DoubleTaxationSingapore – Taiwan tax treaty: residence, 183 days, rates
Agreement for the Avoidance of Double Taxation and the Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with respect to Taxes on Income between Singapore and Taiwan, constituted by the Exchange of Letters of 30 December 1981 between the Commissioner of Inland Revenue, Ministry of Finance, Singapore, and the Director-General, Department of Taxation, Ministry of Finance, Taipei (applies to income up to 31 December 2026; replaced from 1 January 2027 by the Agreement between the Singapore Trade Office in Taipei and the Taipei Representative Office in Singapore signed on 31 December 2025)
- Signed: 30/12/1981
- In force since: 30/12/1981
- Official text
If both countries treat you as resident
- An individual resident of both territories is deemed to be a resident of the territory in which he has a permanent home available to him; if he has a permanent home available to him in both territories, of the territory with which his personal and economic relations are closer (centre of vital interests). Art. 4(2)(a) of the Singapore–Taiwan Agreement (1981)
- The new Agreement entered into force on 13 February 2026 but has effect only from 1 January 2027 (Singapore: other taxes from year of assessment 2028); its tie-breaker keeps the same steps — permanent home / centre of vital interests, habitual abode, then mutual agreement — without a nationality test. Art. 4(2) and Art. 28 of the Singapore–Taiwan Agreement signed on 31 December 2025
- If the territory in which he has his centre of vital interests cannot be determined, or if he has no permanent home available to him in either territory, he is deemed to be a resident of the territory in which he has an habitual abode. Art. 4(2)(b) of the Singapore–Taiwan Agreement (1981)
- If he has an habitual abode in both territories or in neither of them, the competent authorities settle the question by mutual agreement (procedure in Art. 20). The Agreement has no nationality test. Art. 4(2)(c) of the Singapore–Taiwan Agreement (1981)
Income: who taxes it
| Income | Treaty rule | Article |
|---|---|---|
| Salary (employment) | The country where the work is done may tax it. Exempt if all apply: no more than 183 days in the calendar year; the employer is not resident there; the pay is not borne by its permanent establishment there. | Art. 12(1)-(2) |
| Self-employment, business, services | Country of residence; the other country taxes profits of a permanent establishment (fixed base) there, or if your stay there reaches 183 days in the calendar year. | Art. 7, Art. 12 |
| Pension | The source country may tax; the country of residence relieves double taxation. | no article |
| Government service | Usually only the paying country; exception: service in the other country by its national. | no article (Art. 12 applies) |
| Government service pension | General rules for pensions apply. | no article (Art. 12 applies) |
| Rent from real estate | The country where the property is located may tax; the country of residence relieves double taxation. | Art. 6(1) |
| Dividends | The source country may tax; the country of residence relieves double taxation. | Art. 10(2)-(3) |
| Interest (deposits, bonds, loans) | The source country may tax; the country of residence relieves double taxation. | no article |
| Royalties (copyright, licences) | Source country: at most 15%; the country of residence relieves double taxation. | Art. 11(2) |
| Sale of property or shares | Real estate: the country where it is located may tax. Shares of companies deriving their value mainly from real estate: the same. Other property: under certain conditions the source country may also tax (see the article). | no article |
| Other income | The source country may tax; the country of residence relieves double taxation. | no article |
How double taxation is relieved
- Singapore: credit for the tax paid in the source country, up to the country’s own tax on that income Art. 18(1)
- Taiwan: credit for the tax paid in the source country, up to the country’s own tax on that income Art. 18(1)
Data checked: 10/11/2026. A short summary for individuals; the full conditions, exceptions and protocols are in the treaty text. General information, not legal advice.