Last year, more than 91,300 people abandoned their heirs across the country, the second highest number in nine years.

Last year, the number of abandoned heirs across the country exceeded 91,300, the second highest number in nine years. (Photo by reporter Xu Yiping)

[Reporter Xu Yiping/Taipei Report] As Taiwan has entered a super-aged society, the era of great inheritance of wealth is also taking place. In particular, the number of cases of inheritance tax collected nationwide and the total amount of estates collected in 2025 have both reached a new high in at least nine years. However, on the other hand, the number of abandoned heirs nationwide last year exceeded 91,300, which was the second highest in nine years.

Huang Shuwei, director of Colliers International Real Estate Owner Representative Service Department, said that inheritance may be a gift from the sky, or it may be an unbearable debt that falls from the sky. Therefore, the most common reason for abandonment of inheritance is because the debt of the deceased is greater than the assets. Applying for abandonment of inheritance can cut off the debt relationship. In addition, the heir himself has huge debts. Once he inherits the inheritance, he will be discovered by the creditor and enforced. Therefore, handling of abandonment of inheritance and allowing the property to be directly inherited by other brothers and sisters or by succession according to law can prevent the inheritance from falling into the hands of outsiders.

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Zeng Jingde, project manager of the Xinyi Housing Real Estate Enterprise Research Office, said that inheritance is partially abandoned. In some areas, there may be traditional ideas where boys inherit houses and land and girls share some cash. It will be found that the inheritance rate is higher among women.

According to the Ministry of the Interior, last year, there were more than 72,000 overdue inheritance registrations nationwide, covering about 3,400 hectares, which is about the size of 22.2 Xinyi Planning Areas or nearly 0.57 Chiayi City. In addition, nearly 5,000 buildings have not been registered for inheritance. The Ministry of the Interior pointed out that based on the current value of land announced last year, the total value of uninherited land is as high as 99.2 billion yuan.

Last year, the total value of uninherited land nationwide reached 99.2 billion yuan

According to statistics from the Ministry of Finance, from 2023 to 2025, the number of abandoned heirs nationwide exceeded 90,000 for three consecutive years, with the highest number in 2023 at nearly 92,300. If the time is extended, it can be found that the nine years from 2017 to 2025 During this period, more women than men abandoned inheritance. Looking at the ratio distribution, in 2017, the rate of women abandoning inheritance was about 56.3%, and that of men was about 43.7%. The gap between the two was as high as 12.6 percentage points, the highest in nine years.

However, during the four-year period from 2022 to 2025, the proportion of men and women who abandoned inheritance has narrowed significantly. In 2022, 2024 and 2025, it was even lower than 10 percentage points, and it was the lowest last year, with a gap of about 9.2 percentage points.

He Shichang, CEO of Xinchuan Real Estate Think Tank, pointed out that there are also cases of abandonment and inheritance due to the inability to pay inheritance tax; especially when the inheritance contains a lot of real estate but very little cash, the heir cannot raise enough funds to pay the inheritance tax, or the real estate is located in a remote area or mountainous area, and it is difficult to realize it even if the inheritance is obtained, thus missing the opportunity to own a golden mountain.

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