diff --git a/pkg/models/tasks.go b/pkg/models/tasks.go
index d97347268..978a0f850 100644
--- a/pkg/models/tasks.go
+++ b/pkg/models/tasks.go
@@ -1748,18 +1748,16 @@ func setTaskDatesFromCurrentDateRepeat(oldTask, newTask *Task) {
 }
 
 var (
-	checklistTiptapCheckedRegex   = regexp.MustCompile(`(data-checked=")true(")`)
-	checklistInputCheckedRegex    = regexp.MustCompile(`(<input[^>]*type=["']checkbox["'][^>]*?)\s+checked(?:=["'][^"']*["'])?`)
-	checklistMarkdownCheckedRegex = regexp.MustCompile(`(?m)^(\s*[-*]\s+\[)[xX](\])`)
+	checklistTiptapCheckedRegex = regexp.MustCompile(`(data-checked=")true(")`)
+	checklistInputCheckedRegex  = regexp.MustCompile(`(<input[^>]*type=["']checkbox["'][^>]*?)\s+checked(?:=["'][^"']*["'])?`)
 )
 
-// resetDescriptionChecklist unchecks every checklist item in a description without
-// touching any other content. A recurring task carries its description verbatim into
-// the next occurrence, so checked checklist items would otherwise stay checked.
+// resetDescriptionChecklist unchecks every checklist item in a TipTap HTML description
+// (descriptions are always stored as HTML, never markdown) without touching other content,
+// so a recurring task's next occurrence does not inherit checked items.
 func resetDescriptionChecklist(description string) string {
 	description = checklistTiptapCheckedRegex.ReplaceAllString(description, "${1}false${2}")
 	description = checklistInputCheckedRegex.ReplaceAllString(description, "$1")
-	description = checklistMarkdownCheckedRegex.ReplaceAllString(description, "$1 $2")
 	return description
 }
 
diff --git a/pkg/models/tasks_test.go b/pkg/models/tasks_test.go
index ca24a35cf..433bee18a 100644
--- a/pkg/models/tasks_test.go
+++ b/pkg/models/tasks_test.go
@@ -1006,21 +1006,6 @@ func TestUpdateDone(t *testing.T) {
 			assert.True(t, newTask.DueDate.After(oldTask.DueDate))
 			assert.Equal(t, unchecked, newTask.Description)
 		})
-		t.Run("reset markdown checklist on recurrence", func(t *testing.T) {
-			oldTask := &Task{
-				Done:        false,
-				RepeatAfter: 8600,
-				DueDate:     time.Unix(1550000000, 0),
-			}
-			newTask := &Task{
-				Done:        true,
-				Description: "- [x] one\n- [X] two\n- [ ] three\nnot a [x] checklist",
-			}
-
-			updateDone(oldTask, newTask)
-
-			assert.Equal(t, "- [ ] one\n- [ ] two\n- [ ] three\nnot a [x] checklist", newTask.Description)
-		})
 		t.Run("non-recurring description untouched", func(t *testing.T) {
 			const checked = `before<ul data-type="taskList"><li data-checked="true" data-type="taskItem"><label><input type="checkbox" checked="checked"><span></span></label><div><p>Item</p></li></ul>after`