Taiwan’s tax authority has reminded businesses and individuals purchasing electronic services from overseas e-commerce platforms of their business tax obligations, including declaration and payment requirements and applicable exemptions.
The Central Taiwan National Taxation Bureau of the Ministry of Finance announced on 14 August 2026 that businesses and individuals purchasing electronic services from overseas e-commerce platforms (such as Google, Microsoft, Amazon, and Apple) should declare and pay business tax in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Value-Added and Non-Value-Added Business Tax Act and the Regulations on the Levy of Business Tax on Cross-Border Electronic Services Transactions.
The bureau stated that when businesses purchase online marketing advertisements, online services, or other electronic services from foreign businesses, agencies, groups, or organisations, the service recipients should declare and pay business tax in accordance with Article 36 of the Business Tax Act.
The bureau further explained that the tax treatment varies slightly depending on the type of service purchaser when purchasing electronic services from overseas e-commerce platforms, as illustrated in the table below:
| Service purchaser | Application and payment methods |
| General business | If the purchased services are intended for the sale of taxable goods or services, business tax is exempted. However, the amount paid must still be declared in Column 74 of the business tax return within 15 days after the beginning of the period following the payment of the remuneration. |
| Concurrent business operator | Within 15 days after the beginning of the period following the payment of the remuneration, the business tax amount shall be calculated based on the tax rate stipulated in Article 10 of the Business Tax Act (currently 5%) and paid in accordance with the “Regulations for Calculating Business Tax for Concurrent Business Operators.” |
| Small businesses and organizations | Within 15 days after the payment of the remuneration, the “Payment Form for Business Tax on Purchase of Foreign Services (408)” shall be completed, and business tax shall be paid on the amount of the payment at the rate stipulated in Article 10 of the Business Tax Act (currently 5%). |
| Natural persons | If an overseas e-commerce platform sells electronic services to a domestic individual and its annual sales exceed a certain threshold (TWD 600,000 starting in 2025), the platform should register for tax purposes in accordance with Article 28-1 of the Business Tax Act, and the overseas e-commerce platform should issue an online invoice to the individual. |
The bureau reminded buyers who purchase electronic services from overseas e-commerce platforms to be aware of the relevant regulations. If they fail to pay business tax as required due to negligence, they may be exempted from penalties under Article 48-1 of the Tax Collection Act if they voluntarily report and pay the tax and interest to the local tax authority before being reported or investigated by the tax authorities or investigators designated by the Ministry of Finance.
