Medical institutions in Taiwan that provide non-medical services or sell beauty products must complete tax registration and report and pay business tax, the Northern Area National Taxation Bureau, Ministry of Finance, has said, as it urged clinics to review their operations and correct any omissions voluntarily.
Taiwan’s Northern Area National Taxation Bureau, Ministry of Finance, said that as public interest in body management and aesthetic appearance has grown in recent years, various slimming and beauty treatments, such as picosecond laser procedures, as well as related products, have become increasingly common. Where medical institutions provide non-medical services or sell beauty products, they are required by law to complete tax registration and report and pay business tax.
The bureau explained that under Article 8, Paragraph 1, Subparagraph 3 of the Value-added and Non-value-added Business Tax Act (hereinafter referred to as the Business Tax Act), medical services, medicines, and accommodation and meals provided by hospitals, clinics and sanatoriums are exempt from business tax.
“Medical aesthetics” refers to medical procedures performed by qualified physicians using medical techniques, including surgery, medicines, medical devices and biotechnology materials, to improve a person’s physical appearance through invasive or minimally invasive medical treatment, with treatment of disease as an accompanying purpose. Medical aesthetic services provided by physicians based on their professional medical expertise fall within the scope of “medical services”. Such income is treated as income from professional practice and is subject to consolidated income tax but exempt from business tax.
However, when medical institutions sell skincare products, cosmetics, whitening foods or other products that are not necessary for medical services, such transactions are considered ordinary commercial sales. Under Article 28 of the Business Tax Act, the institutions must complete tax registration and report and pay business tax.
The bureau urged all medical institutions to review their operations. Where an institution provides non-medical services or sells beauty products but has failed to complete tax registration or has failed to issue uniform invoices, it may voluntarily report and pay the omitted tax, together with interest, to the competent tax collection authority before being reported or investigated by the tax collection authority or an investigator designated by the Ministry of Finance.
Under Article 48-1 of the Tax Collection Act, such voluntary correction may qualify for exemption from penalties.
This announcement was made by the Northern Area National Taxation Bureau, Ministry of Finance Publication on 28 August 2026.
