Is anyone actually writing off their rent here in Taiwan?
If so, what do I need to do this? Just the contract, or an official receipt filled out by my landlord?
Thanks
Steve
We did this last year. We brought a copy of our lease and the rent receipts from the landlord. Not sure if we needed all of that - but the tax lady was happy to have all the paper in front of her to stamp and staple and copy. 
Thanks. I haven’t been getting any receipts. I guess I should ask for some…
Make sure your landlord is amenable to this; many landlords don’t let you deduct your rent as they think it will cost them more.
And it will cost them more, about 10% of the rent in taxes. Whether you can claim tax relief or not is generally agreed on signing the rental agreement. If you go to a rental agency you’ll generally see the rent listed under private and company, the company being 10% more - to cover the tax. It’s pretty common practise for renters in Taiwan to claim tax relief on an apartment they’ve moved out of during the tax year, regardless of any agreement with the landlord. If you’ve no explicit agreement, it’s a good way to get the rent reduced as the end of tax year approaches. I believe the landlord is supposed to report rental earnings during the year, not just at tax time, so will often agree to a rent reduction in exchange for you not claiming the relief. I believe you technically should have a copy of your contract and an up to date rent book to claim tax relief. I’m trying a contract and copy of monthly withdrawals from ATM’s on rent day to claim relief from a previous apartment, landlord unjustly (in my opinion) withheld NT3000 from my deposit), don’t know if it will work or not, but worth a go!
It might also be relevant to note that our “landlord” is a big company - China Trust Life Insurance. I called our contact there before tax time last year and asked if it was ok for me to write off the rent. She said yes.
If your landlord is just the guy downstairs (or something like that)- I would ask first.
Alternatively to SuperS54’s comment about possibly reducing the rent, the landlord may say that if you want to claim rent in your taxes, then they’ll have to raise your rent. That’s because if you claim, then they in turn must begin claiming their apartment as a profit making enterprise.
Many apartments rented out are still the “legal” residences of the landlord. For example, I once rented an upstairs space, while the landlords lived downstairs. When they decided to move in with their older son, I rented the entire apartment and found flatmate’s to move in. My apartment is still their legal residence and they still receive mail there, such as bank statements and such. To allow their tenant, me, to claim rent would mean an inconvenience for them (to change their legal residence, set up the apartment as a profit biz, and begin to pay tax on rent income), hence they would want to raise the rent as a result.
Right now, different apartment, my current landlord sold the place out from under me and I am moving (yet again) 7 months into our 1 year lease (according to the standard store-bought lease, I will be compensated a month’s free rent), but I’m going to try the same thing SuperS54 is going to try to do and claim the rent for this apartment. :raspberry:
Then for the new apartment, I found it via an agent. They have specifically noted in the agency lease that the rent we are paying will not be tax deductable. Another case of legal residency.
FYI
Save your transfer slips. They accept theose as long as you have most of them 10/12 to show you have been paying consistanly. They don’t check up on the landlord. Othewise I would have been evicted. I paid 40000/month he claimed 10000/month. 21 Century Country 16 century beuracracy. Go figure.
So my landlord won’t get in trouble if I deduce rent from tax. Rent that he has not declared as income himself?