Taiwan Tax Basics 台灣稅務基礎

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Navigate Taiwan's tax system including corporate income tax (營所稅), business tax (營業稅), personal income tax, withholding obligations, and startup tax incentives. Use this skill when the user needs to understand Taiwan tax obligations, calculate tax liability, file taxes, or plan for tax efficiency — even if they say 'how much tax do we owe', 'what's the corporate tax rate in Taiwan', 'tax filing deadlines', or 'are there startup tax breaks'.

台灣產業技能：Taiwan Tax Basics 分析與應用。

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Framework 框架

IRON LAW: Three Taxes Every Taiwan Business Must Know

1. 營業稅 (Business Tax / VAT): 5% on sales, filed bimonthly
2. 營利事業所得稅 (Corporate Income Tax): 20% on profit, filed annually
3. 扣繳 (Withholding Tax): Withheld at source on payments to individuals/foreigners

Missing any filing deadline triggers penalties. Set up calendar reminders
for ALL filing dates at company registration.

Tax Calendar

Tax	Rate	Filing Frequency	Deadline
營業稅 (VAT)	5%	Bimonthly	15th of following odd month (Jan 15, Mar 15, May 15...)
營所稅 (CIT)	20%	Annual	May 1-31 (for prior year)
暫繳 (Interim CIT)	50% of prior year	Annual	September 1-30
扣繳 (Withholding)	Varies	Monthly + annual	10th of following month; annual filing by Jan 31
個人綜所稅	Progressive 5-40%	Annual	May 1-31

Corporate Income Tax (營所稅)

Taxable Income = Revenue - Cost of Goods Sold - Operating Expenses - Non-operating Deductions
Tax = Taxable Income × 20%

Special cases:
- Taxable income ≤ NT$120,000: tax-free
- NT$120,001 ~ NT$500,000: half rate applied on amount exceeding $120K
- > NT$500,000: full 20% rate

Common deductions:

Employee salaries and benefits
Rent, utilities, office expenses
Depreciation on fixed assets
R&D expenses (additional 200% deduction under 產創條例)
Bad debt (with proper documentation)

Business Tax (營業稅 / VAT)

Transaction	VAT Treatment
Domestic sales	Charge 5% → collect from buyer → remit to government
Domestic purchases	Pay 5% → claim as input tax credit
Export sales	Zero-rated (0%) — can still claim input credits
Import purchases	Pay 5% at customs → claim as input credit

Filing: Net VAT = Output tax (collected) - Input tax (paid). If negative (more input than output), get a refund.

Withholding Tax (扣繳)

Payment Type	Resident Rate	Non-Resident Rate
Salary	5% (if monthly > certain threshold)	6-18%
Professional service fees	10%	20%
Rent	10%	20%
Dividends	Included in personal income	21%
Royalties	10%	20%
Interest	10%	20%

Startup Tax Incentives

Incentive	What It Does	Who Qualifies
產創條例 R&D 投資抵減	15% of R&D spend as tax credit (or 10% over 3 years)	Companies with qualifying R&D activities
天使投資人減稅	Individual investors can deduct up to NT$3M from income	Investment in startups < 2 years old, held 2+ years
員工認股權 (ESOP)	Deferred taxation on stock options until exercise	Companies issuing employee stock options
營所稅小規模免稅	Taxable income ≤ NT$120K exempt	Very small businesses

Output Format輸出格式

# Taiwan Tax Assessment: {Company}

Gotchas注意事項

營業稅 and 營所稅 are different taxes: 營業稅 is VAT on transactions (5%). 營所稅 is corporate income tax on profit (20%). Both are required. Don't confuse them.
Input VAT requires 統一發票: You can only claim input tax credits with proper 統一發票 (uniform invoice). Receipts (收據) from non-registered vendors don't count.
Foreign service payments: Paying a foreign SaaS provider (AWS, Google, etc.)? You must withhold 20% tax and report it, unless a tax treaty applies. Many startups miss this.
Transfer pricing for cross-border: If you have related-party transactions with overseas entities, transfer pricing rules apply. Document arm's-length pricing.
This is educational guidance, not tax advice: Taiwan tax law is amended frequently. Consult a licensed CPA (會計師) for specific tax situations and filings.

References參考資料

For e-invoice system, see the tw-einvoice-guide skill
For detailed CIT deduction rules, see references/cit-deductions.md

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taiwantaxcorporate-taxstartup