diff --git a/src/ui/recurringForm.test.ts b/src/ui/recurringForm.test.ts
index c6042c5..9e1073a 100644
--- a/src/ui/recurringForm.test.ts
+++ b/src/ui/recurringForm.test.ts
@@ -53,6 +53,21 @@ describe("offerableCosts", () => {
     actions.endRecurringCost(d, d.recurring[0]!.id, "2026-09");
     expect(offerableCosts(d, "2026-09-20").map((c) => c.name)).not.toContain("Rent");
   });
+
+  // I3 (Critical): the purchase dialog calls this unconditionally on every
+  // render, and the native <input type="date"> lets the owner clear it,
+  // making `date` "". `monthOf("")` throws — uncaught, that took the render
+  // down with no interaction to undo. An empty date is a half-finished form,
+  // not an error, so this returns no costs rather than throwing.
+  test("an empty date offers no costs, rather than throwing", () => {
+    const d = withCosts();
+    expect(offerableCosts(d, "")).toEqual([]);
+  });
+
+  test("any other unparseable date also offers no costs, rather than throwing", () => {
+    const d = withCosts();
+    expect(offerableCosts(d, "not-a-date")).toEqual([]);
+  });
 });
 
 describe("sourceFor", () => {
@@ -103,6 +118,25 @@ describe("sourceFor", () => {
       occurrenceDate: "2026-09-01",
     });
   });
+
+  // I3 follow-up: unlike `offerableCosts`, `sourceFor` is only ever called at
+  // save time (inside store.mutate), never from a render body — so it is NOT
+  // required to tolerate an empty date the way `offerableCosts` is. It stays
+  // strict and throws, exactly like every other bad-date save already does
+  // (ensureMonth's monthOf in addPurchase) — a caught save-time error, not an
+  // uncaught render crash. An anchored cost carries no slot at all and so
+  // never touches monthOf, and is unaffected by an empty date.
+  test("a calendar cost throws on an empty date, same as any other bad-date save", () => {
+    const d = withCosts();
+    const rent = d.recurring.find((c) => c.name === "Rent")!;
+    expect(() => sourceFor(d, rent, "")).toThrow();
+  });
+
+  test("an anchored cost is unaffected by an empty date — it carries no slot", () => {
+    const d = withCosts();
+    const phone = d.recurring.find((c) => c.name === "Phone")!;
+    expect(sourceFor(d, phone, "")).toEqual({ recurringId: phone.id });
+  });
 });
 
 // I2 fix: a month-only purchase date can only ever seed "everyNMonths" +
@@ -137,6 +171,18 @@ describe("newCostOptionIsSelectable", () => {
     expect(newCostOptionIsSelectable("everyNWeeks", "calendar", "2026-09-20")).toBe(true);
     expect(newCostOptionIsSelectable("everyNWeeks", "lastCharge", "2026-09-20")).toBe(true);
   });
+
+  // I3 follow-up: an empty date fails EVERY pairing, including
+  // "everyNMonths" + "calendar" — the one combination that is otherwise
+  // always fine. That combination still hands the date to `monthOf` inside
+  // `seedCostFromDraft`, and an empty string does not parse as a month
+  // either, so it must not be offered as selectable while the date is empty.
+  test("an empty date is never selectable, not even everyNMonths + calendar", () => {
+    expect(newCostOptionIsSelectable("everyNMonths", "calendar", "")).toBe(false);
+    expect(newCostOptionIsSelectable("everyNMonths", "lastCharge", "")).toBe(false);
+    expect(newCostOptionIsSelectable("everyNDays", "calendar", "")).toBe(false);
+    expect(newCostOptionIsSelectable("everyNWeeks", "lastCharge", "")).toBe(false);
+  });
 });
 
 describe("seedCostFromDraft", () => {
@@ -190,4 +236,44 @@ describe("seedCostFromDraft", () => {
       seedCostFromDraft(draft, { kind: "everyNMonths", n: 1 }, "lastCharge").startDate,
     ).toBe("2026-09-20");
   });
+
+  // I3 follow-up: like `sourceFor`, this is only ever called at save time
+  // (inside store.mutate), never from a render body — `newCostOptionIsSelectable`
+  // already disables every "+ New" option for an empty date, so reaching
+  // this with one would mean the combo was chosen before the date was
+  // cleared. It stays strict and throws, exactly like any other bad-date
+  // save (ensureMonth's monthOf in addPurchase) — a caught save-time error,
+  // not an uncaught render crash.
+  test("a month-granular pairing throws on an empty date, same as any other bad-date save", () => {
+    const draft = {
+      date: "",
+      description: "Rent",
+      note: "",
+      amount: 8200,
+      currency: "DKK" as const,
+      splitMode: "percent" as const,
+      splits: [{ postId: "p1", value: 100, absorbsRemainder: true }],
+      plan: null,
+    };
+    expect(() => seedCostFromDraft(draft, { kind: "everyNMonths", n: 1 }, "calendar")).toThrow();
+  });
+
+  test("a day-granular pairing carries an empty date straight through, unvalidated here", () => {
+    // seedCostFromDraft itself does not call monthOf for this pairing — the
+    // store's own requireStartDateGranularity is what would refuse it, at
+    // save time, inside the same guarded mutate call.
+    const draft = {
+      date: "",
+      description: "Phone",
+      note: "",
+      amount: 300,
+      currency: "DKK" as const,
+      splitMode: "percent" as const,
+      splits: [{ postId: "p1", value: 100, absorbsRemainder: true }],
+      plan: null,
+    };
+    expect(
+      seedCostFromDraft(draft, { kind: "everyNMonths", n: 1 }, "lastCharge").startDate,
+    ).toBe("");
+  });
 });
diff --git a/src/ui/recurringForm.ts b/src/ui/recurringForm.ts
index 1426db1..470aa29 100644
--- a/src/ui/recurringForm.ts
+++ b/src/ui/recurringForm.ts
@@ -10,6 +10,26 @@ import type {
 } from "../domain/types.ts";
 import type { PurchaseDraft } from "./purchaseForm.ts";
 
+/**
+ * Whether `date` parses as a month at all. `monthOf` stays strict (it is a
+ * domain function used across the app, and AGENTS.md forbids softening a
+ * domain throw into a fallback) — this wraps it rather than loosening it, so
+ * the UI layer can tell "not a date yet" apart from "a bug" without touching
+ * `src/domain/`.
+ *
+ * A purchase's date starts as a whole month and can be widened to a real day,
+ * but the native `<input type="date">` lets the owner clear it outright —
+ * that is a half-finished FORM, not a domain value, and belongs handled here.
+ */
+function isParseableMonth(date: IsoDate): boolean {
+  try {
+    monthOf(date);
+    return true;
+  } catch {
+    return false;
+  }
+}
+
 /**
  * The costs a purchase dated `date` could be a charge for.
  *
@@ -18,8 +38,15 @@ import type { PurchaseDraft } from "./purchaseForm.ts";
  * refresh. A `calendar` cost is offerable only where its grid actually has a
  * slot in that purchase's month; tagging one outside its grid would record a
  * charge settling nothing.
+ *
+ * `date` can be empty: the purchase dialog calls this unconditionally on
+ * every render, and the native `<input type="date">` lets the owner clear it.
+ * An empty (or otherwise unparseable) date is not an error to report here —
+ * it is just a form the owner has not finished — so nothing is offered rather
+ * than throwing `monthOf`'s parse error out of a render body.
  */
 export function offerableCosts(dataset: Dataset, date: IsoDate): RecurringCost[] {
+  if (!isParseableMonth(date)) return [];
   const month = monthOf(date);
   return dataset.recurring
     .filter((cost) => !cost.archived)
@@ -50,6 +77,14 @@ export function offerableCosts(dataset: Dataset, date: IsoDate): RecurringCost[]
  * falls there. That is correct for both a month-granular grid and a
  * day-granular calendar cost. If nothing falls in that month, the cost
  * should never have been offered — throw rather than invent a slot.
+ *
+ * Unlike `offerableCosts`, this does NOT guard against an empty
+ * `purchaseDate` by returning something inert — it is only ever called at
+ * save time (inside `store.mutate`, via `useMutate`), never from a render
+ * body, so a bad date here surfaces as a caught save-time error, exactly like
+ * every other bad-date save already does (`ensureMonth`'s `monthOf` in
+ * `addPurchase`). Softening it would invent a second rule for the same
+ * situation rather than reuse the one that already exists.
  */
 export function sourceFor(
   dataset: Dataset,
@@ -96,16 +131,31 @@ export function sourceFor(
  * (PurchaseDialog's "+ New recurring cost…" unit and anchoring selects).
  * Exported so each option can check this without duplicating the rule, and so
  * it is testable on its own — a DOM test cannot exercise a predicate.
+ *
+ * An empty `purchaseDate` (the native date input, cleared) fails EVERY
+ * pairing, including "everyNMonths" + "calendar": that combination is
+ * otherwise always fine, but it still hands `purchaseDate` to `monthOf` in
+ * `seedCostFromDraft`, and an empty string does not even parse as a month.
  */
 export function newCostOptionIsSelectable(
   kind: Recurrence["kind"],
   anchoring: Anchoring,
   purchaseDate: IsoDate,
 ): boolean {
+  if (!isParseableMonth(purchaseDate)) return false;
   const needsDay = kind !== "everyNMonths" || anchoring === "lastCharge";
   return !needsDay || purchaseDate.length > 7;
 }
 
+/**
+ * Like `sourceFor`, this does NOT guard against an empty `draft.date` — it is
+ * only ever called at save time, inside `store.mutate`. The dialog's
+ * "+ New recurring cost…" options are already disabled for an empty date via
+ * `newCostOptionIsSelectable`, so reaching this with one would mean the
+ * combo was selected before the date was cleared; the resulting throw (from
+ * `monthOf` here, or from the store's own `requireStartDateGranularity`) is
+ * caught the same way any other bad-date save already is.
+ */
 export function seedCostFromDraft(
   draft: PurchaseDraft,
   recurrence: Recurrence,