case, the contract was rescinded on May 1, 2015. Therefore, the deadline for her refund claim was April 30, 2025. Her application on May 25, 2024, was significantly past this deadline. The tax bureau reminded the public to pay close attention to timelines when canceling property transactions after paying taxes but before the ownership transfer is completed, to avoid losing their refund rights.

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We remind the public to pay close attention to the timeline when mutually agreeing to terminate a contract after declaring property tax but before the ownership transfer is completed.