Tax

Please contact the National Taxation Bureau of Taipei, Ministry of Finance .

If you have met all of the following requirements you are eligible to apply for tax incentives:

1. You have been approved for the first time to reside in the R.O.C. for the purpose of work.
2. You have engaged in professional work related to the recognized special expertise in the R.O.C.
3. During the last 5 years prior to the day of your employment engaged in professional work or the day of obtaining your Employment Gold Card, you did not have household registration in the R.O.C. and were not an resident individual of the R.O.C. in accordance with the Income Tax Act.

For related regulations, please see Article 3 of the Regulations Governing Reduction and Exemption of Income Tax of Foreign Specialist Professionals and Article 20 of the Act for the Recruitment and Employment of Foreign Professionals.

If the foreign company has no business premises or revenue in Taiwan and only has employee expenses, the foreign company can subtract its expenses from its income, resulting in a negative number, and therefore does not need to declare taxes. However, the Taiwan-based employees of the foreign company must declare their personal income tax in accordance with the law. For more information please refer to the following website.

For information and precautions regarding personal income tax, please refer to the following website.

Starting from January 1, 2023, if the foreign national resides in Taiwan for more than 183 days and their overseas company operates in accordance with the Controlled Foreign Company (CFC) Rule, it must declare profit-seeking enterprise income tax. For more information on the CFC anti-tax avoidance tax rules, please refer to this website .

If you have any questions about the CFC system, please contact the Ministry of Finance’s toll-free number 0800-000-321. For more information about the CFC system, please refer to the Ministry of Finance’s website .

If a Taiwan-based company hires foreign employees, it will not affect the amount of business income tax collected by the government. According to the Business Income Tax Division of the Taipei National Taxation Bureau, tax incentives for foreign general professionals and specific professionals are handled in accordance with legal regulations, and hiring foreign employees does not affect the collection of business income tax. Please refer to the link for more details.

For freelancers in Taiwan, the tax filing procedures may vary depending on the employment situation.

Scenario 1: Employment by a Taiwanese Company (with holding tax statement) If you are employed by a Taiwanese company, a withholding tax statement will be usually be provided. The National Taxation Bureau obtains relevant income information in May and can start processing individual income tax filing matters within the same month. In the case that you have left the country before May, it is recommended to complete the tax filing procedures along with the withholding tax statement in advance.

Scenario 2: Personal Employment in Taiwan (Without withholding tax statement) In this case, when filing your tax, provide relevant payment receipts, such as remittance records or payslips. Additionally, you should attach documents such as employment contract as proof.

Scenario 3: Salary Paid by Foreign Company If your income comes from a foreign company, you need to prepare documents certified by the local tax authorities when filing taxes, and provide the original income document notarized by a qualified local accountant or notary public, along with a copy of the accountant’s license. If the above documents are unable to be provided, please provide documents such as invoices or contracts as proof of income source. For reference in the filing process: Resident (staying at least 183 days in taxable year)

In addition, when foreigners do not provide proof of entry or days of arrival in Taiwan when filing taxes, and if the company has already filed taxes and obtained relevant documents, it is necessary to correct the data on the withholding voucher through the company’s re-filing of taxes. If this opportunity is missed, one must wait until the next tax filing period. The National Taxation Bureau will then calculate whether there is any tax refund based on the information provided by the National Immigration Agency (depending on the situation). For more information, please refer to: Your Status and How to File Tax

A foreign special professional meeting the requirements of tax incentives shall apply for the tax incentives to the competent tax authority when filing his/her annual income tax return in May every year or the departure income tax return before leaving the R.O.C.

• For those obtaining the foreign special professional employment (work) permit, the required documents are as follows:

  1. Application for Exemption from Income Tax for Foreign Special Professionals.
  2. The supporting document of the first-time approval to reside in the R.O.C. for the purpose of work (i.e.: a photocopy of the ARC with the reason for work); in the case of a foreign special professional having been previously approved to reside in the R.O.C., the supporting document showing the previous approval not related to the engagement of the professional work is also required (i.e.: a photocopy of the ARC for study or as a dependent).
  3. A photocopy of the foreign special professional employment (work) permit document issued by the Ministry of Labor or by the Ministry of Education.
  4. An employment contract and other supporting documents showing the employment engaged in professional work is related to the recognized special expertise.

• For those obtaining the Employment Gold Card, the required documents are as follows:

  1. Application for Exemption from Income Tax for Foreign Special Professionals.
  2. A photocopy of the Employment Gold Card with the first-time approval to reside in the R.O.C. for the purpose of work; in the case a foreign special professional having been previously approved to reside in the R.O.C., the supporting document showing the previous approval not related to the engagement of the professional work is also required (i.e.: a photocopy of the ARC for study or as a dependent).
  3. An employment contract and other supporting documents showing the employment engaged in professional work is related to the recognized special expertise.

• For those who are exempted from applying for the work permits in accordance with Article 7 of the Act, the required documents are as follows:

  1. Application for Exemption from Income Tax for Foreign Special Professionals.
  2. The supporting document of the first-time approval to reside in the R.O.C. for the purpose of work (i.e.: a photocopy of the ARC with the reason for work); in the case of a foreign special professional having been previously approved to reside in the R.O.C., the supporting document showing the previous approval not related to the engagement of the professional work is also required (i.e.: a photocopy of the ARC for study or as a dependent).
  3. A photocopy of the relevant certificate of having special expertise issued by the central competent authority.
  4. An employment contract and other supporting documents showing the employment engaged in professional work is related to the recognized special expertise.

Please try using the Quick Calculation of Alien Individual Income Tax for Year 2021 through the Ministry of Finance’s eTax Portal .

For a foreigner who remains in the R.O.C. within one taxable year:

(1) Not more than 90 days:

A. The income tax shall be withheld at the income sources or declared and taxed in accordance with the withholding rate.

B. The income tax shall be exempted for income derived from employer(s) outside the R.O.C.

(2) More than 90 days:

A. The income derived within the R.O.C. shall be filed in accordance with a withholding statement as declared by the taxpayer.

B. Income paid by an employer outside the territory of the R.O.C. must also be reported by the taxpayer. The taxpayer will be required to submit a certificate of earnings notarized by the tax authorities concerned from the employer(s) outside the territory of the R.O.C. If a certificate from the tax authorities is not available, a notarized certificate issued by a notary public or certified public accountant (CPA) is acceptable. In the case where such a certificate is to be used, a photocopy of the license of the CPA who issued the certificate must also be submitted. If the taxpayer fails to submit a certificate of earnings issued by the tax authority or certified by a notary public or CPA, the tax office will assess the amount payable according to the standard amounts. Any income received in foreign currency should be exchanged into New Taiwan Dollars (NT$) on the basis of the official foreign exchange rates or prevailing transfer rates at the time the income is actually or constructively received.

Please review the Instructions for Alien Individual Income Tax .

If you have any specific tax questions, please call the National Taxation Bureau at +886-2-23113711 #1116

1. The tax incentives regulated in the “Act for the Recruitment and Employment of Foreign Professionals” (hereinafter referred to as “the Act”) came into force on February 8, 2018. A qualified foreign special professional can apply for this tax relief from 2018. In order to strengthen the incentives for recruiting foreign special professionals, full text of the Act was amended and promulgated on July 7, 2021, and the Act was executed on October 25, 2021 by the Executive Yuan. Among the amendments include the extension of the applicable period of tax incentives from 3 years to 5 years as specified in Article 20 (formerly Article 9).
2. From 2018, if a foreigner engages in professional work and meets certain requirements, then within 5 years starting from the tax year in which the foreign special professional for the first time meets the conditions of residing in the R.O.C. for 183 days or more, and having a salary income of more than NT$3,000,000, only the NT$3,000,000 salary income and half of the amount above the NT$3,000,000 in each such tax year shall be included in the gross income for the assessment of individual income tax liability. If the foreigner obtains overseas income set forth in the provisions of Subparagraph 1, Paragraph 1, Article 12 of the Income Basic Tax Act in such tax year, such income shall be excluded from the basic income.
3. A foreign special professional who applied for the tax incentives of the Act before July 7, 2021 may apply for the tax benefits for a period of 5 years. For example, if he/she applied for the tax incentives from 2018 to 2020 and meets the regulations in the years of 2021 and 2022, he/she can also apply for the tax incentives.

1. According to “The Scope of Application for Tax Preferences Provided to Foreign Professionals” (promulgated by Decree No. 09804119810 and issued by the Ministry of Finance on March 12, 2010), if an employer hires a foreign professional qualified for the tax preferences, the payment made in accordance with the content of an employment contract may be declared as operation expenses by the employer, such as the round trip air fare of the foreign professionals and his/her family, home leave vacation pay according to the contract, home moving expenses, utility bills, cleaning bills, telephone bills, house rentals, repair costs for place of residence, and educational scholarships for children and such items may be excluded from the taxable income of the foreign professionals.
2. The “tax preferences provided to foreign professionals” can be applied during the entire employment period. However, the “tax incentives for foreign special professionals” are restricted to the applicable year and with threshold of salary income. Although the content of “tax incentives for foreign special professionals” and “tax preferences provided to foreign professionals” are different, as long as a foreign special professional meets the requirements of these two tax benefits, he/she can apply for both tax benefits simultaneously. In other words, if a qualified foreign special professional also meets the requirements of “tax preferences provided to foreign professionals”, his/her taxable salary income can be calculated in accordance with the “The Scope of Application for Tax Preferences Provided to Foreign Professionals”, and his/her taxable salary may be also calculated based on the Act for the Recruitment and Employment of Foreign Professionals.

The term “first 5 years” in the tax incentives shall start from the year when the foreign special professional has resided in the R.O.C. for 183 days or more for the first time, and has an annual salary income over NT$3,000,000. The taxpayer cannot choose the starting year and applicable years as he/she wishes.

Example of engaging in professional work in the R.O.C. for the first time in 2021:

David, obtaining the foreign special professional employment permit in 2021 and meeting the requirements, stays in the R.O.C. for 183 days or more and has an annual salary income over NT$3,000,000 derived from his special professional work during the years 2021 ~ 2025. Year 2021 is the first applicable year and David can apply for the tax incentives from 2021 to 2025.

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If a foreign special professional meeting requirements obtains the income set forth in Subparagraph 1, Paragraph 1, Article 12 of the Income Basic Tax Act in such applicable tax year, such income may be excluded from the income basic tax. However, if he/she obtains other kinds of basic income other than overseas income (such as income derived from securities transactions), and the sum of such income and the net taxable income exceeds the threshold (NT$6,700,000 from the tax year 2021), he/she shall still file the income basic tax return.

1. Employment Gold Card Holders—– Employment Gold Card and Employment Contract.

2. Foreign Special Professionals—– Alien Resident Certificate, Work Permit Letter issued by the Ministry of Labor, and Employment Contract.

   Please refer to the Application Form for Exemption from Income Tax for Foreign Special Professionals.

In accordance with Article 25 of the Act for the Recruitment and Employment of Foreign Professionals , an ROC national who concurrently holds foreign nationality and has not established household registration in the R.O.C., and who has resided in the R.O.C. as holder of a foreign passport to engage in professional work or to seek employment, shall be treated in accordance with the requirements of the Act. In other words, those with dual nationalities are also eligible to apply for the tax incentives for foreign special professionals as regulated by Article 20 of the Act, and he/she should fill the application for Exemption from Income Tax for Foreign Special Professionals and certify that the nationality information is true and correct to the best of his/her knowledge and belief.

If you have previously been approved to reside in the R.O.C. before your employment engaged in professional work in the R.O.C., such approval is not given because of your engagement in the professional work (such as residence for study or as dependents); therefore, you are exempt from the first-time approval limitation.

This refers to an individual who has no household registration in the R.O.C. and stays less than 183 days within each year (1/1~12/31).

In accordance with Article 24 of the Act for the Recruitment and Employment of Foreign Professionals , the provisions apply mutatis mutandis to residents of Hong Kong and Macau areas. In other words, Hong Kong or Macau residents are also eligible to apply for the tax incentives for foreign special professionals as regulated by Article 20 of the Act.

Since your salary income is less than NT$3,000,000 or the total days of your stay in the R.O.C. is less than 183 days in 2021, 2022 is the first year in which you qualify for tax incentives, and the tax incentives last for 5 years (from 2022 to 2026). Therefore, the applicable years for your tax incentives are 2022 ~ 2026.

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1. The amount of income from salaries shall include all salaries after deducting the special deduction of income from salaries or necessary expenses. Assuming a special deduction of income from salaries NT$200,000 in this case, then a salary income of NT$8,000,000 (= NT$8,200,000 – NT$200,000).

2. Amount of non-taxable salary income = (NT$8,000,000 – NT$3,000,000) *50% =NT$2,500,000

   Amount of taxable salary income = NT$8,000,000-NT$2,500,000=NT$5,500,000

3. Overseas income NT$2,000,000 is excluded from basic income.

For any individual income tax related questions, you can refer to the Ministry of Finance website FAQ .

To apply for a tax refund, you can proceed to an inquiry on the Ministry of Finance following portal .

Yes, if you disagree with your final assessment, you can apply for a tax recheck, depending on your case. For more information, you can visit the Ministry of Finance web portal.