Taiwan Estate Tax in 2026: The Figures, and Who Pays on Gifts Made Before Death

When a Taiwanese family member who lived in Taiwan dies in 2026, estate tax is charged at 10% to 20% on what is left after an exemption of NT$13.33 million and a set of deductions. On September 11, 2026, Taiwan also amended its Estate and Gift Tax Act. The estate tax on gifts made to a spouse or heirs in the two years before death is now owed by whoever received the gift, and two payment rules were relaxed (Ministry of Finance release).

When Taiwan taxes the worldwide estate

Article 1 of the Estate and Gift Tax Act taxes the entire estate, inside and outside Taiwan, of a Republic of China (Taiwan) national who was ordinarily resident in Taiwan. That means a national who had a domicile in Taiwan within the two years before death, or who had only a residence here and stayed more than 365 days in total over those two years (Article 4, paragraph 3). So a Taiwanese spouse's US brokerage account or house is part of the gross estate.

For a decedent who was not an ROC national, or was a national ordinarily resident abroad, only assets in Taiwan are taxed, and the deductions and filing office differ; see When Someone Who Lived Abroad Dies Holding Assets in Taiwan.

Exemption, deductions and rates for deaths in 2026

The amounts printed in Articles 13, 17 and 18 are base figures. Under Article 12-1 they are raised whenever consumer prices have risen a cumulative 10% since the last adjustment, and the Ministry of Finance announces each year's figures in advance. Its announcement for 2026 left every figure unchanged from 2025.

A minor descendant gets a further NT$560,000 for each year left until adulthood. The personal deductions are not available for an heir who renounces the inheritance (Article 17, paragraph 2).

The rate is 10% on a net taxable estate of up to NT$56.21 million. From there to NT$112.42 million the tax is NT$5,621,000 plus 15% of the excess; above that it is NT$14,052,500 plus 20% of the excess.

Suppose a Taiwanese man living in Taipei dies in October 2026, leaving his American wife, two adult children, a gross estate of NT$80 million and no debts, and the family does not claim the marital-property deduction discussed below. The exemption, the spouse deduction, two descendant deductions (NT$1.12 million) and the funeral deduction total NT$21.36 million. The net taxable estate is NT$58.64 million, and the tax is NT$5,621,000 plus 15% of NT$2.43 million, or NT$5,985,500. Nothing in the wording of Article 17 ties the spouse or descendant deductions to that person's nationality.

Gifts made in the two years before death

Article 15, paragraph 1 treats property the decedent gave away in the two years before death as part of the estate if the recipient was the decedent's spouse, an heir of any rank under Civil Code Articles 1138 and 1140 (lineal descendants, parents, siblings, grandparents, and descendants who inherit by representation), or the spouse of such an heir. Gifts between spouses are left out of the gift tax base (Article 20, paragraph 1, item 6), but one made in the last two years still comes back into the estate tax calculation.

The amendment follows Constitutional Court Judgment 113 Hsien-Pan No. 11, announced on October 28, 2024, in a case where the decedent had given land to a spouse eleven days before dying. The Court held that the Act did not say how the spouse and the other heirs should bear the tax on such a gift, so the other heirs paid, out of what they inherited, estate tax on a gain that went to the spouse. It found that inconsistent with the constitutional guarantee of equality and gave the legislature two years to amend the law.

Amended Article 6, paragraph 3 makes the donee the taxpayer for the estate tax attributable to each gift, calculated by the gift's proportion of the gross estate. The donee's liability is limited to the gifted property, or to its value at the date of death if it has been transferred or lost. The amended articles came into force on September 13, 2026, the third day counting the promulgation date as the first (Article 59; Central Regulation Standard Act, Article 13). Paragraph 5 applies the same rule to deaths from October 28, 2024 until the amended provisions took effect, where the decedent's spouse renounced or lost the right to inherit.

In the example, assume the husband had given his wife NT$20 million a year before he died. The gross estate becomes NT$100 million, the net taxable estate NT$78.64 million and the tax NT$8,985,500. On the wording of the statute, one-fifth of that, NT$1,797,100, is owed by the wife as donee and the remaining NT$7,188,400 by the heirs out of the estate. Gift tax and land value increment tax already paid on the gift are credited, with interest, up to the additional estate tax the gift caused (Article 11, paragraph 2).

The surviving spouse's marital-property claim

Under Taiwan's statutory marital property regime, when the regime ends, each spouse's post-marriage property is netted against debts incurred during the marriage, and the difference between the two remainders is split equally. Property acquired by inheritance or other gratuitous means and damages for non-pecuniary harm are left out (Civil Code Article 1030-1). If the surviving spouse asserts this claim, the taxpayers may report it as a deduction from the gross estate (Article 17-1, paragraph 1). For a cross-border couple, the prior question is which country's law governs the marital property.

New paragraph 2 treats property given to the spouse within two years before death, and added back under Article 15, as the decedent's existing property when this deduction is calculated. The same judgment had also found it unequal that the Act offered no comparable deduction for such a gift to the spouse.

Within one year of the date the tax office issues the tax clearance or tax-exemption certificate, taxpayers who took the deduction must actually hand over property equal to the claimed amount to the spouse. The tax office is to collect tax on any part not handed over, within five years from the day after that year ends. The gift already added back cannot be counted toward this duty (paragraph 3).

Filing within six months, paying within two

The taxpayers must file the return within six months from the day after the death, with the tax office for the decedent's place of household registration (Article 23, paragraph 1). A taxpayer with good reason for delay must apply in writing before the deadline for an extension, normally limited to three months (Article 26). Failing to file on time carries a fine of up to twice the assessed tax (Article 44). An executor may file, pay and apply for a recheck on behalf of the heirs and donees (Article 6, paragraph 4).

The tax office is to assess the tax and issue a payment notice within two months of receiving the return (Article 29). The tax must be paid within two months from the day after the notice is served, and a two-month extension may be requested within that period (Article 30, paragraph 1). Until the tax is paid, the estate cannot be divided, bequests cannot be delivered and title cannot be transferred, unless the tax office has issued one of the certificates listed in Article 8.

What the amendment changed about payment

A taxpayer who cannot pay the whole tax in cash at once may apply, within the payment period, to pay in up to 18 instalments no more than two months apart, with interest. The old condition that the tax be NT$300,000 or more has been removed (Article 30, paragraphs 2 and 3). Payment in kind still requires tax of at least NT$300,000 (paragraph 4).

Heirs own an undivided estate jointly (Civil Code Article 1151), and disposing of jointly owned property normally needs every co-owner's consent (Civil Code Article 828, paragraph 3). Article 30, paragraph 7 now lets the heirs apply to pay estate tax from the decedent's deposits at financial institutions with the consent of a majority of the heirs whose shares together exceed one half, or of heirs whose shares together exceed two-thirds. In the example the wife and two children each hold one-third (Civil Code Article 1144), so any two of them can apply. The donee's own portion is excluded: the Ministry of Finance says paying that tax out of the estate needs the consent of all the heirs.

Where the decedent or an heir is a US citizen or resident, separate US federal or state rules may also apply; check those with a US tax professional.

For questions about a Taiwan estate tax return or a gift made before death, email Hovering International Law Firm at wei@hoveringlaw.com.tw with the date of death, the heirs and any gifts in the last two years. This column is general information; the outcome in a particular estate depends on its documents.

Official sources

• Estate and Gift Tax Act, Art. 1, Art. 4, Art. 6, Art. 8, Art. 11, Art. 12-1, Art. 13, Art. 15, Art. 17, Art. 17-1, Art. 18, Art. 20, Art. 23, Art. 26, Art. 29, Art. 30, Art. 44, Art. 59 (text in force after the amendment promulgated on September 11, 2026)
• Civil Code, Art. 828, Art. 1030-1, Art. 1138, Art. 1140, Art. 1144, Art. 1151
• Central Regulation Standard Act, Art. 13
• Ministry of Finance release on the amended Estate and Gift Tax Act, September 11, 2026
• Ministry of Finance announcement of the amounts for inheritances and gifts in 2026
• Constitutional Court, summary of Judgment 113 Hsien-Pan No. 11

Checked: October 5, 2026