The Kaohsiung National Tax Administration, Ministry of Finance stated that, an individual who married or divorced in the year may choose to file tax return separately or jointly with the spouse upon filing the individual income tax return for the year. In accordance with the provisions of the current Civil Code, the "registration" system is adopted for the marriage, and the recognition requirements should be based on the marriage registration date with the household registration authority. Taxpayers should be aware that spouse exemption and relevant deductions should not be claimed if no marital relationship existed throughout the year.

For example, when filing the 2017 individual income tax return, taxpayer A claimed individual B as the spouse with the exemption and the standard deduction for married filing jointly. After the Bureau found that A and B had no marital relationship in the year, the exemption and the standard deduction were removed, and in addition to the assessed tax, a fine was imposed. Taxpayer A appealed and claimed that individual B is the mother of his children and they have a husband-and-wife relationship in essence in the recheck application. The Bureau rejected the recheck application on the basis that since taxpayer A and individual B did not have marriage registration with the household registration authority, they did not meet the requirements for claiming spouse exemption and standard deductions.

The Bureau further reminded that people should confirm the existence of marital relationship defined in the Civil Code in the income year before they claim spouse exemption and deductions. If any of the aforementioned misfiling is discovered, please file amended returns to the jurisdiction office or branch of the National Taxation Bureau as soon as possible, and pay the tax to avoid penalty.

Contact: Miss Lin, the Revenue Officer of the Second Legal Affairs Division
Tel: 07-7256600 ext.8751