183 rule if you were unemployed during the entire time in Taiwan

[Andrew]

@DanJames

But lets say I decide to get a gold card in the future, would the tax office go after my US based income for the time I was living outside of Taiwan? Or do they only care about the income I make while inside the country?

They shouldn’t, if all of the work was conducted outside of the country and before you came here. You’d probably have to explain at some point your income for that year (like if you subsequently filed a tax return, they might ask, and they did with me), but if you were really unemployed while in Taiwan I don’t see an issue.

See also this thread from tonight, and the linked posts therein:

Don’t Have Documents To Prove Income

Thank you for taking the time to write this detailed reply. Let me answer each point. The income was generated while working remotely in Taiwan. I have spent more than 183 days in Taiwan in any given year (2020, 2021, 2022, 2023 soon too). About this… So I spent a generous amount of time outside of Taiwan too, and I was paid in cash / WU transfer in that country. The work was not performed then in Taiwan. This means that that income is exempt?