I visited Taipei in December and really loved it. I’m currently teaching in South Korea and am considering making the move to Taiwan. My current job will finish October 20th.
I have 3 years experience (cram schools where I was mostly treated well)
A 120-TEFL cert
Bachelors degree unrelated to teaching
Goals:
Gain a new perspective to see if I like teaching.
Save between 21-22K NT per month
Experience living in a new country
Questions:
What’s a realistic salary for me? I know the minimum salary for new teachers is 600 NT (although I’ve seen offers for 570) I have teaching experience so I’m hoping for 650-700.
What’s the job market like around December-January? (I plan to work / live outside Taipei to save money). I prefer mid to large cities so I can meet people and do things.
I see a lot about this 18% tax rule. If I arrive in December or January will that affect me?
You can expect around $600/h, but some will offer less without being in any legal danger. (There is no minimum rate for buxiban teachers, other than the Basic Wage, about $21,000/m for full-time work or iirc $133/h. It goes up once in a while.)
Tax-wise, the ideal time to start work is January, but CNY makes that difficult. If you start work in mid-December, you may earn less than 1.5x the Basic Wage, in which case your non-resident withholding rate for the month is only 6%.
I don’t see getting over 650 an hour. If you wanted, you could do some sub work and get paid under that table and avoid the 20% tax until the new year. Sub work can be difficult to find reliably tho. If you are looking to save money I know that Taoyuan is very cheap to live in and is starving for English teachers, its been called the most boring place in Taiwan. It also doesn’t have the public transportation system that Taipei has. New Taipei City is not as expensive as Taipei but it has the MRT and a pretty good bus system. Taiwan is a tricky place for an English teacher. To really make money you might have to work illegally in a kindergarten.
Aaaaaaand a reminder: working illegally can get you fined and deported and also get your employer (and agent if applicable) in trouble. We neither encourage nor condone illegal activity.
Hi there.
I think you can find more information in “1111 human resources bank” or “104 human resources bank” but I don’t find English version, maybe you need to find Taiwanese friend help you translate it.
Will you be interested in teaching in China as well? We are a Taiwanese-owned private school in Guangdong, China. We are currently hiring new English teachers. Please submit your resume to 1352667938@qq.com if you are interested in this opportunity. Thank you!
NT$600/hr? Where is that? I haven’t seen that in years. Maybe things are changing.
Maybe the further you get from Taipei the wages go up?
I don’t know what this 18% thing is. None of my bosses have ever taken anything more than a few hundred for health insurance and labor. They only report the minimum. Great for taxes in Taiwan and dealing with the US, but sucks trying to get an APRC.