I’m going to renegotiate my salary soon. I want to know what are some benefits that are non-taxable, common in Taiwan and ideally tax deductible by the employer as well.
My company gives me a $500 gym allowance. I just show them the receipt. If it’s over $500 they will still only refund me $500. In the past I’ve had a company give me a $500 mobile phone allowance, although I’m not sure if that was tax deductible because we didn’t need to show them a receipt, probably was though somehow.
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I think lunch up to 2000 ntd lunch allowance a month is tax deductible. Not 100% on that though.
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Most companies I’ve worked for here have given me a $2400 food allowance as part of my salary, e.g. if they told me my salary is 80k, the salary I actually got was 77.6k, and the rest was food allowance. I also give my wife who is an employee of my small business a $2400 food allowance, although I’m not aware of any other allowances I could be giving her.
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That’s right…same with me.
I used to get an ADSL allowance but the stingy local management chopped it, that was 700 ntd a month maybe it wasn’t tax deductible?
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Those are so small I was hoping for something in the 10-15k ballpark. Only 2400 for food? That’s ridiculously low. Guess they just have to up their game with salary then.
I get a housing allowance
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Car allowance, housing allowance, tuition allowance, mobile phone, home internet
That’s the government limit for non taxable food allowance.
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Employees used to get tax free stock options or something but they changed the rules a few years ago. Pretty sure that was the big one.
On your own side you can claim stuff such as mortgage interest and your dependents even if not in Taiwan .The government increased the allowances over the last few years .
But yeah good topic I think there aren’t many ways from company side they can get around the taxable income.
I’m curious if anyone knows the maximum tax-free/tax deductible housing allowance amount in Taiwan. When I was doing my US taxes, I noticed that housing allowances can get close to 100k USD/yr, depending on the COL of that city (though it can’t exceed your actual income). I remember seeing a post from someone who was looking for housing in the 80k+/month range in Taipei (because that was their housing stipend). Can an employer really give 80k/month in tax-free housing as part of a package?? What is the max housing stipend amount?
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If the company is tax protecting your housing allowance, then there is no limit.
The foreign housing exclusion or deduction with US taxes helps reduce tax liability, but doesn’t completely eliminate it.
You might want to look here and see if you are eligible for any of these benefits. As I recall, eligiblity can be a bit tricky. You might to consult a CPA before you set something up with your employer.
https://law-out.mof.gov.tw/EngLawContent.aspx?lan=E&id=1
I of course hope that your salary negotions go smoothly because you are a valued and indispensable employee and your employer is reasonable and understands that.
But the more common scenario in Taiwan is that anything but insultingly small raises are very difficult to negotiate. One scommon strategy is to go into the negotiations with a number that you think is fair and reasonable (considering topping this up for bargaining room). After your employer declines to raise you salary accordingly, start looking for a new job. Once you have a firm written offer in hand, go back to your current employer and ask for 10-20% more than what you asked for in the first place.
In many cases, this kind of brinksmanship is the only way to get a decent raise.
Good luck!
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Didn’t know that existed. Looks promising. Any idea how I can find what the tax preferences actually are? That article only discusses who qualifies.
The limit for meal allowance has been updated to $3000NT/month. Really it’s just a way to reduce taxable income.
Another benefit we offer is a subsidized yearly health check.
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Link?
（三）提高伙食費免稅金額
為適度反映物價變動情形，財政部近期修正營利事業所得稅查核準則第88條，將伙食費免列入員工薪資所得額度，由每人每月2,400元調增為3,000元，並自112年1月1日適用，以減輕員工負擔
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The nature of the tax incentives are in the link. Basically, the employer pays things like tuition for the employee and can claim it as a business expense. I believe this means that the payment is not counted as part of the foreigners income. Other claimable expenses include:
- air fare
- home leave vacation pay
- home moving expenses
- utility bills
- cleaning bills
- telephone bills,
- rent
- home repairs (remodeling?)
- tuition
See §3. These arrangement have to be in your employment agreement and there are other qualifications that have to be met.
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would a “per diem” allowance, such as paid when on a multi-day business trip, be counted as part of that 3000?