Company formation in Taiwan does not require the owners to travel, but every foreign-owned subsidiary first needs investment approval from the Ministry of Economic Affairs, the capital is brought in only after that approval and banks ask for an in-person meeting to open the preparatory account. What decides whether the structure works is not registration but the approval timeline, the authentication of documents at Taiwan’s representative office in the owners’ country, the salary thresholds for work permits, the absence of a tax treaty with many countries and how the company is treated in the owners’ home country.
Company formation in Taiwan: which structure is right for you?
For most foreign investors, company formation in Taiwan means a limited company: a single foreign shareholder and a single foreign director are enough, there is no statutory minimum capital and most sectors need no local partner. A company limited by shares is used where share transfers and investor entry matter. A branch or representative office is the only route without investment approval. In company formation in Taiwan the choice depends on the activity, the capital structure and whether the approval timeline is acceptable.
Formed by one or more shareholders, individual or corporate. Management can rest with a single director.
- No minimum capital; the approval authority expects a reasonable amount in practice
- Share transfers need shareholder consent
- Foreign ownership requires investment approval
A non-public company may appoint one or two directors instead of a board if the articles allow; single-shareholder formation is possible.
- Shares are registered; bearer shares are banned
- Directors and holders above 10% are reported
- More detailed governance
A branch trades and pays 20% corporate tax; no investment approval is needed and, since 2018, no separate recognition procedure. A representative office cannot sell.
- No undistributed-earnings surtax for a branch
- No tax on profit remittance
- The parent is directly liable
A sole proprietorship is open only to Taiwan citizens and permanent residents, so it is not an option for a foreign investor. Capital from mainland China follows a separate and narrower approval regime. Other foreign investment faces a short negative list (such as aviation and telecommunications).
How does company formation in Taiwan work, step by step?
OzbekCPA coordinates the formation with its team in Taiwan: the document list is issued, the articles and power of attorney are drafted, authentication is arranged, the investment approval and registration filings are made and the bank opening is supported. In company formation in Taiwan a foreign-owned subsidiary follows a fixed order: investment approval first, then capital inflow, then registration.
- Week 1Name and addressA Chinese name is mandatory and is reserved with the register (fee about TWD 150); a lease is needed for the approval, and a virtual office may be accepted at an early stage.
- Weeks 1–3Documents and authenticationThe parent’s registry certificate, signing authority, power of attorney and articles are prepared. Taiwan is not party to the apostille convention, so documents are authenticated at Taiwan’s representative office in the owners’ country; its authentication authority is confirmed before filing.
- 6–8 weeksInvestment approvalThe application goes to the Department of Investment Review of the Ministry of Economic Affairs; there is no fee. Sensitive sectors take longer. Capital must be brought in within one year of approval.
- 1–2 weeksPreparatory account and capitalA preparatory bank account is opened (an in-person meeting is requested), the capital is deposited and the bank issues a deposit certificate; the inflow is reported to the ministry and a CPA verifies the capital.
- ≈ 1 weekRegistrationThe company is registered (fee TWD 1 per TWD 4,000 of capital, minimum TWD 1,000); the company chops are made.
- After registrationTax registration and account conversionTax registration and the uniform-invoice system are set up; the preparatory account is converted into an operating account. Shareholders, directors and holders above 10% are reported to the register.
An investor who opens a branch instead of completing company formation in Taiwan skips the approval step and registers directly with the Department of Commerce; the parent’s documents go through the same authentication route. The working capital to be allocated to a branch could not be verified in the sources, so it is asked at the outset.
Is a local partner, local manager or nominee director required?
No. Company formation in Taiwan needs no local partner in most sectors; a foreign owner may hold all of the company and the sole director may be foreign. No residence requirement for the director was found in the sources reviewed; this is confirmed before formation. Being a director gives no residence or work right.
A nominee director (a director on paper only) was not researched as a separate institution in Taiwan law. Every registered director carries liability for the role, shareholders and large holders are reported yearly and banks ask who actually decides. Moreover, Taiwan has enacted a rule treating a foreign company with its place of effective management in Taiwan as resident; the effective date is not yet set, but remote management carries risk in both directions.
Capital, address and company chops
Company formation in Taiwan has had no statutory minimum capital since 2009. The approval authority is reported to expect a reasonable paid-in amount in practice, with a figure around TWD 500,000 mentioned in sources; this is not verified as an official rule. A CPA verification follows within two months of receipt of the full capital. Capital is planned with the first loss-making years and work-permit salaries in mind.
A leased address is required for registration; a virtual office costs about TWD 3,000–8,000 a month and its acceptance in every approval case is not verified. The company uses a large and a small chop on official documents; the chops are made after registration.
How much does company formation in Taiwan cost?
The figures below for company formation in Taiwan are indicative for a single-owner limited company (Taiwan dollars). Official fees are low; the real cost is authentication, service fees, an address and accounting. A service proposal defines the scope.
| Item | Amount (TWD) |
|---|---|
| Name reservation | ≈ 150 |
| Investment approval | no fee |
| Registration fee | 1/4,000 of capital, minimum 1,000 |
| Document authentication (per document) | ≈ USD 15–50 |
| Formation service fee | ≈ 20,000–40,000 |
| Total formation cost (capital excluded) | ≈ 25,000–60,000 |
| Virtual office (monthly) | ≈ 3,000–8,000 |
| Accounting (monthly) | ≈ 3,000–10,000 |
Most company formation in Taiwan figures rest on a single secondary source and are settled by proposal. A statutory audit becomes mandatory when paid-in capital reaches TWD 30 million or when net revenue exceeds TWD 100 million or staff exceed 100; companies with revenue above TWD 100 million also file their tax return with CPA attestation. For a branch, the difference is the authentication of the parent’s documents and the yearly filing of financial statements.
After formation: tax, accounting and invoicing
Corporate tax. Company formation in Taiwan brings a 20% rate; a branch is taxed at the same rate. A company with annual income up to TWD 120,000 pays no tax. Earnings not distributed by the end of the following year carry a 5% surtax; a branch is exempt. The alternative minimum tax is 12%, and a rise to 15% for large multinational groups is still a draft. Losses are carried forward ten years provided the return is CPA-attested.
Dividends and withholding. Payments to a non-resident owner are withheld at 21% on dividends, 15% or 20% on interest, 20% on royalties and 20% on service fees; for services a deemed-profit method can lower the real burden. Taiwan has tax treaties with 36 jurisdictions; Turkey is not among them, so no reduced rate applies. A branch remits profit without further tax.
Business tax. The standard rate is 5%, exports are zero-rated and small-scale businesses pay 1%. Returns are filed every two months. On services bought from abroad the Taiwanese buyer pays the tax. Sales are documented with electronic uniform invoices, and input credit depends on them.
Accounting and audit. After company formation in Taiwan, books are kept in Taiwan dollars and Chinese (a foreign language may be used alongside), on an accrual basis and under local standards aligned with international ones. Books and statements are kept ten years, records at least five. The corporate tax return is due by 31 May; a provisional payment of half the previous year’s tax is made in September.
Transfer pricing and debt. A company with revenue up to TWD 300 million or related-party transactions up to TWD 200 million is exempt from the local file; the file is produced within one month of an audit notice. Interest on related-party debt above three times equity is not deductible.
- Within 1 year of approval: capital inflow
- Within 2 months of capital: CPA capital verification
- Within 15 days of a change: shareholder and director filing
- Every two months: business tax return
- 31 May: corporate tax return
- September: provisional tax
- End of following year: distribution decision
Work permits and employer obligations
Company formation in Taiwan gives the manager no right to live or work. For a foreign professional the work-permit salary threshold is TWD 47,971 a month; a rise to TWD 63,000–66,000 in 2026 is under discussion and the effective date is not verified. The Employment Gold Card, at an average gross salary of TWD 160,000 a month, gives one to three years of work and residence rights without an employer sponsor, with half of income above TWD 3 million exempt for the first three years. The investor resident visa requires an investment of at least USD 200,000; the entrepreneur visa runs one year. For information only: residence-by-investment routes exist, but our firm does not offer this service.
For company formation in Taiwan, Turkish citizens are not on the visa-exemption list; they are eligible for the e-visa, and a visa on arrival is reported at some airports (secondary source). A short-stay visa does not allow work.
Company formation in Taiwan also brings employer costs. From 1 January 2026 the minimum wage is TWD 29,500 a month and TWD 196 an hour. Labour insurance is 12.5% (employer 70%, employee 20%, government 10%; ceiling TWD 45,800), health insurance 5.17% (employer 60%, employee 30%), the supplementary health premium 2.11%, the employer pension contribution at least 6% and occupational accident insurance 0.12–0.96% by industry. For an employee on TWD 60,000 gross a month, total employer cost is about TWD 70,700 (the figure is an estimate).
After company formation in Taiwan, working time is 8 hours a day and 40 a week; overtime is capped at 46 hours a month and paid at 1.34 times for the first two hours and 1.67 thereafter. Annual leave runs from 3 to 30 days by service, notice from 10 to 30 days, and severance under the new system is half a month’s pay per year (capped at six months). No social security agreement exists between Turkey and Taiwan, so a seconded employee faces double contributions.
The home-country dimension: what decides the outcome
Taiwan has tax treaties with 36 jurisdictions; where the owners’ country is not among them, withholding applies in full and double taxation is relieved only under that country’s own credit rules. Residence, controlled-foreign-company rules and the taxation of dividends are decided by the owners’ own country. Each point below rests on facts to settle before formation.
- Place of effective management. After company formation in Taiwan, a company whose decisions are taken in another country is treated in many countries as resident there and taxed on its worldwide income. A registered address does not answer this; a real manager in Taiwan, decision records and real presence are the only defence.
- Two sides of the 20% rate. The 20% rate generally meets the minimum-tax condition (15% in many countries) for participation exemptions in the owners’ country. If R&D and investment credits push the real burden below 15%, the condition fails and controlled-foreign-company rules may apply; for operating companies, the passive-income test usually keeps those rules out. The choice should be made on the total burden in both countries.
- Withholding without a treaty. Dividends are withheld at 21% and royalties and service fees at 20% without reduction. Whether this tax is credited in the owners’ country, and with which documents, is examined separately before formation for a jurisdiction without diplomatic relations.
- Intra-group invoices. Service invoices from the parent to the Taiwan subsidiary are assessed under withholding and business tax together; the deduction depends on transfer pricing and proof that the work was done, and the same invoice is also reviewed in the parent’s country. The agreement is designed for both sides together.
- Branch or company? Branch profit is the parent’s own income: participation exemptions in the owners’ country do not apply to a branch, the 20% paid in Taiwan is credited against the parent’s tax, and a branch has neither dividend withholding nor the undistributed-earnings surtax. A company instead engages the dividend exemption and controlled-foreign-company rules.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need to travel to Taiwan for company formation in Taiwan?
Not for approval and registration; documents are authenticated at Taiwan’s representative office in your country and delivered to the team in Taiwan by power of attorney. Banks ask for an in-person meeting for the preparatory account, so a visit shortens the timeline.
Can a company be the owner in company formation in Taiwan?
Yes. The parent’s current articles, registry certificate, investment resolution and signing authority are authenticated and added to the approval file with a Chinese translation. With a corporate owner the timeline can stretch with document preparation.
Is a local owner or local manager required for company formation in Taiwan?
Not in most sectors. A foreign owner may hold all of the company and the sole director may be foreign; no residence requirement for the director was found in the sources and it is confirmed at the outset. Being a director gives no residence permit.
What is the minimum capital for company formation in Taiwan?
There is no statutory minimum. The approval authority is reported to expect a reasonable amount in practice, with about TWD 500,000 mentioned in sources; this is not verified as an official rule. Work-permit salaries and first-year expenses are built into the capital plan.
How long does company formation in Taiwan take?
Investment approval usually takes 6–8 weeks; with capital inflow, verification and registration the total is quoted at 2–4 months. Sensitive sectors and corporate owners take longer.
Is there a tax treaty between Turkey and Taiwan?
No. Taiwan has treaties with 36 jurisdictions and Turkey is not among them, so the 21% dividend withholding applies in full. There is no social security agreement either.
Is an office required for company formation in Taiwan?
A leased address is required for registration. A virtual office may be accepted at an early stage, but its acceptance in every approval case is not verified; it is asked at the outset depending on the activity and permit type.
How does OzbekCPA support company formation in Taiwan?
OzbekCPA coordinates the approval, formation and bank stages with its team in Taiwan and handles: modelling the 20% corporate tax and 21% withholding together with the owners’ home-country tax result; preparing and authenticating owner documents; designing service and licence agreements with the parent under both countries’ rules; and the tax assessment of the Taiwan company in the owners’ country. After formation, accounting, business tax, payroll and electronic invoicing run through the accounting team in Taiwan. Residence-by-investment or citizenship services are not offered; permit work is limited to employment and residence permits tied to companies.
OzbekCPA advises investors and companies worldwide on company formation in Taiwan: choice of structure and tax effect, authentication and translation of documents, design of intra-group agreements and the assessment of the structure in the owners’ own country. For a structure review based on your activity and ownership, contact us. Related reading: Effective Management and Control · Foreign Participation Gains Exemption: Decision 11257 · Transfer Pricing in Turkey.
