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Business Permits & Incorporation for Foreigners in Taipei

Good to know

Good to Know

  • No local partner or local director/shareholder is legally required — foreigners can own 100% of a Taiwan company in most sectors, subject to a Negative List of restricted/prohibited industries.
  • Despite marketing claims of 'fast' setup, the realistic end-to-end timeline for a foreign-owned company (including the mandatory Foreign Investment Approval, bank account opening, and CPA capital verification) tends to run 2-4 months, not days.
  • If you plan to hire foreign staff (including yourself, via an ARC tied to the company), budget for paid-in capital closer to NT$5,000,000, since this is the level typically expected to support foreign work permit sponsorship.
  • A Taiwan CPA capital verification report is a hard gate before registration — factor in CPA fees and lead time when budgeting and planning your timeline.
  • Investors connected to mainland China face a separate, stricter 'PRC investor' approval regime — this does not apply to most other nationalities.
  • The two recurring tax obligations for an incorporated company are separate: a 5% business tax (VAT-equivalent) filed every two months, and a 20% corporate income tax return filed annually in May — missing either has its own penalty track.
  • If you're a foreigner without permanent residency (APRC), the 'freelancer' label doesn't really exist as a standalone legal registration here — most people who want to invoice clients as an individual end up incorporating a small LLC instead and running income through it.
  • Repatriating profits out of Taiwan carries a real cost: dividends paid to non-resident (foreign) shareholders are subject to 21% withholding tax, which is worth factoring into any plan to pay yourself from company profits rather than salary.
  • There's no legal minimum capital requirement on paper, but in practice the Investment Commission looks for around NT$500,000 in paid-in capital before approving a foreign investment application — going in with far less can trigger extra scrutiny or rejection.
  • A Taiwan branch of your existing foreign company avoids the 5% undistributed-earnings surtax that a locally incorporated subsidiary faces, which is a genuine structural trade-off worth discussing with a local accountant if you already run a company abroad.

Corporate Tax Overview

Small Business Exemption Threshold
NT$120,000

Business Tax VAT

Rate Percent
5
Filing Frequency
Bimonthly (every two months)
Notes
Often called 'Business Tax' locally; this is Taiwan's VAT-equivalent and is separate from the annual corporate income tax filing.

Annual Cit Filing

Filing Month
May
Notes
Enterprise/corporate income tax is filed annually, with the return due in May for the prior tax year.

Undistributed Earnings Surtax

Rate Percent
5
Notes
A 5% profit retention tax applies to a resident company's current-year earnings that remain undistributed by the end of the following year. Taiwan branches of foreign companies are exempt from this surtax, which is one reason some foreign parents choose a branch over a subsidiary.

Standard Corporate Income Tax Rate

Rate Percent
20
Notes
Applies to companies incorporated in Taiwan (resident companies) on worldwide income, and to Taiwan branches of foreign companies on Taiwan-sourced profit attributable to the branch.

Withholding Tax On Outbound Payments

Service Fees To Foreign Entities Percent
20
Dividends To Non Resident Shareholders Percent
21
Notes
Withholding tax on service fees paid to foreign entities can sometimes be reduced (e.g., to an effective ~3% for technical services using a deemed-profit method) and dividend withholding may be reduced under an applicable tax treaty.

Alternative Minimum Tax Income Basic Tax

Rate Percent
12
Deduction Amount
NT$600,000
Notes
An Income Basic Tax (IBT) of 12% applies to a formula-based 'basic income' figure (after a TWD 600,000 deduction) for companies that otherwise report unusually low regular tax due to tax-exempt income; if IBT exceeds regular CIT, the company pays the difference on top of regular CIT.

Entity Type Tax Treatment

  • Sole Proprietorship (獨資)
    Liability
    Unlimited personal liability for business debts.
    Tax Treatment
    Business income flows through to the owner and is taxed under the personal income tax system rather than corporate income tax; the business itself files no separate corporate return.
    Foreigner Access
    In practice generally only accessible to foreigners who hold permanent residency (APRC) or are otherwise exempt from the standard foreign work-permit requirement; not the standard route for a newly arrived nomad or founder.
  • General Partnership (合夥)
    Liability
    Unlimited personal liability, shared among partners.
    Tax Treatment
    Same personal-income-tax pass-through treatment as sole proprietorship.
    Foreigner Access
    Like the sole proprietorship, difficult for most foreign nationals to access without permanent residency.
  • Limited Liability Company / 有限公司 (LLC)
    Liability
    Limited to each shareholder's capital contribution.
    Tax Treatment
    Subject to standard corporate income tax (20%, with the small-business exemption below TWD 120,000) plus the 5% bimonthly business tax (VAT) on turnover.
    Foreigner Access
    The most common structure for foreign founders. Requires at least one shareholder and one director; foreigners can hold 100% ownership and be the sole shareholder/director. No statutory minimum capital, but Taiwan's Investment Commission typically expects around TWD 500,000 in paid-in capital to approve the foreign investment application, and this amount is also the practical benchmark commonly used for work-permit/visa sponsorship purposes.
  • Company Limited by Shares (股份有限公司)
    Liability
    Limited to shareholders' share capital.
    Tax Treatment
    Same corporate tax treatment as the LLC form (20% CIT plus 5% business tax).
    Foreigner Access
    Better suited to businesses planning to raise outside investment or eventually list; more complex governance requirements than the LLC form.
  • Branch office of a foreign company
    Liability
    Liability generally sits with the foreign parent company.
    Tax Treatment
    Taxed at 20% only on profits earned/attributable to the Taiwan branch (not worldwide income), and is NOT subject to the 5% undistributed-earnings surtax that applies to locally incorporated subsidiaries.
    Foreigner Access
    Used when a founder wants to extend an existing overseas company into Taiwan rather than incorporate a new local entity.
  • Representative office
    Liability
    N/A — cannot trade.
    Tax Treatment
    Not subject to corporate income tax because it is not legally permitted to engage in revenue-generating activity in Taiwan.
    Foreigner Access
    Only suitable for liaison/market-research functions, not for a nomad running an actual client-facing business.

Typical Recurring Compliance Costs

Local Accountant Bookkeeping Retainer

Currency Local
TWD
Amount USD Range
94–312 per month
Amount Local Range
3,000–10,000 per month
Notes
Commonly cited market rate for a local CPA/accountant handling routine bookkeeping and the bimonthly VAT + annual CIT filings for a small foreign-owned company.

Freelancer Vs Company Practical Reality

Summary
For most non-permanent-resident foreigners, registering as an individual 'freelancer/sole proprietor' in the Western sense is not the standard legal path in Taiwan — that structure is largely reserved for APRC holders or ROC nationals. The de facto route most foreign founders and remote workers use is to incorporate a limited company (LLC), then obtain an Alien Resident Certificate (ARC) and work permit through that company.

Key Points

  • A foreigner without an APRC generally cannot simply register as a sole proprietor; company incorporation is the standard route non-APRC foreigners use.
  • Working for foreign clients while physically in Taiwan without proper work authorization (e.g. on a visa-exempt tourist entry) is technically unauthorized work under Taiwanese law, even though enforcement against this specific pattern is inconsistent — this is a genuine legal gray area, not a sanctioned option.
  • Registering a company involves reserving a Chinese-character company name (a foreign/English name can be used alongside it), obtaining foreign investment approval from the Investment Commission under the Ministry of Economic Affairs when any shareholder is non-Taiwanese, capital verification, and registering for a Unified Business Number (UBN) and with the local tax office within 15 days of starting operations.
  • Total timeline for a foreign-owned company registration is typically around 2–4 months from start to receiving the ARC.
  • Hiring a local CPA/accountant is strongly recommended given the bilingual filing requirements (bimonthly VAT filings plus the annual CIT return) — this is a routine, low-cost outsourcing decision most foreign-run companies make rather than filing themselves.

Steps

  • Company Name & Business Scope Reservation
    Step
    1
    Description
    Reserve a Chinese-language company name and define the business scope with the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) — via the Central Region Office for enterprises or the local city/county government for smaller business firms. Can be done online through the MOEA one-stop portal. Approved names are typically valid for a set period before registration must follow.
  • Foreign Investment Approval (FIA)
    Step
    2
    Description
    Mandatory before registration whenever any shareholder is a non-Taiwanese individual or foreign entity. Apply to the Department of Investment Review (DIR) under the MOEA using Application Form A, investor identification/certification documents, a business plan, and a Power of Attorney if using a local agent. All foreign documents typically need notarization/authentication via a Taiwan representative office (TECO) abroad.
  • Open a Preparatory Bank Account and Remit Capital
    Step
    3
    Description
    Open a preparatory account at a Taiwan bank under the reserved company name and remit the registered capital from an overseas account, converting it to New Taiwan Dollars. Banks apply their own AML/KYC checks, which can add time.
  • CPA Capital Verification
    Step
    4
    Description
    A licensed Taiwan CPA must verify the injected capital against the bank's inward remittance certificate and issue a Capital Verification Report (驗資報告), which is required before the registration application can be submitted.
  • Company Registration
    Step
    5
    Description
    Submit the capital verification report, articles of incorporation, shareholder/director information, and registered address proof to the Department of Commerce (MOEA) or the relevant city government (for companies with paid-in capital under NT$500 million) to formally register the company.
  • Tax Registration and Post-registration Filings
    Step
    6
    Description
    Apply for a Unified Business Number (tax ID), and where relevant, labor insurance, national health insurance, and pension plan registrations, which can be processed together. Foreign owners who intend to work/reside in Taiwan through their own company will also need to apply for an Alien Resident Certificate (ARC).

Estimated Costs

Other Likely Costs
Additional real costs come from CPA capital verification fees, notarization/authentication of foreign documents, a registered/virtual office address, and (optionally) a local incorporation agent or law firm — these vary by provider and are not government-set fees, so no single figure applies.

Government Registration Fee

Formula
NT$1 per NT$4,000 of registered capital, subject to a minimum fee
Minimum Fee
NT$1,000

Taiwan allows 100% foreign ownership of companies in most sectors, with no legal requirement for a local partner, sponsor, or local director/shareholder. The most common vehicle for a foreign-owned nomad/SME business is a Limited Company (有限公司), incorporated under the Company Act and, because the investor is non-Taiwanese, also subject to the Statute for Investment by Foreign Nationals (SIFN), which requires a Foreign Investment Approval (FIA) before registration can proceed. A registered Taiwan business address is mandatory (a virtual office can satisfy this for registration purposes).

Estimated Timeline

Name Reservation
A few days to about 1-2 weeks
Total Realistic Timeline
Most comprehensive guides and practitioner sources put the full process — from name reservation through a fully registered, tax-ID-issued company — at approximately 2 to 4 months for a foreign-owned entity, though a simpler branch office (no FIA required for non-PRC investors) can be faster, around 10-14 working days for the branch filing itself.
Company And Tax Registration
Roughly 1-2 weeks once capital verification is complete
Foreign Investment Approval Fia
Estimates vary by source and case complexity: some report roughly 7-14 business days for straightforward applications, while others cite 6-8 weeks depending on scale, industry, and complexity
Bank Account Opening And Capital Remittance
A few days to several weeks depending on the bank's AML/KYC process

Capital Requirements

Statutory Minimum
There is no statutory minimum authorized or paid-up capital for most company types under the Company Act's no-par-value framework.
Practical Minimum For Fia Approval
NT$500,000

The Investment Commission/DIR typically expects at least this level of demonstrated paid-in capital to approve a Foreign Investment Application; the actual figure can vary by business plan and industry.

Minimum To Sponsor Foreign Employee Work Permits
NT$5,000,000

Generally the paid-in capital threshold expected if the company plans to hire foreign employees directly.

Official Government Links

Local Partner Or Sponsor Requirement

Details
Taiwan allows 100% foreign ownership; there is no mandatory requirement for a local director or shareholder. Full foreign ownership is permitted in most industries, though a Negative List restricts or prohibits foreign investment in specific sensitive sectors (e.g. certain telecoms, aviation, utilities). In practice, many foreign founders still appoint a local agent/representative or use a corporate services firm to handle banking and administrative filings, and some banks request a locally based signatory to facilitate account opening, but this is a practical convenience rather than a legal mandate.
Mandatory Local Partner
No
Special Note PRC Investors
Investors classified as 'PRC Persons' (mainland Chinese individuals/entities, or third-country entities more than 30% owned/controlled by mainland Chinese interests) face a separate, stricter approval regime (a 'Positive List' rather than the standard Negative List) and additional national-security scrutiny. This does not apply to most other foreign nationals.
AI-generated estimateData refreshed July 2026

Sources cited for this category

These are the sources cited in this business permits & incorporation for foreigners research for this city. Individual figures may not each trace to one of them.

  1. 1.startup.sme.gov.tw

More About Taipei

Data last updated July 2026 · Verify anything important.