Country guide · Taiwan
Moving to Taiwan: cost of living, salaries, taxes, visas
Asia's strongest tech-manufacturing hub (TSMC anchors); Gold Card residency for specialized foreign professionals; among the most English-friendly hubs in Asia.
Taiwan — anchored by Taipei — combines world-class tech-manufacturing scale (TSMC dominates the semiconductor industry globally) with a remarkably livable capital. Healthcare quality is among the highest in Asia and uniquely accessible — Taiwan's National Health Insurance covers residents at low out-of-pocket cost.
The Employment Gold Card is the headline expat-relocator route — a 1-3 year combined work permit / residency / re-entry permit for qualifying specialists across science, finance, sport, art, and tech. The Taiwanese tax regime is straightforward; the foreign-resident threshold (183 days) triggers progressive bands that cap at 40%.
At a glance
Taiwan relocation profile
Mundevo coverage in Taiwan
Taipei is the anchor city for cost-of-living and corridor calculations involving Taiwan.
| City | Cost index | Rent index | Safety | Population |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Taipei | 62 | 48 | 88 | 2,600,000 |
Tax and visa landscape
Headline tax model + entry-point visa overview for relocators.
- Effective income tax: 13.0%
- Social security (employee): 6.3%
- Total payroll deduction: 19.3%
- VAT: 5.0%
- Currency: TWD
Effective rates assume a single salaried filer at country median wage. Special regimes (e.g. expat-favoring schemes) are not applied here — see the visa guide for those.
A dedicated visa guide for Taiwan is not yet published. For current rules and category eligibility, contact the Taiwan consulate in your country of residence.
Salary bands at Taipei — by role
Illustrative gross-salary bands for 6 senior IC roles in Taipei. Derived from NYC anchor × Taiwan pay-tier multiplier. Cross-check Levels.fyi, Glassdoor before negotiating.
| Role | P25 | P50 | P75 | NYC anchor (P50) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Software engineer | NT$2,315,972 | NT$2,875,000 | NT$3,673,611 | $180,000 |
| Product manager | NT$2,395,833 | NT$3,114,583 | NT$4,152,778 | $195,000 |
| UX / product designer | NT$1,581,250 | NT$2,084,375 | NT$2,803,125 | $145,000 |
| Marketing manager | NT$1,365,625 | NT$1,868,750 | NT$2,515,625 | $130,000 |
| Data scientist | NT$2,156,250 | NT$2,795,139 | NT$3,673,611 | $175,000 |
| Finance analyst | NT$1,756,944 | NT$2,475,694 | NT$3,513,889 | $155,000 |
Top relocation corridors
Closest peers by cost-of-living index — the moves most commonly considered alongside Taiwan.