AFAIK, it shouldn’t matter.
Ha, ha! I think the deal is that it is assumed you’ll be supporting your parents. It’s also assumed that you wouldn’t lie about whether your parents are around or not. The first assumption would have been laughable some years ago (my dad was making more when he retired long ago than I’m making now), but now, as they age, I like to pitch in here and there, buy a plane ticket for my mom to visit, etc. As to the second assumption, they’re absolutely correct in that. It would be too weird to lie about that.
I’ve been asked to prove they are alive multiple times, pain in the arse (not really given big savings I guess ).
They never asked to see any money going from me to them, but they wanted a notarized letter from them stating that I am supporting them.
I thought you were joking about the dental receipts. Yes, that sounds like a pain. I haven’t had to do that yet.
The corroborating document I present to the tax office regarding my parents is a simple dated letter from their bank, indicating their full names, indicating that they are customers at that bank, confirming that they are alive. That works as corroboration.
At the Taipei City tax office, I have been asked to provide (and consequently provide) copies of forms confirming that I have wired funds to my parents’ bank account equal to or in excess of the amount I am claiming as an exemption. In other tax offices, they may just take your word for it. : P
Btw, this form of tax exemption (i.e. claiming lineal ascendants over a certain age) is really a big deal in affecting my final tax bill. I did a quick calculation for my taxes this year, and found that I would have paid almost NT$40,000 more without claiming it!
Guy
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So I was successful in using this tax credit this year. Quite simple for me actually. I always keep my bank transfer receipts and my mother is the secondary person on my account, we have a joint account, mostly so she can take care of anything with my bank that can’t be handled from abroad. I proved that with a statement I downloaded and printed from my online banking. I also have a copy of my birth certificate here, showing our relationship. Given all of this, the only other thing I needed to provide was a copy of my mom’s passport or driver’s license and it was quite easy to do overall.
What I was told about the notarized statement thing was that since I had proof of transfer of money, that wasn’t necessary.
Now I just need to know if I can go back and retroactively apply for this tax credit for the last 2-3 years. Can you refile and get some more money back by claiming a parent as a dependent? I do have additional bank transfer for nearly every transaction I’ve ever made. And can you claim your parent the year they turned 60? My mother was born in January, so I should think so, but they might not want to let people do that in case someone’s parent was born December 31 and they never got any money while they were 60. Would appreciate anyone who has knowledge/experience with that, thanks.
Hello
Has anyone tried to claim tax allows for non-Taiwanese parent that doesn’t live in Taiwan? Is it allowed? How does it work? Thanks
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Yes we have. And yes it is.
Have a look upthread for some of the details.
Cheers,
Guy
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Thanks. If I understand correctly, the saving will be about 20000 NT for one parent? 80k multiply by 20% tax rate.
It depends on their age, but IIRC I get 255,000 of my annual income tax free for two parents over 70.
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I’d be interested in this too.
It’s all in this thread, but basically you need a copy of your parent’s passports, some proof that they are alive (I use a copy of their pensions) and a copy of your birth certificate. Some people need to show evidence that they are sending money home, but I’ve never experienced that.
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Thanks, I will try that. Which tax office do you go to that doesn’t ask for remittances documents?
The tax office you use is the one located in your official city of residence (i.e. the address indicated on your ARC).
You don’t get to go out and choose one “that doesn’t ask for remittances documents.”
Cheers,
Guy
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interesting… I always go in very prepared. I have the passport copy, birth certificate, bank statement from the account my mother and I have together (really mine, but she’s on it in case anything needs to be taken care of in person back home) and the remittances that I send to that account. I’ve never been asked for proof of her being alive, but perhaps the joint bank statement works for that. Anyway, I do this, always get the benefit and never have any problems.
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One can never have too much in Taiwan.
Although, sometimes the reverse can work.
I’ve always been asked for proof of life. Could be variances between tax offices.
So I’m doing my taxes this month and realized that my mother’s passport has expired earlier this year. I went through and read some of my old posts and see that a copy of a driver’s license will be acceptable… My past self has answered a question for my present self, lol… This is because it is very unlikely that my mother will renew her passport any time soon, so I need to use another form of identification. So yes, a driver’s license will work (according to what I posted which probably came from an official at the tax office several years ago) and I will try that this year and report back the results.
I used scans of expired passports for several years. The tax office never said anything.
Of course, different officials & tax offices may have different approaches.
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How much can you claim for each parent? In other words, what’s the maximum I can send back to each parent and still claim a deduction for it? I don’t actually send money back to my parents, but I would (up to a certain amount) if there was a significant tax benefit.
You can claim $88,000 exemption for any dependent (whether child or older parent); $132,000 for “any ideal EDIT: lineal (although who doesn’t want an ideal ascendant?) ascendants who is 70 years of age or over”. But I confess I’ve never quite understood how the math works with the tax forms or what that exemption means for my final tax bill.
In the Danshui tax office, I’ve never been asked for any evidence that I’m actually sending money back. All that matters is having “dependents”, i.e. children or elderly parents. I do show 1) scans of passports, as evidence of their birthdate; 2) scan of my birth certificate, to show connection to parents; 3) some kind of bill that my parents have paid in the past year, as evidence that they’re still financially doing something - medical receipts, cruise receipts, whatever. Just something with their names on it, ideally one page with both names, more often a different bill with each of their names. Those bills have zero connection to me and that’s never mattered.
I have brought these three different things in for years and no longer have any idea which of them I actually need. If it worked last year, I’ll just do the same thing the next year.
Others have reported that their tax office cares about evidence of money heading back, but as far as I can tell, the actual amount doesn’t matter. I see no reason why a USD$100 Mother’s Day gift wouldn’t count.