diff --git a/.changeset/fix-flat-taxonomy-term-description.md b/.changeset/fix-flat-taxonomy-term-description.md
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..8208341e3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.changeset/fix-flat-taxonomy-term-description.md
@@ -0,0 +1,11 @@
+---
+"emdash": patch
+---
+
+`getTaxonomyTerms()` now returns the term `description` for flat
+(non-hierarchical) taxonomies (#1419)
+
+The query already fetched the `data` column, but the non-hierarchical branch
+dropped it when mapping rows to `TaxonomyTerm` — only hierarchical taxonomies
+(via `buildTree`) parsed the description. Descriptions set in the admin UI are
+now returned for both kinds of taxonomies.
diff --git a/packages/core/src/taxonomies/index.ts b/packages/core/src/taxonomies/index.ts
index 38865d170..6d3ee776a 100644
--- a/packages/core/src/taxonomies/index.ts
+++ b/packages/core/src/taxonomies/index.ts
@@ -148,6 +148,7 @@ export async function getTaxonomyTerms(
 			name: term.name,
 			slug: term.slug,
 			label: term.label,
+			description: term.data ? JSON.parse(term.data).description : undefined,
 			children: [],
 			count: counts.get(term.translation_group ?? term.id) ?? 0,
 			locale: term.locale,
diff --git a/packages/core/tests/unit/taxonomies/get-taxonomy-terms.test.ts b/packages/core/tests/unit/taxonomies/get-taxonomy-terms.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..f1feaa930
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/core/tests/unit/taxonomies/get-taxonomy-terms.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,67 @@
+import { afterEach, beforeEach, expect, it, vi } from "vitest";
+
+import { TaxonomyRepository } from "../../../src/database/repositories/taxonomy.js";
+import {
+	describeEachDialect,
+	setupForDialectWithCollections,
+	teardownForDialect,
+	type DialectTestContext,
+} from "../../utils/test-db.js";
+
+// Mock loader.getDb so the runtime taxonomy functions read from our test db.
+vi.mock("../../../src/loader.js", () => ({
+	getDb: vi.fn(),
+}));
+
+import { getDb } from "../../../src/loader.js";
+import { getTaxonomyTerms, invalidateTermCache } from "../../../src/taxonomies/index.js";
+
+describeEachDialect("getTaxonomyTerms", (dialect) => {
+	let ctx: DialectTestContext;
+	let taxRepo: TaxonomyRepository;
+
+	beforeEach(async () => {
+		ctx = await setupForDialectWithCollections(dialect);
+		taxRepo = new TaxonomyRepository(ctx.db);
+		vi.mocked(getDb).mockResolvedValue(ctx.db);
+		invalidateTermCache();
+	});
+
+	afterEach(async () => {
+		invalidateTermCache();
+		await teardownForDialect(ctx);
+		vi.restoreAllMocks();
+	});
+
+	it("includes the description for flat (non-hierarchical) taxonomies", async () => {
+		// `tag` is seeded as non-hierarchical.
+		await taxRepo.create({
+			name: "tag",
+			slug: "longevity",
+			label: "Longevity",
+			data: { description: "Healthy aging. wikidata:Q380274" },
+		});
+		await taxRepo.create({ name: "tag", slug: "wellness", label: "Wellness" });
+
+		const terms = await getTaxonomyTerms("tag");
+
+		expect(terms.map((t) => t.slug)).toEqual(["longevity", "wellness"]);
+		expect(terms[0].description).toBe("Healthy aging. wikidata:Q380274");
+		expect(terms[1].description).toBeUndefined();
+	});
+
+	it("includes the description for hierarchical taxonomies (control)", async () => {
+		// `category` is seeded as hierarchical.
+		await taxRepo.create({
+			name: "category",
+			slug: "tech",
+			label: "Technology",
+			data: { description: "All things tech" },
+		});
+
+		const terms = await getTaxonomyTerms("category");
+
+		expect(terms).toHaveLength(1);
+		expect(terms[0].description).toBe("All things tech");
+	});
+});