Gift tax when a foreigner gives Taiwan property

Estate and Gift Tax Act Article 3 splits the tax base by residence and nationality. An ROC national who habitually resides in Taiwan is taxed on gifts of property in or outside Taiwan. An ROC national who habitually resides abroad, and a non-ROC national, are taxed only on gifts of property in Taiwan. So a foreign parent who gives a child shares of a Taiwan company or a Taipei apartment is within the tax; the same parent giving a bank balance held in Seoul or London is not.

Giving up ROC nationality within two years before a gift does not take the donor out of the national rules. Under Article 3-1, a donor who voluntarily lost ROC nationality within two years before the gift is still taxed under the rules for ROC nationals.

Article 7 makes the donor the taxpayer in principle. The donee becomes liable only in the situations the statute lists: the donor cannot be found; the donor misses the payment deadline and has no property in Taiwan that can be enforced against; or the donor dies before the tax is assessed.

Exemption and rates follow the year's notice

Article 22 lets the taxpayer deduct an annual exemption from the year's gift total; the statute itself still says NT$2.2 million. Article 12-1 indexes that figure: once the consumer price index has risen 10% or more cumulatively, the amount is adjusted from the following year, and the Ministry of Finance (MOF) announces it before the end of each December.

MOF tax portal item 4501 explains that from 1 January 2022 the exemption is NT$2.44 million per donor per year. The National Taxation Bureau of Taipei, using 2026 (ROC year 115) as its example, points out that a donor who gives to several children in one year still gets the exemption only once.

Article 19 applies progressive rates of 10%, 15% and 20% to the taxable net gift. The bracket thresholds are indexed under Article 12-1 as well, so the MOF notice for the year of the gift governs. Gifts made on two or more occasions in a year are added together, the tax is computed on the total, and tax already paid that year is credited.

A sale can still be a gift

Calling a transfer a sale does not take it out of the gift tax. Article 5 treats several transactions as gifts. Where property changes hands at a clearly inadequate price, the shortfall is a gift. A sale of property between relatives within the second degree is also a gift, unless the buyer can prove the price was actually paid and that the money was not lent by the seller or borrowed from someone else on the seller's guarantee or security. The same article covers forgiving or assuming another person's debt without consideration, and paying for property bought in someone else's name.

Where and when to file

Article 24(2) sends resident nationals to the office of their household registration, and non-resident nationals or non-ROC nationals who gift Taiwan property to the office at the seat of the central government. In practice that is the National Taxation Bureau of Taipei.

Article 24(1) itself requires filing within 30 days after the gift that pushes the year's total over the exemption; gifts excluded from the total under Article 20 do not count. Guidance from the National Taxation Bureau of the Northern Area (30 June 2026) repeats this. Under Article 26, a taxpayer with good cause may apply in writing before the deadline for an extension of up to three months, longer only where force majeure or other special reasons justify it. A donor abroad who needs time to gather documents has to make that application before the 30 days run out.

Registration waits for the tax certificate

Under Article 42, land offices and other registrars will not record a transfer of gifted property unless the parties attach a tax-payment, exemption, non-inclusion or transfer-consent certificate issued by the tax office. A signed gift deed for Taiwan real estate or registered shares therefore does not complete the transfer until the gift tax filing has been dealt with.

Estate tax and income tax are separate questions

Estate tax on a foreign decedent's Taiwan assets is covered in Taiwan estate tax for a foreign decedent. Residence for income tax uses its own test, explained in Taiwan income-tax residence, and does not decide habitual residence under the gift tax.

For instructing counsel from abroad, see Hiring a Taiwan lawyer from abroad. When writing, please include the gift deed, where the property is located, and the nationality and Taiwan days of stay of both donor and donee. Contact Attorney Wei Tseng (曾雋崴), Hovering International Law Firm: wei@hoveringlaw.com.tw. Address: 7F-2, No. 35, Sec. 1, Chengde Rd., Datong Dist., Taipei City 103, Taiwan (103 臺北市大同區承德路一段35號7樓之2).

Official sources

• Estate and Gift Tax Act: Art. 3, Art. 3-1, Art. 5, Art. 7, Art. 12-1, Art. 19, Art. 20, Art. 22, Art. 24, Art. 26, Art. 42.
• MOF tax portal 4501: gift tax exemption.
• National Taxation Bureau of Taipei: exemption counted per donor.
• National Taxation Bureau of the Northern Area: filing by non-resident nationals gifting Taiwan property.

Verified: 2 October 2026