Wouldn’t you then just need to replace the standard deduction with your itemized deductions, assuming you do itemized deductions instead? I guess you’d need quite a lot more in eligible deductions for that to be worth it (ca. NT$176k assuming that your kid is also insured or NT$200k if they aren’t).
(Just noticed I already posted that link before - I couldn’t remember whether the itemized deduction replaces the standard deduction or the special deduction.)
Yes, that’s also my understanding.
Luckily there is no ceiling for the itemized deduction, so if you have mortgage payments, medical bills and insurance to pay, you can definitely make it worth it. I wonder if you pay for someone else’s medical bills (e.g. father in law) you can also claim that as your own expense.
I don’t think so as these are automatically loaded when you use the online filing software
If he is listed as a dependent, his medical bills can be claimed for.
If he isn’t, he can claim it as a deduction on his own tax form.
Not sure if you can claim it if he isn’t listed as a dependent.
Hi tax lovers!
Eric’s calculator is an indispensable resource, but the tax deduction data is currently incorrect, and the deduction for savings and investment is not calculated correctly. It looks like Eric is no longer maintaining the calculator. Because of this, I copied Eric’s calculator to my own account and made some modifications, including giving it a cleaner design, and changing the deduction explanations to make it easier to understand. Thanks @izzy for helping me work my head around the deduction for savings and investment.
I want to make this the best tax calculator ever so any suggestions are welcome. @Andrew will attest to how serious I take my taxes!
If you are a married couple filing together, would you put the combined income of both people into the annual salary box at the top?
Also how would you add the insurance deduction?
If you salary sacrifice a % of your income into the pension fund, is it possible to add that to the calculator too?
Sorry, I’m not excel savvy but I really like this calculator
Yes, correct.
The insurance deduction is an itemized deduction. If you choose to use it you won’t be able to use many of the other deductions. For this reason, itemized deductions aren’t included in this calculator. I’d have to create a separate one for this, which I may do.
Your salary shouldn’t be being deducted for the pension fund, unless you choose to pay an additional amount (up to 6%) on top of what your employer pays. I will see about adding this tomorrow. I’ll need to check if this is tax deductible though.
Do any of you raise dependents that are not in Taiwan? How do you “document” that? Do you wire any money back to your parents? Other obvious tips on reducing taxes paid?
You will need proof they are alive and proof of their age.
I used a copy of passport and a recent bill in their name.
You have to prove you sent them money. How strict they are about what proof you have depends on the agent. This part is actually bs because you don’t need to prove you gave money to parents in Taiwan, but whatever.
Looks good. I suspect the reason that Eric hasn’t maintained it recently is that no one (except you!) is going to be interested in taxes for another 8 months. 
Some of the deductions and brackets have been revised for 2022, I think. There’s a summary here (no idea if those new values are correct).
By the way, how much do you send? If not too private to ask? It seems that I can send up to about 2000EUR without my parents having to pay taxes.
Well the deduction is like 90k for each dependent under 70. 135k for anyone over 70. I always just made sure I sent over that. Not sure what would happen if you sent less.
If you are worried about staying under 2000 euro, spread it over a few payments. Although that would mean more transfer fees.
Can a parent abroad be a dependent even if they aren’t over 70? As long as we send them money to prove we are supporting them?
Unfortunately, it appears to be 2200EUR / year for a couple. Anything over that they pay 30% taxes, so that defeats the purpose. If I send them 90K, they will have to pay the equivalent of 6500NTD in taxes there and I can save 27K NTD max on taxes here. Knowing how my parents feel about paying taxes this makes it a nonstarter.
Yes.
Over 70 counts as 1.5 dependents if you get what I mean.
You have to pay tax on cash gifts?
It looks like, yes.
I found that Eric’s original calculator was calculating basic living expense difference incorrectly, and I have fixed the mistake in my updated version:
The total basic living expense shall be calculated in accordance with the expenses of basic living for each person announced by the Ministry of Finance multiplied by the number of taxpayer, spouse, and dependants. If the amount of basic living expense is higher than the sum of personal exemption, standard deduction (or itemised deduction), and special deductions (not including deduction for salaries or wages), the difference can be used as an additional deduction from the gross consolidated income.
I also cross referenced the deductions with my 2021 tax statement, and the amount shown by the Google Sheets calculator was the same as on my tax statement, so all looks accurate now. One question I still have is whether you should include a disabled person in the regular dependents section and the disabled section, or just the disabled section. I don’t have any disabled relatives so can’t cross reference my own tax statement.