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Hiring employees in Taiwan (2026)

Here's what you need to know before you hire in Taiwan: what it really costs an employer, the employment laws that shape the contract, and how an employer of record in Taiwan lets you hire compliantly without opening a local entity. Every figure below is sourced and dated.

19.7%Employer cost on top
NT$29,500Minimum wage / mo
3 daysMinimum paid annual leave
Days, not monthsTime to hire via EOR
Robbin Schuchmann
Written by:
Robbin Schuchmann
Co-Founder at EOR Overview
Last updated: November 9, 2026

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The most common mistake foreign employers make in Taiwan is treating it like a straightforward low-cost hire. The island has a well-developed labour law framework, and the numbers add up faster than many expect. An Employer of Record (EOR) lets you put someone on a compliant Taiwanese payroll without setting up a local entity, which can take months and carries its own administrative weight.

The figures you need to keep front of mind: the monthly minimum wage sits at 29,500 TWD, employer social security contributions run at 14.59% of gross, and severance exposure averages around 11.6 weeks. Those three numbers together give you a realistic floor for what a hire actually costs before you factor in any salary premium for skilled talent.

Taiwan employment facts

The statutory facts that drive a hire in Taiwan. Each row shows where the figure comes from and how current it is, so you can trust the number and check it yourself.

Pay & working time

Minimum wageper monthNT$29,500CurrentNational government · 2026
Legal weekly hoursthe normal full-time week set by law, not hours actually worked40 hours/weekCurrentNational government · 2026
Payroll cyclemonthlyCurrentNational government · 2026
13th-month salarynoneCurrentNational government · 2026

Employer cost & tax

Employer social securityof gross salary19.7%CurrentNational government · 2026
Employee social securitywithheld from pay4.1%CurrentNational government · 2026
Corporate tax rate20%CurrentNational government · 2026

Termination

Notice period (average over 1, 5 and 10 years)employer notice for an economic dismissal3.8 weeksCurrentNational government · 2026
Severance pay (average over 1, 5 and 10 years)unconditional severance for an economic dismissal11.6 weeksCurrentNational government · 2026

Leave & time off

Paid annual leave (minimum, once eligible)3 daysCurrentNational government · 2026
Public holidays16 daysCurrentNational government · 2026
Maternity leave8 weeksCurrentNational government · 2026
Paternity leavepaid leave reserved for the father or partner, including reserved parental-leave quotas1 weekCurrentNational government · 2026

Labour market

State pension agenormal statutory pensionable age65CurrentNational government · 2026
GDP per capita$39,512CurrentIMF World Economic Outlook · 2025
Union density32.2%DatedILOSTAT · 2017

Each row shows the year of the most recent citable source for that figure. Where a year looks old, that is the newest comprehensive source available, and we keep the sourced figure rather than substitute an unsourced newer one. Statutes may have changed since.

What it costs to hire in Taiwan

Salary is only part of the bill. On top of gross pay you owe employer social security and statutory contributions. Here's what an example salary of $40,000 a year actually costs you as the employer.

Gross annual salary$40,000
Employer contributions≈ 19.7% of gross+ $7,892
Total employment cost$47,892
Your EOR handles the filings

Illustrative, based on the employer social-security rate above. An EOR adds its own service fee on top of this total and runs the income-tax withholding and statutory filings, which are withheld from the employee's pay, not paid by you.

The main driver of employer cost in Taiwan is the social security contribution rate of 14.59% on top of gross salary. Employees contribute a further 2.4% on their side, but as the employer you are responsible for withholding and remitting both portions correctly each month. There are no additional itemised contributions in the data record beyond those figures, so the 14.59% rate is the key number to plug into any cost model you build.

Income tax in Taiwan

Income taxPaid by employee · progressive
$0 to $610,0005%
$610,001 to $1,380,00012%
$1,380,001 to $2,770,00020%
$2,770,001 to $5,190,00030%
$5,190,001 +40%
Employer contributions
Social security19.7%
Employee contributions
Social security4.1%

Employment-law essentials

The rules an EOR enforces in your contracts, and the ones most likely to trip you up if you tried to hire in Taiwan on your own.

Working time
Legal weekly hours40 hours/week
Pay & 13th salary
Minimum wageNT$29,500
Payroll cyclemonthly
13th-month salarynone
Leave
Paid annual leave (minimum, once eligible)3 days
Public holidays16 days
Maternity leave8 weeks
Paternity leave1 week
Termination
Notice period (average over 1, 5 and 10 years)3.8 weeks
Severance pay (average over 1, 5 and 10 years)11.6 weeks

Figures from the cited sources. Notice and severance are averages over 1, 5 and 10 years of service, not the amount for any one employee. Collective agreements or contracts can be more generous; an EOR applies whichever is correct for the role.

Things to watch in Taiwan

A few things about Taiwan's employment rules catch foreign employers off guard more than others.

  • Employer social security is not a small line item. At 14.59% of gross, it adds meaningfully to every payroll run. Budget for it from day one rather than treating it as a footnote.
  • Severance is a real liability. An average exposure of 11.6 weeks means that ending an employment relationship carries a cost you need to plan for upfront, not after the fact.
  • Notice periods are set by law. The average notice period of 3.8 weeks is a legal floor, not a suggestion. You cannot simply agree a shorter period informally and expect it to hold.
  • Taiwan's labour inspectorate is active. Misclassifying a worker as a contractor when the relationship looks like employment is a compliance risk that local authorities take seriously. An EOR removes that ambiguity entirely.

What changed in Taiwan

Checked against official sources on .

No rule changes recorded since we began logging them.

EOR vs. opening your own entity in Taiwan

Use an EOR when…
You're hiring one to a handful of people in Taiwan.
You want someone working in weeks, not months.
You'd rather not own local payroll, tax and compliance.
You're testing the market before committing.
Open your own entity when…
You're scaling to a large local team long-term.
Per-employee EOR fees outweigh the cost of an entity.
You need full control of local employment and IP.

Choosing an EOR for Taiwan

Providers with strong Taiwan coverage onboard faster and carry less risk. A shortlist to start from:

Compare all EOR providers in Taiwan

Best employer of record in Taiwan: ranked providers

Common questions about hiring in Taiwan

Common questions about hiring in Taiwan through an EOR.

Do I need a legal entity to hire someone in Taiwan? +
No. An Employer of Record (EOR) already has a legal entity in Taiwan and employs the person on your behalf, so you can hire compliantly without opening your own entity. You manage the day-to-day work; the EOR handles the local contract, payroll, taxes and statutory benefits.
How much does it cost to employ someone in Taiwan? +
On top of gross salary, employers in Taiwan contribute roughly 19.7% in social security and statutory costs. An EOR adds its own service fee on top of that total employment cost.
What is the minimum wage in Taiwan? +
The statutory minimum wage in Taiwan is NT$29,500. Pay below this is not permitted, and an EOR will hold contracts to at least this floor.
How hard is it to terminate an employee in Taiwan? +
Averaged across 1, 5 and 10 years of service, an economic dismissal in Taiwan comes with notice of 3.8 weeks and severance of 11.6 weeks. The amount owed depends on the reason for termination and the employee's tenure. An EOR runs the offboarding in line with local law to limit your risk.
How much paid leave do employees get in Taiwan? +
Employees in Taiwan are entitled to 3 days of paid annual leave. Statutory leave is one of the entitlements your EOR administers automatically.
About the author
Robbin Schuchmann
Robbin Schuchmann
Co-Founder at EOR Overview
Robbin is the co-founder of EOR Overview, an independent research site for Employer of Record services. He has been in the international hiring space for over a decade.
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