Hello everyone I would like to ask a few questions about taxes in Taiwan.
I am married to a Taiwanese citizen and I am planning to move to Taiwan and apply for a spouse ARC.
My first question is about the tax identification number (TIN). From what I understand, in Taiwan it is the same as the ARC number. Is this automatically assigned when I receive my ARC or do I need to register for it separately?
My second question is about freelance work once I become Taiwanese tax resident. I do some freelance work but not really anything serious just streaming. Not sure later on but at first will not work for any Taiwanese companies or clients or receive any income into Taiwanese account. My income is relatively small, usually under around 280,000 TWD per year.
How is freelance income like this type of streaming treated in Taiwan for tax purposes? How is it usually taxed in situations like this? If it is how do you file it in Taiwan? I have seen different information online, many people claim different things. I would really appreciate clarification from people familiar with the system. Because as much as I understand situation with people working in Taiwan or for Taiwan I don’t know anything about freelance. Thank you so much.
Hi,
Your ARC number will be your TIN number.
Sorry but your questions are easily answered by ChatGPT/Claude. I’ll paste Claude’s response here since I don’t feel like typing. I checked the response and it’s correct.
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Yes, it’s automatic — for foreigners, ARCs are issued by the National Immigration Agency and carry the “Taxpayer ID No.” printed right on the card, so once your spouse ARC comes through you already have it. No separate registration needed for personal income tax. (There’s a separate 稅籍登記 business registration, but that only matters if you start operating as a small business — see below.) Official NTB explanation here: NTB Taipei – Taxpayer ID No.
The big misconception: “not Taiwanese clients / not a Taiwanese account” doesn’t make it tax-free. Once you’re a resident, work you perform while residing in Taiwan is Taiwan-sourced income regardless of where you’re paid (see Taiwan Gold Card – Tax FAQ), so streaming from Taiwan is generally taxable here — though the rules for online creators are still evolving. That said, you’d file jointly with your spouse, and a married couple already gets a TWD 262,000 standard deduction plus TWD 97,000 personal exemption each (PwC – Taiwan deductions), so NT$280,000 on its own would likely produce zero income tax.
For filing: the income tax season opens in May, done jointly with your spouse, with streaming income listed as 執行業務所得 or 其他所得 (you deduct actual expenses). Separately, the new 2025 “influencer tax” (網紅稅) is a business tax, not income tax — it only triggers above ~NT$40,000/month in sales and overseas-audience income can be zero-rated, so at your level it likely won’t apply (KPMG – influencer business tax). I’m not a tax pro, so confirm specifics with your local NTB office or an accountant.