When Is the Gift Date for Parents Building a House in a Minor Child's Name? Not the Building Permit Date, but the Occupancy Permit Date

Many parents, wanting to prepare a house for their children early, may fund the construction themselves but list their minor child as the building owner (起造人) from the building permit application stage. Since the building permit already bears the child's name, some may think the gift is completed on the date of the building permit application; others believe that if the house is completed only after the child reaches adulthood, the gift issue for minor children no longer applies. However, according to the Ministry of Finance, the key date for determining the gift in such cases is not the building permit application date, but the date the house is completed and the occupancy permit (使用執照) is obtained. Even if the child is a minor when the building permit is applied for, but has reached adulthood by the time the house is completed, as long as the construction funds are actually borne by the parents, it may still constitute a gift where parents use their own funds to acquire property for their child without compensation.

Parents pay, child's name on the house: when is the gift date? According to the Ministry of Finance Tax Portal, if parents apply for a building permit in the name of a minor child and then build a house, the date of the gift is determined as the date the house is completed and the occupancy permit is obtained, not the date of the building permit application. This determination is based on Ministry of Finance Letter No. 33672 dated June 5, 1976 (65年6月5日台財税第33672号函), and the same principle is still used by the Ministry of Finance and the National Tax Administration in their public explanations. In other words, suppose parents start building when the child is 17, apply for the building permit in the child's name, and the project is completed and the occupancy permit is obtained when the child is 19. According to the above regulation, the gift date falls on the day the occupancy permit is obtained at age 19, not on the day the building permit is applied for at age 17.

Even if the child is an adult when the occupancy permit is obtained, it may still be considered a gift from parents If the child is already an adult when the house is completed, does that mean it is not a gift? The Ministry of Finance points out that the answer still depends on who bears the construction funds. If the child is a minor when the building permit is applied for, but has reached adulthood by the time the house is completed and the occupancy permit is obtained, the change in age alone cannot be used to determine that no gift has occurred.

Such cases are determined based on the actual source of funds. If the funds needed for construction actually come from the parents, but the house is ultimately acquired by the child, it may still constitute a situation where the parents use their own funds to acquire property for the child without compensation, thus involving gift tax. If it is claimed that the house was actually built with the child's own funds, whether it constitutes a gift from the parents must be determined based on the actual source of funds and the facts of the individual case. Tax authorities will also review documents such as construction contracts, uniform invoices, remittance records, and construction payment proofs to verify who actually bore the construction funds.

The gift amount is not based on how much the parents actually spent on construction If parents actually spent NT$8 million to build a house, does that mean the gift amount is necessarily NT$8 million? The answer is no. According to Article 10 of the Estate and Gift Tax Act, the value of estate and gift property is generally calculated based on the market price at the time of the gift, and the value of a house is determined based on the assessed standard price of the house (房屋評定標準價格). Therefore, the actual amount parents spent on materials, labor, or construction costs is not the same concept as the house value recognized for gift tax reporting. Under current regulations, the gift value of a house is based on the assessed standard price of the house, and the actual total gift amount should be determined based on individual case data.

2026 gift tax exemption amount is NT$2.44 million, calculated separately for each parent Currently, for fiscal year 115 (2026), the annual gift tax exemption for each donor is NT$2.44 million. The NT$2.44 million exemption is calculated per