Key Summary
- This guide is for overseas companies and investors who need to understand Taiwan company, branch, and representative-office options before asking the firm to handle a filing.
- The right structure depends on who will invest, who will contract in Taiwan, and what the local team will actually do. Those facts are not the same for every nationality.
- Company registration, foreign-investment review, banking, tax, permits, hiring, and residence are related but separate reviews. Completing one step does not finish the others.
Figures and requirements on this page are general information drawn from our public columns and may vary by case.
Start with Your Business Plan
Planning a Taiwan business starts with understanding how it will operate, who will invest, and what the local team will do. The questions below are a preparation aid, not a legal test that every investor must pass in the same way.
- What activity will take place in Taiwan: sales, contracting, manufacturing, liaison, or a mix?
- Who will own or control the Taiwan presence, and from which country are funds expected to come?
- Who will sign contracts and receive revenue in Taiwan?
- Will staff work in Taiwan, and will any of them need work permission or residence?
- Is there a preferred address, industry, or timeline already in view?
Understand the Formation Process
The outline below is a conditional overview of tasks that often arise when a foreign investor forms a Taiwan company. It is not a single sequence, duration, or document list that applies to every structure or nationality.
Investment Commission (投審會) approval
Foreign investors must file an investment plan with the Investment Commission for review. The Commission verifies that the capital is genuinely used for investment; after approval, capital must be remitted within one year.
Company name pre-check and power of attorney notarization
Apply to reserve the Chinese company name and complete authentication and notarization of the power of attorney. Searching for a registered office address in parallel saves time.
Incorporation registration (capital remittance, audit, registration)
Open a preparatory bank account, remit the capital, pass a capital audit, then file incorporation with the Ministry of Economic Affairs. How funds may be remitted depends on the investor’s bank and home-country rules; those rules should be checked before money is moved.
Tax registration
After incorporation, complete tax registration. The company files business tax (VAT) of 5% every two months and profit-seeking enterprise income tax of 20% each May for the prior year.
Formal bank account opening
Once incorporation documents are issued, the responsible person converts the preparatory account into a formal account at the bank. Anti-money-laundering rules make account opening strict; banks review lease agreements and conduct site visits.
Compare a Company, Branch and Representative Office
Taiwan entry is often compared across a company (limited company or company limited by shares), a branch of the foreign company, and a representative office. Tax exposure, legal personality, and permitted activity differ, and the comparison below is a starting map rather than advice for a specific investor.
Scroll horizontally to view all table columns.
| Item | Subsidiary (Co., Ltd. / Ltd.) | Branch | Liaison Office |
|---|---|---|---|
| Legal personality | Yes (independent entity) | No (business capacity only) | No |
| Business tax (VAT) | 5% | 5% | N/A |
| Corporate income tax | 20% | 20% | N/A |
| Dividend withholding (foreign) | 21% | None | N/A |
| Undistributed-earnings tax | 5% | None | N/A |
| Joint venture (others as shareholders) | Allowed | Not allowed (a branch has no shareholders) | Not allowed |
| Listing in Taiwan | Allowed (Co., Ltd.) | Not allowed | Not allowed |
| R&D tax credit | Up to 30% | None | None |
Prepare the Information and Documents
The items below help an overseas team brief the firm. They are not a complete statutory list, and originals or sensitive identity and banking files should wait for later instructions.
- A short description of the planned Taiwan activity and who will own or control it
- The investor’s country of organisation and any existing group structure
- Whether a Taiwan address, industry, or hiring plan is already in view
- Any deadline already driving the project
Review Banking, Permits and Staffing Separately
Banking
Opening or converting a company account is a bank process. It is not completed by company registration alone, and the documents a bank asks for can differ from the company-registry file.
Permits and the business activity
The registered business item and the premises should be checked against the activity you actually intend to carry on. Some industries need a separate licence.
Staffing and residence
Work permission and residence are separate from forming a company. Whether a manager or investor can work in Taiwan depends on the role and the applicable criteria, not on registration by itself.
Country-Specific Considerations
The notes below apply only to the country named in the heading. They are not restated as rules for every overseas investor.
Korea: remittance and outbound-investment reporting
Where funds would be remitted from a Korean bank, existing public columns describe in-person remittance and outbound direct-investment reporting as issues that Korean investors often have to check. That description is Korea-specific and is not a worldwide remittance rule.
Korea: Taiwan–Korea income tax agreement
Existing public columns record that the Taiwan–Korea Income Tax Agreement entered into force on 27 December 2023 and applies from 1 January 2024, and discuss PE analysis and a 10% maximum source-country rate for qualifying dividends, interest, and royalties. Those treaty points apply only when the agreement’s conditions are met for a Korean-related fact pattern. Other nationalities require a separate review.
Figures already published in our columns
The figures below are restated from existing public columns as general information. They are not a quote, a guaranteed timeline, or a rule that applies to every investor or nationality. Attorney review is required before relying on any figure for a specific plan.
Scroll horizontally to view all table columns.
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Minimum capital (formation itself) | No statutory minimum (1 TWD possible) |
| Capital for work permit / residence card | Sole shareholder at least TWD 500,000 (about TWD 170,000 with a Taiwanese partner) |
| Formation duration | About 3 months |
| Work permit / residence card duration | About 1 month |
| Business tax (VAT) | 5% (filed every 2 months) |
| Corporate income tax | 20% (annual) |
| Korea-specific tax agreement | See the country-specific section below. The Taiwan–Korea income tax agreement is not a worldwide investor rule. |
Questions from Overseas Businesses
- How should we compare a company, a branch, and a representative office?
- Compare who will contract, who will bear liabilities, what activity is actually planned, and how profits would be taken out. The table on this page is a starting map. It is not a recommendation of one form for every investor.
- What should an overseas head office organise before the first discussion?
- A short outline of the planned Taiwan activity, the investor or parent, any deadline, and the preferred contact language is usually enough to start. Identity documents and bank records can wait until the firm asks for them.
- Why review the business activity and address separately from company registration?
- Name reservation or company registration does not, by itself, confirm that the intended activity may be carried on at the intended premises. Industry permits and address rules are separate checks.
- When should banking, hiring, and residence be reviewed?
- They should be reviewed as their own topics, not assumed to finish on the same day as company registration. The sequence depends on the structure, the bank, and whether anyone will work in Taiwan.
- What should we send when contacting the firm?
- Send a brief business outline, the Taiwan connection, and any deadline. Do not attach passports, account numbers, or other sensitive files in the first email.
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Discuss Your Taiwan Business Plan
If you already know the business plan you want reviewed, continue to the company-formation legal-services page. Attorney Wei Tseng reviews the first enquiry; it is not a retainer.
Discuss Your Taiwan Company Setup
Email wei@hoveringlaw.com.tw