Taiwan EOR Cost: What Employers Should Budget Before Hiring

Introduction

Here’s a situation that comes up more than it should. A company gets headcount approval for a Taiwan hire, brings someone on through an EOR, and then the finance team sees the first invoice and asks why the total cost is 25% higher than the salary they approved.

In most cases, the gap comes down to one thing: Taiwan’s statutory employer contributions weren’t in the original model. Five separate insurance schemes, each filed with a different government body, each calculated using salary bracket tables rather than flat percentages on gross pay. Get that part wrong in the budget, and the number that comes back is going to be wrong too.

So before the hire gets approved, here’s what Taiwan EOR cost actually looks like.

Breaking Down the True Taiwan EOR Cost

The total cost of hiring through an EOR in Taiwan has three main parts: gross salary, statutory employer contributions, and the EOR service fee. Understanding all three helps you build a more accurate hiring budget before the first payroll runs.

1. Gross Salary

Gross salary is the amount you agree to pay the employee. Taiwan’s minimum wage for 2026 is NT$29,500 per month, but most professional roles pay well above this level. Your actual salary cost will depend on the role, experience, location and market rate.

2. Statutory Employer Contributions

Statutory contributions sit on top of the employee’s gross salary. The employer pays these separately rather than deducting the employer’s share from the employee’s salary. Taiwan has five main statutory schemes:

• Labour Insurance
• Employment Insurance
• Occupational Accident Insurance
• National Health Insurance (NHI)
• Labour Pension

The Bureau of Labor Insurance manages Labour Insurance, Employment Insurance and Occupational Accident Insurance. The National Health Insurance Administration manages NHI, while the Bureau of Labor Funds manages Labour Pension. Each scheme uses its own salary ceiling and calculation rules. This makes Taiwan’s contribution system more complex than simply applying one percentage to gross salary.

3. EOR Service Fee

The EOR service fee covers the cost of having a registered local employer manage the employment relationship in Taiwan. Depending on the provider, this can include:

• Monthly payroll processing
• Statutory contribution calculations and filings
• Employee onboarding and offboarding
• Compliant employment contracts
• Year-end income tax reporting
• Work permit and ARC support for foreign employees

The EOR fee is separate from the statutory contributions. The contributions are payments required by the Taiwanese government, while the EOR fee covers the provider’s employment, payroll and compliance services.

The simplest way to estimate Taiwan EOR costs is to look at three numbers: gross salary + statutory employer contributions + EOR service fee.

For most employees, statutory employer contributions add roughly 15% to 20% on top of gross salary, although the actual amount depends on the employee’s salary grade, age and other factors. Understanding these three cost layers gives employers a much clearer picture of what a Taiwan hire will actually cost each month.

Taiwan’s Statutory Employer Contributions Explained

Taiwan’s statutory contributions are one of the biggest factors in the total cost of hiring through an EOR. The system includes five different schemes, and each one uses its own salary ceiling and calculation rules. The five schemes are:

• Labour Insurance: The total premium is 11.5% of the insured monthly salary. The employer pays 70% of this, which works out to about 8.05%. The contribution ceiling is NT$45,800 per month.
• Employment Insurance: The employer pays about 0.7%, based on 70% of the 1.0% total contribution. The same NT$45,800 salary ceiling applies.
• Occupational Accident Insurance: The employer pays the full contribution. The rate ranges from 0.11% to 0.93%, depending on the company’s industry, with the same NT$45,800 ceiling.
• National Health Insurance (NHI): The 2026 rate is 5.17%, with employers covering 60%. The actual employer cost comes to roughly 4.84% after applying the dependent factor. NHI uses a much higher salary ceiling of NT$175,601 per month.
• Labour Pension: Employers contribute at least 6% of monthly wages to the employee’s individual pension account. The contribution ceiling is NT$150,000 per month.

Why Salary Brackets Matter?

Employers cannot simply take one percentage and apply it to the employee’s full salary.

Taiwan uses standardised salary grades for several of these schemes. Each scheme also has its own contribution ceiling. As a result, the effective contribution rate can change as an employee’s salary increases.

Taken together, employer contributions usually add roughly 15% to 20% on top of gross salary, although the actual amount depends on the employee’s salary grade, industry and other factors.

What Does the EOR Service Fee Cover in Taiwan?

The EOR service fee pays for more than payroll processing. It covers the local employment infrastructure and the people responsible for keeping the employment relationship compliant. Depending on the provider, the service can include:

• Monthly payroll calculations across all five statutory schemes
• Employee enrolment and deregistration with the relevant authorities
• Monthly statutory filings and payments
• Compliant employment contracts
• Year-end income tax withholding and reporting
• Work permit and Alien Resident Certificate (ARC) support for foreign employees
• Employee onboarding and offboarding support

The provider also keeps track of changes to contribution tables, salary ceilings and filing requirements so the employer does not have to manage those updates independently.

Why EOR Fees Differ Between Providers?

EOR providers in Taiwan use different pricing models. Some charge a flat monthly fee per employee, while others charge a percentage of gross salary.

The headline monthly fee doesn’t tell you the full cost.

Some providers charge separately for services such as:

• BLI filings
• NHI updates
• Work permit applications
• Termination management
• Other employee administration

When comparing EOR quotes, employers should therefore compare the full scope of services, not just the monthly fee.

Cost Items That Can Increase Taiwan EOR Cost

The basic calculation of salary plus statutory contributions plus the EOR fee doesn’t always capture the full cost. A few items can increase the employer’s bill depending on the employee’s salary and compensation structure.

• Higher Salaries Can Change the Effective Contribution Rate

Taiwan’s five statutory schemes use different salary ceilings. For example, an employee earning NT$200,000 per month has already reached the Labour Insurance ceiling of NT$45,800. NHI contributions, however, continue up to NT$175,601.

This means the employer’s contribution does not increase at the same rate as the employee’s salary. A simple flat-percentage calculation can therefore give you the wrong estimate.

• Bonuses Can Trigger Additional NHI Costs

Year-end bonuses and commissions can create another cost. Taiwan applies a 2.11% supplementary NHI premium to certain irregular income above the standard insured salary. This charge sits separately from the employee’s regular monthly NHI contribution.

For example, a NT$200,000 bonus can create an additional NT$4,220 in NHI cost for that month. Employers should include expected bonuses and commissions in the original budget rather than looking only at the monthly salary.

• Annual Minimum Wage Changes Can Affect Contributions

Taiwan has increased its minimum wage every year since 2017. These increases can affect contribution amounts because the insurance system uses salary grades linked to the minimum wage.

The 2026 minimum wage is NT$29,500 per month, which raises the contribution amounts for employees at or near the lower salary grades. Employers should review contribution amounts at the start of each year rather than simply carrying forward the previous year’s figures.

• Overtime Can Add to the Employment Cost

Overtime also affects the total cost of employing someone in Taiwan. Under the Labour Standards Act, overtime rates increase based on the number of additional hours worked. The rate is 134% for the first two extra hours per day and 167% for the third and fourth hours.

Employers therefore need to account for overtime when estimating the real cost of a role, particularly for positions that regularly require additional hours.

Taiwan’s EOR cost structure isn’t complicated once you see how the pieces fit together. The five schemes, the different ceilings, the bracket system. It all makes sense with the right context. What catches people is not knowing about it before the first payroll runs. Get in touch with the Galaxy APAC team, and they can put together an actual number for the role and salary you’re hiring for before the hire gets approved.