Tax residence in Taiwan for U.S. citizens and green card holders

Taiwan treats a foreigner as resident after 183 days or more of stay in a calendar year; a home or center of interests does not matter for foreigners. Citizens of Taiwan with a household registration are resident with 31 days — or even fewer if the center of their life and economic interests is in Taiwan. Even a resident pays Taiwan's regular income tax only on Taiwan-source income; U.S. and other foreign income can fall only under the minimum (basic) tax. There is no comprehensive income tax agreement between the United States and Taiwan, so dual residence is not resolved and relief comes only from the U.S. foreign tax credit or the foreign earned income exclusion.

Check your status: United States and Taiwan

Free, no sign-up, about 3 minutes. Conclusion under U.S. law, compared with the law of Taiwan and the tax treaty.

When Taiwan treats you as a tax resident

Taiwan has two residence criteria. The first is domicile and habitual residence: the Ministry of Finance ties it to household registration (戶籍), which only citizens entered in Taiwan's household register have. So Taiwanese citizens are asked about registration first; for foreigners (including holders of a resident certificate, ARC) only the second criterion applies — 183 days of stay in the calendar year.

If you had a household registration in Taiwan in the tax year, the number of days decides: 31 days or more — you are resident; 1 to 30 days — resident if your center of life and economic interests is in Taiwan. Without registration only the 183-day criterion applies.

A person with a household registration is resident if he or she stayed in Taiwan for a total of 31 days or more in the calendar year. Days are counted from entry and exit dates: the first day of a trip does not count, the last does; trips are added up.

With 1 to 30 days of stay and a household registration you are resident only if your center of life and economic interests is in Taiwan. If you were not in Taiwan on a single day this year, none of the criteria of the Ministry of Finance ruling is met.

Taiwan's tax authorities assess the center of life and economic interests as a whole: whether you are covered by Taiwan's social insurance (in particular National Health Insurance), whether your spouse or minor children live in Taiwan, and whether you run a business, manage assets, work or hold a post as director or manager there.

You do not know the exact number of days. If your center of life and economic interests is in Taiwan, one day of stay is enough; otherwise 31 days are needed, and without the number of days your status cannot be determined.

You are not sure whether you had a household registration. 183 days of stay make you resident regardless of it; with fewer days the result depends on the registration — check it with an extract from the household register.

Without a single day in Taiwan this year you are not resident either by household registration or by days. If there were days, the result depends on whether you had a registration.

Without a domicile (household registration) you are a resident of Taiwan if you stayed there for a total of 183 days or more in the calendar year. The reason for the stay does not matter; the days of all trips are added up, with the first day of each trip not counted and the last day counted. A home, family or job in Taiwan does not make you resident without 183 days.

You had a household registration in Taiwan and stayed there 31 days or more this year — you are a Taiwan tax resident under Art. 7(2), item 1 of the Income Tax Act. Taiwan taxes residents only on Taiwan-source income — at rates from 5% to 40%; income from outside Taiwan is not part of the regular tax and can only fall under the minimum (basic) tax if it totals NT$1,000,000 or more a year.
You had a household registration in Taiwan, stayed there 1 to 30 days, and your center of life and economic interests is in Taiwan: you are probably a Taiwan tax resident. The assessment of the center of interests depends on all the facts. Taiwan taxes residents only on Taiwan-source income — at rates from 5% to 40%; income from outside Taiwan is not part of the regular tax and can only fall under the minimum (basic) tax if it totals NT$1,000,000 or more a year.
You had a household registration in Taiwan and your center of life and economic interests is in Taiwan: if you stayed there at least one day this year, you are a Taiwan tax resident. Count the days from your passport stamps. Taiwan taxes residents only on Taiwan-source income — at rates from 5% to 40%; income from outside Taiwan is not part of the regular tax and can only fall under the minimum (basic) tax if it totals NT$1,000,000 or more a year.
You stayed in Taiwan for a total of 183 days or more this calendar year — you are a Taiwan tax resident under Art. 7(2), item 2 of the Income Tax Act, for the whole year. Taiwan taxes residents only on Taiwan-source income — at rates from 5% to 40%; income from outside Taiwan is not part of the regular tax and can only fall under the minimum (basic) tax if it totals NT$1,000,000 or more a year. If you leave for good during the year, file the return for that year before you leave.

When you are a nonresident

You had a household registration in Taiwan but stayed there fewer than 31 days, and your center of life and economic interests is not in Taiwan: you are probably not a Taiwan tax resident. Taiwan taxes non-residents only on Taiwan-source income, mostly by withholding at source: salary — 18% (6% if the monthly salary is up to NT$44,250), dividends — 21%, interest, rent, royalties and professional fees — 20%.
You had a household registration in Taiwan and stayed there 1 to 30 days; whether your center of life and economic interests is there has not been determined. If it is not, you are a non-resident of Taiwan; if it is, a resident. The tax authorities consider social insurance in Taiwan, where your spouse and minor children live, and business, assets and work in Taiwan.
You had a household registration in Taiwan but were not there a single day this year — under the criteria of the 2012 Ministry of Finance ruling you are not a Taiwan tax resident. Taiwan taxes non-residents only on Taiwan-source income, mostly by withholding at source: salary — 18% (6% if the monthly salary is up to NT$44,250), dividends — 21%, interest, rent, royalties and professional fees — 20%.
You were not in Taiwan a single day this year — you are not a Taiwan tax resident either by household registration or by the 183-day test. Taiwan taxes non-residents only on Taiwan-source income, mostly by withholding at source: salary — 18% (6% if the monthly salary is up to NT$44,250), dividends — 21%, interest, rent, royalties and professional fees — 20%.
Without a household registration in Taiwan and with fewer than 183 days of stay this calendar year you are not a Taiwan tax resident. Taiwan taxes non-residents only on Taiwan-source income, mostly by withholding at source: salary — 18% (6% if the monthly salary is up to NT$44,250), dividends — 21%, interest, rent, royalties and professional fees — 20%. Pay from a foreign employer for work in Taiwan is not taxed there if you stayed in Taiwan no more than 90 days in the year.

Where the rules of Taiwan clash with U.S. tax rules

Collision: resident of both — no treaty to settle it. Taiwan decides residence by days (183 days, or 31 days with a household registration), the United States by citizenship, a green card or the substantial presence test. Without a treaty nothing resolves the conflict. But Taiwan's regular income tax reaches only Taiwan-source income, so double tax concerns mainly that income: pay for work done in Taiwan (including remote work for a U.S. employer), Taiwan rents and dividends of Taiwanese companies. The United States taxes it as part of your worldwide income and credits the Taiwan tax or lets you exclude foreign earned income under § 911. Your U.S. income is outside Taiwan's regular tax and can only enter the minimum (basic) tax.
Collision: green-card holder resident in Taiwan — no treaty to rely on. A green card makes you a U.S. resident for the whole year regardless of the days you spend in the United States. Where a treaty exists, a green-card holder can sometimes claim treaty residence in the other country; with no U.S.–Taiwan treaty that route is closed, and the closer connection exception is part of the substantial presence test, which does not apply to green-card holders. So while you hold the green card, the United States taxes your worldwide income and Taiwan taxes you under its own rules; double tax is relieved only by the U.S. foreign tax credit or the foreign earned income exclusion. The status lasts until the green card is formally revoked or abandoned (Form I-407).

What else to know

No income tax agreement between the United States and Taiwan. There is no comprehensive income tax agreement between the United States and Taiwan: Taiwan's Ministry of Finance list (36 comprehensive agreements as of 4 September 2026) does not include the United States, and the two have only a limited agreement on shipping and air transport income (signed 31 May 1988). Consequences: there is no tie-breaker, so you can be a resident of both at once; no treaty rule exempts pay for short work stays beyond Taiwan's own 90-day rule; Taiwan's withholding rates on payments to U.S. residents are not reduced (dividends 21%; interest, rent, royalties and professional fees 20%); there is no mutual agreement procedure. A U.S. bill to grant treaty-like relief to Taiwan residents (H.R. 33, United States-Taiwan Expedited Double-Tax Relief Act) passed the House of Representatives in January 2025; we have not confirmed that it became law, so it is not reflected here. Double tax is relieved only unilaterally: in the United States by the foreign tax credit or the foreign earned income exclusion (§ 911); in Taiwan, foreign tax is credited only within the minimum (basic) tax.
Not a U.S. citizen or green-card holder: without a treaty only the closer connection exception helps. You are a U.S. resident only under the substantial presence test. With no U.S.–Taiwan treaty you cannot claim treaty nonresidence under a tie-breaker. The only way out of U.S. residence is the closer connection exception: fewer than 183 days in the United States in the year, a tax home in Taiwan for the whole year, a closer connection to Taiwan than to the United States, a timely Form 8840, and no green-card application (e.g. Form I-485). If it applies, you are a nonresident alien taxed in the U.S. only on U.S.-source income and income connected with a U.S. business.
Taiwan does not charge regular tax on income from outside Taiwan. Even as a Taiwan resident you pay the regular income tax only on Taiwan-source income. Income from the United States and other countries (pay for work outside Taiwan, dividends, interest, rents, sales of property) counts only for the minimum (basic) tax: if it totals NT$1,000,000 or more a year on the household return, it is added to basic income, and 20% of basic income above NT$7,500,000 is compared with the regular tax — the difference is payable. Tax paid abroad on that income is credited up to the increase in basic tax. You must report this income yourself — it is not in the data the tax authority provides. A U.S. citizen or resident reports the same income on the U.S. return as well.
Calendar year in both — but days are counted differently. Both Taiwan and the United States decide residence by calendar year. Taiwan counts days from the entry and exit dates in your passport: the first day of a trip does not count, the last does; a person without a household registration becomes resident at 183 days (not more than 183) and is resident for the whole year, with no split year. The United States counts every day of presence in the current year and, for the substantial presence test, also weighs days of the two preceding years.
Working in Taiwan: up to 90 days pay from a foreign employer is not taxed. Remuneration for work done in Taiwan is Taiwan-source income no matter who pays it or where. If you are a non-resident and stayed in Taiwan no more than 90 days in the year, pay from a foreign (including U.S.) employer is not taxed there. Above 90 days Taiwan taxes it at 18%, and you report it yourself before departure or within the filing period; pay from a Taiwanese employer is taxed from the first day. As a U.S. citizen or resident you also report this pay on your U.S. return and can credit the Taiwan tax.
Remote work from Taiwan for a U.S. employer or client. Work you physically perform in Taiwan gives Taiwan-source income even if a U.S. company or client pays for it. As a Taiwan resident you pay consolidated income tax on it at 5–40%. The United States taxes the same income if you are a citizen, green-card holder or substantial-presence resident, and credits the Taiwan tax or lets you exclude the earnings under § 911.
Non-resident of Taiwan: withholding without reduced rates. As a non-resident you pay Taiwan tax only on Taiwan-source income, mostly through withholding: dividends 21%, interest 20% (15% on bonds and short-term bills), rent, royalties and professional fees 20%, salary 18% (or 6%). A sale of a house or land in Taiwan is taxed at 45% or 35% depending on how long you owned it. With no U.S.–Taiwan agreement these rates are not reduced; a U.S. citizen or resident can credit the Taiwan tax in the United States.
Taiwanese citizens with a household registration: 31 days are enough. For people with a household registration in Taiwan, the Ministry of Finance treats domicile and habitual residence as existing from 31 days of stay in the year — or even from 1 day if the center of life and economic interests is in Taiwan (social insurance, spouse or minor children, business, assets, work). So even long-term residence in the United States does not end Taiwan residence while you keep the registration and spend at least 31 days a year in Taiwan.
Leaving Taiwan: file before departure. If, as a resident, you leave Taiwan for good during the year, the return for that year is filed and the tax paid before departure (Art. 71-1(2)). A non-resident who received Taiwan-source income without withholding and leaves before the filing period begins also reports it before departure (Art. 73(1)). We found no separate exit tax for individuals in the sources reviewed.
Relief for foreign special professionals. Foreigners with recognized special professional qualifications (for example, Employment Gold Card holders) admitted to reside in Taiwan for work for the first time, with no household registration or Taiwan residence in the preceding 5 years, pay tax for 5 years on only half of their salary above NT$3,000,000, and their income from outside Taiwan (including U.S. income) is left out of basic income for the minimum tax. The 5 years start with the first year in which you stayed in Taiwan 183 days and your salary exceeded NT$3,000,000. This does not change U.S. tax: a U.S. citizen or resident is still taxed on worldwide income.
No U.S.–Taiwan social security (totalization) agreement. Taiwan is not on SSA's list of U.S. social security agreements. U.S. Social Security and Medicare taxes (or self-employment tax) apply under U.S. law, no certificate of coverage can exempt you, and periods in the two countries are not added together.

How dual residence is resolved

There is no income tax treaty in force between the United States and this country.

Terms you will come across in Taiwan

所得稅法: Income Tax Act; residence criteria — Art. 7(2)
住所: domicile; the Ministry of Finance ties it to household registration
戶籍: household registration: only Taiwanese citizens have it, and with it 31 days of stay make you resident
綜合所得稅: consolidated individual income tax: 5% to 40%, only on Taiwan-source income
所得基本稅額條例: Income Basic Tax Act: the minimum tax that can reach income from outside Taiwan
各類所得扣繳率標準: Withholding Rate Standards, including the rates for non-residents

Questions

How does Taiwan count 183 days?

By calendar year, from the entry and exit dates in your passport: according to the tax authority, the first day of a trip does not count and the last day does. A person without a household registration becomes resident at 183 days (not more than 183) and is resident for the whole year, with no split year. A resident who leaves for good during the year files the return for that year and pays the tax before departure (Art. 71-1(2) of the Income Tax Act).

I work remotely from Taiwan for a U.S. employer. Where do I pay tax?

Work physically done in Taiwan is Taiwan-source income even if a U.S. company pays for it. As a Taiwan resident you pay consolidated income tax on it at 5–40%. A non-resident is not taxed in Taiwan on pay from a foreign employer if the stay was no more than 90 days in the year; above 90 days — 18% (6% if the monthly salary is up to NT$44,250). The United States taxes the same pay for citizens and residents and credits the Taiwan tax (Form 1116) or lets you exclude it (Form 2555).

Is there a tax agreement between the U.S. and Taiwan?

No comprehensive one. In the Taiwan Ministry of Finance list (as of 4 September 2026) the United States has only a limited agreement on shipping and air transport income. So there is no tie-breaker, no treaty exemption for short work stays and no reduced withholding rates for non-residents (dividends 21%; interest, rent, royalties and professional fees 20%). A U.S. bill on double-tax relief for Taiwan residents passed the House of Representatives in January 2025; we have not confirmed that it became law.

Sources

Legislation and official guidance

Art. 7(2)–(3) of Taiwan's Income Tax Act (所得稅法) — A resident of Taiwan (中華民國境內居住之個人) is an individual who (1) has a domicile (住所) in Taiwan and habitually resides there, or (2) has no domicile in Taiwan but stayed there for a total of 183 days or more in the tax year. All others are non-residents.
Ruling of Taiwan's Ministry of Finance of 27 September 2012, No. 台財稅字第10104610410號 (as summarized in the MOF note «How to distinguish residents and non-residents») — An individual has a domicile and habitually resides in Taiwan if, in the tax year, he or she had a household registration (戶籍) in Taiwan and (1) stayed there for a total of 31 days or more, or (2) stayed there for 1 to 30 days and his or her center of life and economic interests is in Taiwan. The center is assessed as a whole (family and social ties, occupation, place of business and assets), in particular by these indicators: coverage by Taiwan's social insurance (National Health Insurance, labor insurance, national pension insurance or farmers' insurance); a spouse or minor children living in Taiwan; running a business or professional practice, managing assets, employment, or a position as director, supervisor or manager in Taiwan.
National Taxation Bureau of Taipei — «Counting days of stay» (計算居留天數) — A foreigner's days of stay are counted from the entry and exit dates in the passport or from a National Immigration Agency record of border crossings: the first day does not count, the last day does; several trips in the tax year are added up.
Taiwan Ministry of Finance, note for foreigners «How to distinguish residents and non-residents» (updated 27 April 2026) — The same division: (1) household registration in Taiwan and 31 days of stay, or 1–30 days with the center of life and economic interests in Taiwan; (2) without a domicile — 183 days or more of stay in the tax year. Anyone who falls under neither case is a non-resident.
Arts. 2 and 73(1) of the Income Tax Act — Individuals pay consolidated income tax only on Taiwan-source income. Tax on a non-resident is withheld at source by the withholding agent at the prescribed rates, and no return is filed; income on which no tax is withheld is reported by the non-resident personally — before departure if he or she leaves before the filing period begins.
Arts. 3(1), item 5, 4, 12(1), item 1, and 13 of the Income Basic Tax Act (所得基本稅額條例) — Income not from Taiwan sources is added to a resident's basic income if, on the household return, it totals NT$1,000,000 or more a year. The basic tax is 20% of basic income less a set amount (NT$6,000,000 in the Act, indexed; the Ministry of Finance applies NT$7,500,000 from 2024, unchanged for 2026). If the regular tax is lower than the basic tax, the difference is payable. Tax paid abroad on foreign income is credited up to the increase in basic tax caused by that income. Non-residents do not pay basic tax.
2026 consolidated income tax rates (National Taxation Bureau of Taipei; Ministry of Finance announcement of 27 November 2025) — Net consolidated income: up to NT$610,000 — 5%; 610,001–1,380,000 — 12%; 1,380,001–2,770,000 — 20%; 2,770,001–5,190,000 — 30%; above 5,190,000 — 40%. For 2026 the personal exemption is NT$101,000 per person, the standard deduction NT$136,000 (doubled for spouses), and the special deduction for salaries NT$227,000.
Art. 71-1(2) of the Income Tax Act — A resident who gives up his or her domicile or residence in Taiwan during the year and leaves files a return and pays the tax for that year before departure; if the spouse is resident and remains in Taiwan, the spouse files the return.
Withholding Rate Standards (各類所得扣繳率標準), Art. 3 — Ministry of Finance note for foreigners (updated 27 April 2026) — Non-resident individuals: salary 18% (6% if the monthly salary does not exceed 1.5 times the minimum monthly wage); dividends 21%; interest 20% (15% on government, corporate and bank bonds, short-term bills, securitized securities and repo transactions); rent, royalties, professional fees, commissions and prizes — 20%; severance and retirement income (退職所得) — 18% above the tax-free amount. Pay from a foreign employer for a stay of more than 90 days — 18%, reported by the taxpayer.
Art. 8, item 3 of the Income Tax Act — Remuneration for services (work) performed in Taiwan is Taiwan-source income. Exception: a non-resident who stayed in Taiwan for no more than 90 days in total in the tax year, as regards remuneration from a foreign employer.
Taiwan Ministry of Finance, notice of 26 March 2026 on the 6% threshold for non-residents' salaries — The minimum monthly wage from 1 January 2026 is NT$29,500; so a non-resident's salary of up to NT$44,250 a month is taxed at 6%, a higher salary at 18%.
Taiwan Ministry of Finance — list of income tax agreements (published 4 September 2026) — 36 comprehensive agreements (among others with the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Sweden, Hungary, France, India, Switzerland, Germany, Austria, Italy, Japan, Canada, Poland, the Czech Republic, Singapore and Malaysia) and agreements covering only shipping and air transport income; the United States is not among the comprehensive agreements.
Taiwan Ministry of Finance — list of limited (shipping and air transport) income tax agreements — Includes a limited agreement with the United States on shipping and air transport income, signed on 31 May 1988 and effective on signature.
H.R. 33 (119th Congress), United States-Taiwan Expedited Double-Tax Relief Act — text as passed by the House — Bill to provide treaty-like U.S. tax relief for qualified residents of Taiwan; passed by the House of Representatives in January 2025. Whether it has been enacted is not confirmed here.
26 U.S.C. § 901(b)(1) — A U.S. citizen may credit income taxes paid or accrued to a foreign country (subject to the limitations of § 904).
26 U.S.C. § 911(a), (d)(1), (d)(6) — A qualified individual (tax home abroad and bona fide residence for an entire taxable year, or 330 full days abroad in 12 consecutive months) may elect to exclude foreign earned income and a housing amount; no foreign tax credit is allowed for taxes allocable to the excluded income.
§ 7701(b)(3)(A); Treas. Reg. § 301.7701(b)-1(c) — Substantial presence test: at least 31 days in the current year and at least 183 days counting all current-year days, 1/3 of the days in the first preceding year and 1/6 of the days in the second preceding year. Fractions are not rounded.
§ 7701(b)(3)(B)–(C); Treas. Reg. §§ 301.7701(b)-2, -8 — Closer connection exception: fewer than 183 days in the current year, a tax home in a foreign country for the whole year, a closer connection to that country, and a timely Form 8840; not available if you applied for a green card (e.g. Form I-485).
IRS Publication 519, U.S. Tax Guide for Aliens — Official IRS guide for aliens: residence tests, exempt individuals, closer connection exception, dual-status years, dual-resident taxpayers.
Treas. Reg. § 301.7701(b)-1(b) — A lawful permanent resident (green-card holder) is a U.S. resident for the calendar year regardless of the number of days spent in the United States.
Taiwan Ministry of Finance — «What is the basic tax and how is it computed» (1733) — Basic tax = (basic income − NT$7,500,000) × 20% — from tax year 2024; Ministry of Finance announcement of 27 November 2025: the amount for individuals for 2026 is unchanged.
Art. 14-4 of the Income Tax Act (income tax on sales of houses and land) — Ministry of Finance note for foreigners — Residents: 45% (ownership up to 2 years), 35% (2–5 years), 20% (5–10 years), 15% (more than 10 years), with relief for a self-occupied home. Non-residents: 45% (up to 2 years) and 35% (more than 2 years).
Arts. 2–4 of the Regulations Governing Income Tax Reduction for Foreign Special Professionals (外國特定專業人才減免所得稅辦法, as amended on 2 March 2026, effective 1 January 2026) — A foreigner with recognized special professional qualifications, admitted to reside in Taiwan for work for the first time, who in the preceding 5 years had no household registration and was not resident: for 5 years, starting with the first year in which he or she stayed in Taiwan 183 days and the salary exceeded NT$3,000,000, half of the salary above NT$3,000,000 is exempt, and income not from Taiwan sources is not included in basic income.
SSA — U.S. international social security agreements (status)
Art. 15(4)–(5) of the Income Tax Act — Residents include dividends of Taiwanese companies in consolidated income and credit 8.5% of the dividends against the tax (up to NT$80,000 per return), or elect to tax all of the household's dividends separately at 28%.

Updated 2026-11-10. The result is for information only and is not tax or legal advice. Tax authorities and courts may interpret the rules differently, including because of circumstances not covered here, and the law changes. Consult a qualified adviser before making decisions.

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