Your next step depends on the refund route. Some stores can pay a small-amount refund immediately. Designated downtown counters offer an advance that still requires a departure check. Airport claims are processed before you check your purchases into the hold. Understanding that difference matters more than simply finding a counter marked “tax refund.”
Who Can Claim a Tourist Tax Refund in Taiwan?
Eligibility combines your entry document with the length of your stay. The main rule covers visitors entering on a non-Taiwan passport who have stayed less than 183 days from their date of entry.
Other eligible documents include a Taiwan passport without a national ID number recorded, travel documents, and qualifying entry/exit permits. Temporary entry permit holders use the international airport or seaport route; the in-store and downtown options do not apply to them.
The purchase and departure conditions are equally important:
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Buy eligible taxable goods from an authorized Tax Refund Shopping, or TRS, store.
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Reach the minimum with purchases from that store on that day.
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Request the refund form on the purchase date.
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Carry the goods out on your first departure after buying them, within the permitted export period.
These conditions form part of Taiwan’s tourist VAT refund regulations. The 183-day eligibility rule and 90-day export deadline serve different purposes: staying within limit does not extend the other.
Get the Store Paperwork Right Before You Leave
Look for the TRS label and tell the assistant you want a tourist tax refund before payment. Bring the original passport or entry document used to enter Taiwan so the store can record your details and check your arrival information.
The NT$2,000 threshold is an accumulated, tax-inclusive amount at authorized store on day. Several eligible purchases can count toward it, but receipts from unrelated shops or different dates cannot be pooled to reach the minimum. Inside a department store, ask which purchases its refund desk can include before assuming every concession belongs to the same claim.
Leave with your invoice or electronic-invoice certificate and the appropriate refund document. Airport and downtown claims use a VAT Refund Claim Form; an immediate in-store refund comes with approval paperwork showing that the refund has already been paid. Check your passport details and the listed purchases while corrections are straightforward.
Keep the store’s address with your paperwork in case you need a correction or replacement. If you will navigate between shopping areas and refund counters using mobile data, a Taiwan eSIM can keep those maps accessible while you are out.
Which purchases qualify?
The scheme covers eligible taxable goods you personally take out of Taiwan. Hotel stays, restaurant bills, other services and duty-free goods are excluded. Goods sent separately also fall outside this accompanied-goods scheme.
Keep refundable purchases unused and retain their packaging. Stores handling immediate small-amount refunds must pack the goods separately and seal them; opening them for use, consuming them or swapping them before departure can require repayment.
Before buying a regulated item, consider Taiwan’s rules on prohibited items as well as refund eligibility. Permission to buy, use or transport a product is a separate question from recovering its tax.
How Much of the Tax Do You Get Back?
Taiwan’s standard VAT rate is 5%, but the tax included in a retail price is calculated by dividing that price by 1.05 before applying the rate. The refund service then deducts its administration charge.
The E-VAT Refund service’s calculation rules, checked on September 11, 2026, specify a 20% administration charge on the refundable tax.
The calculation works in two stages:
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Refundable tax: tax-inclusive invoice amount ÷ 1.05 × 0.05, rounded to the nearest whole Taiwan dollar.
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Net refund: refundable tax minus the 20% administration charge, rounded down to a whole Taiwan dollar.
Suppose an eligible purchase costs NT$10,500 including tax. Its VAT component is NT$500, and the administration charge is NT$100, leaving an illustrative net refund of NT$400 before any separate payment or currency-conversion costs.
That distinction is useful when comparing prices: the refund is smaller than 5% of the amount you pay. Base your shopping decision on the purchase price and likely net refund, rather than treating the headline tax rate as an automatic discount.
Choose Between In-Store, Downtown and Airport Refunds
The three routes have different limits and departure obligations.
| Refund route | When it fits | What to remember |
|---|---|---|
| In-store small-amount refund | Your authorized store offers it and eligible purchases meet the limits | Payment is made on the purchase date; retain the approval paperwork and sealed goods |
| Authorized downtown refund | You want an advance before departure and can provide the required credit-card guarantee | Departure screening is still required, with a shorter deadline after the claim |
| Airport or seaport refund | You have unclaimed refund forms, or the in-store route is unavailable | Complete screening and any inspection before handing over checked baggage |
In-store small-amount refunds
Eligible purchases must total NT$2,000 to NT$48,000 inclusive at the same authorized store on the same day. Additional limits apply to purchases processed through this route: NT$120,000 during visit and NT$240,000 across visits in the same year.
The store also needs to find your entry information in the refund system. If you exceed the limits or the system cannot process an immediate refund, obtain the paperwork for an airport or seaport claim.
This route can reduce departure-day work. Keep any other unclaimed forms separate, however: receiving a refund from store does not settle purchases made elsewhere.
Authorized downtown refunds
Downtown counters advance the refund against a guarantee on your own qualifying international credit card. The guarantee is 7% of the tax-inclusive purchase amount, which is separate from the refund administration charge.
You must leave with the goods within 20 days of the refund claim, while also meeting the 90-day deadline from purchase. Before departure, visit the airport or port refund system for screening and complete Customs inspection if selected.
Missing that departure process can mean losing the guarantee. We would use this route when receiving the money early is worth managing the credit-card hold and the remaining airport obligation.
Complete Your Airport Claim Before Checking Your Luggage
Keep the goods accessible until screening and any required Customs inspection are finished. Packing purchases deep inside a checked suitcase creates an avoidable problem if officials need to see them.
Taiwan’s airport refund procedure recommends arriving three hours before departure. That is arrival guidance, not a promise about queue length.
Follow this sequence:
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Take your documents and purchases to an E-VAT refund kiosk or service counter. Have your original entry document, invoices and VAT Refund Claim Forms ready.
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Complete the initial screening. The system determines whether Customs needs to inspect your goods.
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Attend inspection if selected. Present the purchases, documents and any checklist printed by the kiosk.
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Complete the refund approval and payment instructions. Downtown advance claims also need their departure screening completed.
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Check in your luggage the goods are cleared. Follow the instructions for your chosen payout method.
Decide whether you will rely on public Wi-Fi or mobile data in Taiwan before departure day, and save your flight details and store contacts offline. Keep original refund documents together; phone photos are a backup.
Departing from Taoyuan via Taipei Main Station
The Airport MRT Taipei Main Station, A1, has a departure-day refund option for eligible Taoyuan passengers. The purchase limit is NT$48,000, excluding amounts already processed through in-store small-amount or authorized downtown refunds.
Treat this as an alternative for qualifying unclaimed purchases. Downtown advance holders should still follow their airport departure-screening instructions. If you are unsure whether your collection of forms fits the A1 service, allow time to use the airport route.
Receiving the Refund and Handling Problems
Cash and supported credit-card refunds are available through the airport process. With cash, obtain the refund voucher from the kiosk or counter and follow the instructions to the designated bank or cash-payment counter. An approved claim and cash collection are separate steps.
Card refunds support Visa, Mastercard, JCB and UnionPay through the published procedure. Keep the approval document until the credit arrives; the processing instructions do not establish settlement time for every card issuer.
Several problems have different remedies:
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You forgot to request the form on the purchase date: requesting it for the first time the next day is not allowed.
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You lost an already-issued form: ask the original authorized store for a replacement.
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You returned part of the purchase: the refund needs recalculating; falling below NT$2,000 removes eligibility for that purchase group.
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Your claim was not made or approved before your first departure: you cannot submit it retrospectively after leaving Taiwan.
If you later bring refunded purchases back into Taiwan, Taiwan’s arrival customs rules apply again. Keep the earlier refund records with the purchase documents.
The most useful habit is to sort your paperwork into already refunded purchases and outstanding claims before departure day. You can then identify exactly which goods and forms still need airport processing.