New Gold Card holder with A Few Questions

Legal Visa & Residency
, ,
1

Hi Everyone,

Since I was planning to move to Taiwan I have been reading a lot of topics and advice in this forum for years which helped me a lot with many things to understand and achieve. This is the first time that I actually had to submit a post with questions that I could not find their answers here or on the Internet.

Little of my background: I am a recent Employment Gold Card holder who just arrived in Taiwan (I am literally in one of the quarantine hotels waiting for the 2 weeks to end while typing this).
I come from zero tax income country, I am still an employee for a company there and who does not have a representative office here. My aim is to settle down here for a long time period (if it’s not for good).

I cannot tell how long will it take me to find a decent job that suits my career which is related to Computer-Based Assessments.

And I take things step-at-a-time.

My questions:

1- My Gold Card is for 3 years, can I still work and earn money from a foreign company while living in Taiwan?

2- Renewal: Incase I stick to working for a foreign company remotely, will this impact my application resubmission/reapplying for Gold Card in the future? (Assuming that I will have the same requirements to apply for another in 3 years)

2- My future aim is to obtain APRC: I learned that I need to maintain 5 years of being a taxed-residence, if I continue working for a foreign company, how can I achieve this? Can I just show my income from my foreign bank account? Do I transfer Funds from my own account to a Taiwanese Bank Account? I do not think my company will agree to transfer my salary to a Taiwanese account. In short, how can I maintain myself as Taxed-Residence while working for a foreign company that transfers salary out of Taiwan?

Sorry, I am not very educated on how withholding tax or income tax works due to the fact that I did not face it before. I read a lot, but I could not get around how that will be translated to answer my 3rd question.

Looking for your advice and support.

Thanks,
Raed

2

If you become a resident of Taiwan, then your worldwide income is taxed at Taiwan tax rates. I’m from the US so typically I pay more tax in Taiwan than in the US. If you are from a 0% tax country, you may need to pay more tax to Taiwan.

3

welcome to Taiwan :slight_smile:
The Gold Card FAQ section on tax might be worth reading, from this question downwards: https://taiwangoldcard.com/goldcard-holders-faq/tax/#when-do-i-become-a-tax-resident-of-taiwan

It is as simple as @jimbob132 says. Stay in Taiwan for more than 183 days a year. Work for whichever companies you want: overseas, local, or both (your gold card has an open work permit).
Each year in May turn up at the tax office with documents proving your salary (regardless of where it was transferred). English-speaking staff will help you file your return. Pay the amount. Repeat for 5 years (ensuring your gold card or other work visa remains valid).

1 Like
4

@jimbob132 @fifieldt Thank you very much for your quick responses. This is amazing actually.

So, it is best to start calculating how much I owe Taiwan in Tax (estimate), I viewed the FAQs, very very helpful, and I found this https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1_UNRjnQXEdcUYLkw-Hqo1K22RE1QAjIFelvtp0nD0mY/edit#gid=1372091174 This tool is amazing (it is strange that they allow editing the form online).

You guys are awesome, thanks again.

2 Likes