House tax shall be levied in accordance with the current value of the house at the following rates:
1. Houses used for residential purposes:
(1) For a house used for residential purposes by the owner or leased for public welfare purposes by a landlord registered with the local government as a charity, or for a right-of-use house with superficies registered on the land thereof and used for residential purposes by the right-of-use holder, the rate shall be 1.2 percent of the current value of the house. However, if a person, his/her spouse, and his/her minor children only own one house in the whole country, such house is used thereby for residential purposes by the owner and the current value thereof is below a certain threshold, the rate shall be 1 percent of the current value of the house.
(2) In addition to the preceding item, for a house with a declared rental income reaching the local prevailing rental standard specified for Category 5 under Paragraph 1, Article 14 of the Income Tax Act, or for a jointly-owned house acquired through inheritance, the rate shall not be less than 1.5 percent and shall not exceed 2.4 percent of the current value of the house.
(3) For a house for sale whose use is for residential purposes as stated in the Usage License held by the builder, the rate shall not be less than 2 percent and shall not exceed 3.6 percent of the current value of the house within two (2) years of the house tax becoming payable.
(4) For other houses for residential purposes, the rate shall not be less than two percent 2 percent and shall not exceed 4.8 percent of the current value of the house.
2. Houses used for non-residential purposes: For a house used for doing business, or for operating a private hospital, a private clinic, or a professional office, the rate shall not be less than 3 percent and shall not exceed 5 percent of the current value of the house; for a house used as the premises of a non-profit civil organization, the rate shall not be less than 1.5 percent and shall not exceed 2.5 percent of the current value of the house.
3. For a house used for both residential and non-residential purposes, the house tax thereon shall be levied at the applicable rates based on the area of the house used for residential and non-residential purposes, respectively. However, the taxable area for non-residential purposes shall not be less than one-sixth of the total area of the house.
The municipal and county (city) governments shall, in accordance with Items 2 to 4, Subparagraph 1 of the preceding paragraph, set differential tax rates based on the total number of taxable houses held in the whole country by the taxpayers under each such item or based on other reasonable needs. A taxpayer holding taxable houses under each such item located in a municipality or county (city) shall pay house tax based on the total number of the houses held thereby in the whole country at the corresponding rates set by the municipal or county (city) government where the houses are located.
For the purpose of calculating the number of houses under the preceding two paragraphs, when a house is a trust property, it shall be deemed held by the trustor during the continuation of the trust relationship and be counted along with other houses held by the trustor under Subparagraph 1, Paragraph 1. However, if the beneficiary of the trust interest is not the trustor and the requirements under the following subparagraphs are met, the house shall be deemed held by the beneficiary:
1. The beneficiary has identified and enjoyed the full benefits of the trust.
2. The trustor has not reserved the right to change the beneficiary.
For a house used for residential purposes by the owner under Item 1, Subparagraph 1, Paragraph 1, the owner of the house or the right-of-use holder, his/her spouse or his/her immediate family members shall complete the household registration of the house and the house cannot be rented out or used for business; as for other requirements and criteria for determining the houses used for residential purposes by the owner or leased for public welfare purposes by a landlord registered with the local government as a charity, the tallying of houses under the preceding three paragraphs, the determination of “reasonable needs” under Paragraph 2, and other relevant matters, the guidelines thereof shall be established by the Ministry of Finance.
Regarding the threshold for the current value of a house specified under the proviso to Item 1, Subparagraph 1, Paragraph 1, self-governance ordinances thereof shall be established by the municipal and county (city) governments and be submitted to the Ministry of Finance for record.
Regarding the threshold for the current value of a house specified under the proviso to Item 1, Subparagraph 1, Paragraph 1, and the tax brackets, the number of tax brackets, and applicable rates of the tax brackets for the differential tax rates under Paragraph 2, the standards thereof shall be announced by the Ministry of Finance; the municipal and county (city) governments may refer to the standards when establishing such matters.