Good day, just wanted to make things clear about my tax, i have started working here in taiwan as a factory worker november 25,2013 until i have finished my 3 years of contract in november 23 2016 i went back home in the philippines . And luckily my employer rehired me . I have stayed in the philippines for almost 3months, I have arrived back here in taiwan just this February 14 2017, Do i still have tax refund ?
If you’re talking about your 2017 tax return (to be filed in May 2018), the only thing to worry about is how to get the payment if you leave in Feb 2018.
If you’re talking about your 2016 tax return, it should have been filed in May 2017, unless it’s different for factory workers. 
Whether you get a refund or not depends on how much tax your employer withheld and the amount of the exemptions/deductions you’re entitled to. For example, if your employer uses the 18% withholding rate for the first 6 months, you should be able to get a refund because, as a resident for tax purposes (staying 183+ days in Taiwan in a calendar year), you’re subject to the normal tax rate which starts at 5% (and goes higher if you have a high income).
If your employer uses the 5% withholding rate for the whole year, you may still qualify for a refund due to your exemptions/deductions. So it depends on your rent and so on. The tax office can help you with this. They have English speaking staff at the main office near Beimen in Taipei; I’m not sure about other offices.
For 2017, you weren’t out of Taiwan long enough to stop being a resident for tax purposes (183+ days in a calendar year, always calculated from Jan to Dec), so you don’t need to worry about losing the 5% tax rate. However, your employer always has the option of starting at the 18% rate each year, until you’ve been in Taiwan for at least 183 days in the current year.
The tax refund takes a few months to process, so if you won’t be coming back to Taiwan, getting the final refund can be difficult, but I know it’s possible because people have done it (we have a thread about it somewhere).
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Thank you :)) God bless …
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