Taiwan Personal Tax Basics

Domicile with habitual residence, or at least 183 days

Article 7 treats an individual as resident if domiciled and habitually resident in the territory, or, without that domicile, present for at least 183 days during the tax year. The second route is inclusive of day 183; citizenship or a residence permit alone does not replace the statutory tests.

Calendar-year visits are combined

MOF's alien-tax instructions use the calendar year and add separate visits together. Arrival day is excluded and departure day is included. The annual tax count should not be substituted for the multi-year immigration or naturalisation residence calculation.

Local work can be taxable despite overseas payroll

Compensation for work performed in Taiwan is generally local-source. Article 8 has a limited exception for a nonresident staying no more than ninety days in the year and paid by an overseas employer. It does not exempt all foreign-paid workers or everyone staying fewer than 183 days.

Withholding does not resolve every filing obligation

The official instructions distinguish nonresident withholding from declarations for relevant income not fully dealt with at source, including locally earned pay from an overseas employer where taxable. Residents generally make an annual return in May, with departure-related filing rules requiring separate attention.

Overseas income can enter the resident basic-tax calculation

Resident overseas income is not simply ignored: MOF says qualifying overseas income of at least NT$1 million enters the basic-income calculation. That inclusion alone does not mean extra tax is payable; the comparison with ordinary income tax, applicable deduction and other rules still matter. Any credit for overseas tax is subject to a limit, not an automatic full refund.

Foreign-special-professional relief is conditional

Qualifying foreign special professionals under Article 22 and its tax-relief regulations can obtain five-year relief starting with their first qualifying year of at least 183 days and professional salary above NT$3 million. The benefit excludes half the salary above that amount from ordinary income and overseas income from basic income, subject to the statutory conditions and an application with supporting evidence; it is not available merely because a worker is foreign.