Taiwan has clarified that sales of cryptocurrencies and stablecoins fall outside the scope of VAT, while crypto exchange fees and NFTs remain taxable.
Taiwan’s Ministry of Finance has removed qualifying crypto-assets and stablecoins from the scope of its value-added business tax, following the introduction of the territory’s new Virtual Asset Services Act.
The Ministry issued an interpretation on 3 September 2026 confirming that businesses selling virtual assets covered by the new legislation do not have to charge business tax, Taiwan’s form of VAT.
The clarification follows the promulgation of the Virtual Asset Services Act on 22 July 2026, establishing Taiwan’s new regulatory framework for crypto-assets and virtual asset service providers.
Crypto is not considered consumption
Importantly, the Ministry is treating qualifying crypto transactions as outside the scope of VAT, rather than simply VAT exempt.
Its reasoning is that payment instruments and investment or stores-of-value instruments do not represent consumption. Their transfer therefore should not constitute a taxable supply for business tax purposes.
The legislation covers virtual assets which use distributed ledger or similar technology and are used for payment or investment purposes, including cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ether. Stablecoins linked to one or more fiat currencies are also covered.
Taiwan joins global shift away from VAT on crypto
Taiwan says the change brings it into line with the increasingly established international treatment of cryptocurrencies as payment or financial instruments rather than ordinary taxable goods and services.
Indonesia provides perhaps the closest recent comparison. From August 2025, it exempted sales and transfers of crypto-assets from VAT after reclassifying them as financial assets. VAT continues to apply to services supplied by crypto exchanges and trading platforms.
The UAE similarly introduced a retrospective VAT exemption for the transfer and conversion of virtual assets, applying from the introduction of UAE VAT on 1 January 2018.
Thailand has also extended its VAT exemption for transfers of cryptocurrencies and digital tokens through licensed exchanges, dealers and brokers.
In the European Union, the Court of Justice established the underlying principle in its 2015 Hedqvist judgment, treating exchanges between Bitcoin and traditional currencies as VAT-exempt financial transactions.
Taiwan’s legal route is slightly different. Rather than treating the transaction as an exempt financial service, it regards the transfer of qualifying crypto-assets as outside the scope of business tax altogether. The commercial outcome is similar: VAT is not added to the value of the cryptocurrency being traded.
Taiwan’s Ministry of Finance also points to the UK, Germany, Canada, Japan, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand and South Korea as jurisdictions following broadly comparable approaches.
Exchange fees remain subject to VAT
The exclusion does not extend to the services surrounding crypto transactions.
Fees and commissions charged by virtual asset service providers for exchange and other related services under Article 6 of the new Act remain subject to Taiwan business tax.
This creates the increasingly familiar VAT distinction between the underlying crypto asset and the taxable services supplied by an intermediary.
NFTs stay taxable
Non-fungible tokens are specifically excluded from the Act’s definition of virtual assets.
The Ministry therefore confirmed that sales of NFTs by businesses, as well as the exchange of NFTs for goods or services, remain subject to business tax.
Taiwan views NFTs differently because they can represent specific and non-interchangeable assets or commodities, including artwork, collectibles or real estate, rather than acting primarily as payment or investment instruments.
The distinction broadly mirrors the EU approach, where cryptocurrencies may benefit from the financial services exemption while NFTs can instead be treated as taxable electronic services.
