National Taxation Bureau of Kaohsiung, Ministry of Finance expressed that, due to COVID-19 pandemic, citizens have been asking about if being unemployed at home or learning another specialty in a cram school will be determined as incapable of earning a livelihood can be claimed as a dependent.
The Bureau explained that, as prescribed in the taxation law, adults who are aged above 20 years old should file an income tax return independently, except for those who have truly being supported by the taxpayer due to studying at the school, mental or physical difficulty or incapability of earning a livelihood. Therefore, taxpayers who have no or little income due to unemployment or taking learning courses do not comply with the conditions of “incapable of earning a livelihood” and should not be listed as an dependent.
The aforesaid incapability of earning a livelihood as described in taxation law refers to any of the following conditions:
1. People who are incapable of earning a livelihood or working due to physical handicap, mental handicap, intelligence handicap, major diseases, or the needs of taking a long-term treatment as evidenced by the hospital’s certificate.
2. People who are a qualified person with physical or mental incapacity, need long-term care (LTC) services prescribed by the Ministry of Health and Welfare in accordance with Item 3-7, Subparagraph 2, Paragraph 1 of Article 17 of Income Tax Act; and who are incapable of earning a livelihood or work.
3. Those have been placed under custodianship and such custodianship has not yet been withdrawn.
The Bureau reminded that, where the dependent children, brothers or sisters comply with aforesaid conditions for incapability of earning a livelihood, the taxpayer shall provide relevant documentation when filing the tax for verification. For example, doctor’s certificate; a Ministry of Labor issued letter of permit for hiring a foreign caregiver; medical certificate of illness and disability; compliance certificate of LTC disability levels 2-8 and a photocopy of the LTC service payment receipt; a photocopy of the lodgment payment receipt (for a lodgment more than 90 days) issued by the lodgment service agency; and documentation that proves the guardianship announced by the court.
Contact: Ms. Lee, the Revenue Officer of the Second Examination Section
TEL: 07-7256600 ext. 7251