Understanding Taiwan VAT Registration Triggers and Thresholds
Updated 2 months ago
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When Are You Required to Register for VAT in Taiwan?
Your obligation to register for VAT in Taiwan depends on whether your business has a physical presence there or operates purely as a remote seller.
Effective date of Taiwan's VAT rules for electronic services:
January 1, 2018
Resident businesses (physical presence in Taiwan):
If your business has any physical presence in Taiwan — such as an office, branch, employees, contractors, agents, warehouse, or servers — you are required to register for VAT from your first taxable sale. There is no revenue threshold for resident businesses.
Non-resident remote sellers (no physical presence):
If your business is based outside Taiwan and sells digital or electronic services (such as SaaS) to individual consumers in Taiwan, you are required to register once your annual B2C sales to Taiwan consumers exceed TWD 600,000.
Key details about this threshold:
Measurement period: Rolling 12-month calculation
No fixed annual reset date
B2B sales (where the buyer provides a UBN) do not count toward the threshold
Zero-rated supplies do not count toward the threshold
Marketplace-facilitated sales (where the platform collects full payment and remits VAT) do not count toward your threshold
Refunded sales are deducted from the threshold count at the date of the refund
Important note on the threshold update:
Effective April 7, 2025, Taiwan raised the annual B2C registration threshold for foreign providers of electronic services from TWD 480,000 to TWD 600,000.
What happens when you cross the threshold?
You must apply for registration immediately and begin charging 5% VAT on all subsequent B2C sales to Taiwan individuals. There is no grace period.
Physical nexus categories:
The following types of physical presence trigger immediate VAT registration in Taiwan (from your first taxable sale):
Category | Example |
|---|---|
Direct business presence (office, branch, store, warehouse) | Foreign company opens a Taipei branch |
Temporary or agent-based presence | Local agents negotiating or supporting clients |
Trade show or exhibition with sales | Exhibiting and selling at a Taiwan trade show |
Third-party warehousing or fulfillment | Using a Taiwan warehouse to ship to customers |
Server or IT infrastructure presence | SaaS company hosting servers in a Taiwan data center |
Note: Attending a trade show or exhibition without sales activity does not trigger VAT registration.
Marketplace rules:
Taiwan does not currently have specific marketplace facilitator legislation. However, if a marketplace or platform collects full payment on your behalf and remits VAT, the platform assumes the registration and compliance obligations. In this scenario, those sales do not count toward your registration threshold, and you are not required to register.
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