Scope of Taxation

A document is subject to stamp tax if it is signed in Taiwan and is a document subject to the stamp tax, even if only one of the signing parties is in Taiwan.

Types of documents subject to the levy of stamp tax include:

• Receipts for monetary payments: Referring to documents, books or records drawn upon the receipt of money, such as receipts, slips, releases, bank book, payment records and the like issued to identify monetary payments, but excluding monetary receipts for commercial invoices or commercial invoices for monetary receipts.
• Deed for sale of movables: Referring to deeds receipts issued for sale of movables.
• Contracting agreements: Referring to agreements executed for the completion of a specifically ordered task, e.g. construction contracts, printing contracts, OEM contracts and the like.
• Contracts for the sale, transfer and partition of real estate: Referring to pledge of lien on real estate, or deeds or contracts for sale, exchange, gratuitous transfer, or partition of real estate to be submitted to government agencies for registration.

Taxpayers

The taxpayers for stamp tax purposes are the parties that sign taxable documents.

Tax Rates or Tax Amounts

The stamp tax rates or amounts are as follows:

Tax Exemption

The following documents are exempted from the levy of stamp tax:

• Contracts or deeds executed by all levels of government agencies and townships (at town, city and district levels).
• Monetary receipts executed by public or private schools.
• Deeds or documents executed by government-owned or private enterprises internally and not involved in rights or obligations with third parties, including those issued for internal use between the head office and branches.
• Debit notes sent out for claim of payments or audit purposes.
• Duplicates or transcripts where a tax stamp has been affixed to the original document.
• Bus tickets, train tickets, boat tickets, air tickets and other tickets for carriage of passengers or cargoes.
• Receipts for the sale of self-grown agricultural products (including agriculture, forestry, fisheries and livestock) issued by farmer's associations or wholesalers at the first wholesale level on behalf of farmers.
• Receipts identifying payment of salaries or wages.
• Receipts identifying payment of social benefits, payments to the family of a deceased person or pensions.
• Receipts for taxes or donations to the government issued by collecting agencies.
• Receipts issued by voluntary handlers of government grants at the time of reimbursement.
• Receipts identifying tax returns.
• Receipts issued for the sale of tax stamps.
• Receipts for donations issued by corporate entities organized for educational, cultural, public/social welfare, or charitable purposes.
• Receipts issued by the Agricultural Land and Water Association to its members for payment for irrigation services.
• Contracts for the construction or repair of aircraft, ships or boats engaged in transnational transport.