MOF to announce winners of mobile tax filing lottery Friday

Taipei, Aug. 19 (CNA) The winners of a lottery for taxpayers, including foreign nationals, who filed their 2025 individual income tax returns using a mobile device will be announced at 4 p.m. Friday, the Ministry of Finance (MOF) said Wednesday.

Prizes include cash awards of up to NT$50,000 (US$1,565) and electronic vouchers worth NT$200 or NT$500, and winners must claim them by Nov. 25, the MOF said.

The winners will be announced on the MOF's Facebook page and the official websites of regional taxation bureaus.

According to the National Taxation Bureau, 2.89 million individual income tax returns were filed using mobile devices this year, an increase of more than 290,000, or 11.15 percent, from the previous year.

Among more than 2.64 million eligible households, 19,586 will receive prizes, including 86 cash prizes and 19,500 digital coupon prizes, the bureau said.

The cash prizes consist of one NT$50,000 top prize, five NT$20,000 prizes, 10 NT$10,000 prizes, 20 NT$5,000 prizes and 50 NT$2,000 prizes.

The digital prizes include 3,000 NT$500 electronic vouchers and 16,500 NT$200 electronic vouchers.

The bureau said cash prize winners will be notified by registered mail, and the prize money will be deposited directly into their designated bank accounts.

Winners of electronic coupons, meanwhile, will receive a text message with the sender ID "111," indicating that the message is an official government message.

The bureau added the message will be sent to phone numbers registered with the tax filing system and will include a link to the MOF's website with instructions on how to redeem the prize.

Under Taiwan's tax regulations, cash prizes exceeding NT$20,000 are subject to a 10 percent withholding tax, which will be deducted automatically.

The bureau stressed that it will never notify winners by phone or ask them to use an ATM to claim their prizes.

It also will never require winners to pay taxes in advance and urged the public to remain vigilant against lottery scams.