Bad Things about Teaching in Taiwan: Income Tax
I don't always write good thing about teaching in Taiwan, but know that there's a highly positive tone about what I write. This is because I do think this is a great place to work. But I know that some people who work here don't have the same experience as me, so I¡¦d like to write about some of the serious problems that other teachers have told me about.
Income Tax and Residency
One of the biggest problems for new teachers is the residency requirement for income tax.
Taiwan income tax laws are quite generous compared with Canada. I pay a 6% tax on my income. That's it, no other deductions of any kind. But I pay 6% because I am a resident of the ROC. If you have lived here for less than 183 days in the year, you are not a resident. As a result, you have to pay 20% of your income as tax. After you become a resident, you can apply for a tax refund, and you should be able to get all that money back.
At my school, what that means is that your check says 54,000, but you take home about 40,000. Of course, you get it all back, but that's not 'til next year, and all that missing money doesn't help you pay the rent this year.
If you come here from overseas and don¡¦t have residency, your university will tell you about this. My experience is that being told and the reality of missing the money are completely different.
This can be a serious problem. Bear it in mind when planning to work here.
10:28:17 AM 
Bad Things about Teaching in Taiwan: Income Tax
I don't always write good thing about teaching in Taiwan, but know that there's a highly positive tone about what I write. This is because I do think this is a great place to work. But I know that some people who work here don't have the same experience as me, so I¡¦d like to write about some of the serious problems that other teachers have told me about.
Income Tax and Residency
One of the biggest problems for new teachers is the residency requirement for income tax.
Taiwan income tax laws are quite generous compared with Canada. I pay a 6% tax on my income. That's it, no other deductions of any kind. But I pay 6% because I am a resident of the ROC. If you have lived here for less than 183 days in the year, you are not a resident. As a result, you have to pay 20% of your income as tax. After you become a resident, you can apply for a tax refund, and you should be able to get all that money back.
At my school, what that means is that your check says 54,000, but you take home about 40,000. Of course, you get it all back, but that's not 'til next year, and all that missing money doesn't help you pay the rent this year.
If you come here from overseas and don¡¦t have residency, your university will tell you about this. My experience is that being told and the reality of missing the money are completely different.
This can be a serious problem. Bear it in mind when planning to work here.
10:28:17 AM [Macro error: Can't evaluate the expression because the name "commentLink" hasn't been defined.]
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