Influencers and platform economy redraws rules on 5% VAT liabilities
Taiwan’s Ministry of Finance has issued detailed directions on how value-added tax (business tax) applies to individuals who regularly publish creative or informational content online – effectively a new VAT framework for the influencer and platform economy. The “Directions for the Levy of Business Tax on Individuals Regularly Publishing Creative or Informational Content Online” took effect on 10 September 2025 and are supported by a penalty-free grace period until 30 June 2026.
The guidance does not change the 5% VAT rate, but it does redraw the lines of who is the taxpayer, in which scenarios, and how domestic and foreign parties must comply where content, platforms, advertisers and viewers are spread across borders.
It should be reviewed in line with the 5% VAT on digital services regime.
Policy objective: bring structure to complex digital value chains
In recent years, Taiwan has already imposed VAT obligations on foreign e-commerce operators supplying electronic services to domestic consumers (Tax Ruling No. 10600549520, including a NTD 600,000 annual B2C threshold).
However, influencer monetisation models are typically more complex than straightforward app subscriptions or streaming fees. They can involve:
- Domestic and foreign influencers
- Domestic and foreign platforms
- Advertisers paying to reach Taiwanese audiences
- Viewers who may pay subscription or other fees
The new directions aim to standardise how VAT applies across these models, particularly where income arises from Taiwan-based advertisers or viewers.
Who is in scope?
The guidance introduces a set of defined terms to identify which party is “domestic” and therefore within Taiwan’s VAT net.
- Domestic advertisers and viewers include:
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- Non-individuals: enterprises, institutions, organisations or groups with a fixed place of business (FPB) in Taiwan, regardless of whether they sell goods or services; and
- Individuals who have a residence or domicile in Taiwan and can be identified as located in Taiwan via indicators such as:
- Device located in Taiwan
- Mobile phone number with +886 code
- Billing address, IP address or other similar data
- Foreign platforms are online platforms with no fixed place of business in Taiwan, while foreign influencers are individuals who both lack an FPB in Taiwan and do not meet the criteria of domestic individuals listed above.
- Paying viewers are those who purchase related paid services from platforms, such as paid subscriptions or other value-added features.
This location-based framework then drives how VAT applies in different income flows.
1. Advertising fees paid to foreign platforms
When a foreign platform receives advertising fees, the VAT outcome depends on where the advertiser and viewers are located:
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Domestic non-individual advertiser; viewers in Taiwan
- Tax rate: 5%
- Taxpayer: domestic advertiser under the reverse-charge mechanism
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Domestic individual advertiser; foreign platform; viewers in Taiwan
- The directions treat the ultimate service as e-commerce supplied by the platform to domestic individuals, with the advertiser effectively paying on their behalf.
- Tax rate: 5%
- Taxpayer: foreign platform, which may need to register under the existing foreign e-commerce rules if it exceeds the NTD 600,000 B2C threshold.
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Advertiser or viewers outside Taiwan
- Out-of-scope for Taiwan VAT.
This structure is designed to ensure that advertising aimed at Taiwanese audiences bears Taiwan VAT, but to allocate the compliance burden to the party best placed to handle it (typically the domestic business advertiser or the foreign platform).
2. E-commerce (subscription) income from viewers
Where foreign platforms charge viewers directly for e-commerce services such as paid subscriptions, the directions again distinguish between domestic businesses, domestic individuals and foreign viewers:
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Domestic non-individual viewers (e.g. a Taiwanese company buying access for staff)
- Tax rate: 5%
- Taxpayer: domestic non-individual viewer via reverse charge
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Domestic individual viewers
- Tax rate: 5%
- Taxpayer: foreign platform (under the foreign e-commerce registration and filing regime, subject to the NTD 600,000 threshold)
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Foreign viewers
- Out-of-scope for Taiwan VAT.
In practice, this reinforces Taiwan’s existing B2B/B2C split in cross-border e-commerce: businesses self-account; platforms are responsible where the customer is a consumer.
3. Revenue-sharing payments to influencers
A significant innovation in the guidance is the way it treats revenue sharing paid by platforms to influencers, particularly in cross-border arrangements.
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Domestic platform paying revenue share; domestic viewers
- Tax rate: 5%
- Taxpayer: domestic platform via reverse charge
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Domestic platform; foreign viewers
- Out-of-scope for Taiwan VAT
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Foreign platform paying revenue share; domestic viewers
- Tax rate: 5%
- Transaction is within the scope of Taiwan VAT, but the directions take an important simplification step:
- Foreign influencers are exempt from Taiwan VAT registration, filing and payment, even when their revenue share arises from Taiwanese viewers.
This exemption is intended to simplify cross-border administration. The logic is that the foreign platform can claim any input VAT relating to the influencer services against its own output VAT liabilities, making it more efficient for the tax authority to focus on the platform rather than on large numbers of individual influencers.
Grace period and enforcement approach
Recognising that influencers and platforms may initially struggle to interpret and implement the new rules, the Ministry of Finance has provided a grace period from 10 September 2025 to 30 June 2026. During this time, violations of the new directions may be exempt from penalties.
From 1 July 2026, non-compliance is likely to be treated more strictly.
Interaction with existing foreign e-commerce VAT regime
The influencer guidance sits alongside Tax Ruling No. 10600549520, which already requires foreign e-commerce operators with annual B2C sales exceeding NTD 600,000 to register for VAT and file returns in Taiwan.
For foreign platforms, the combined effect is:
- A clear obligation to register and charge 5% VAT on qualifying B2C supplies and on advertising services effectively consumed by domestic individuals
- Additional obligations around handling reverse-charge scenarios for domestic business customers
- A need to track and report revenue-sharing payments in a way that allows correct VAT treatment, even though foreign influencers themselves are exempt from registration and filing for now
Given that the influencer guidance is expressly framed as a “new taxation system for emerging transactions,” there is also an expectation that the rules may evolve further as business models continue to change.
Taiwan’s influencer VAT directions are another example of tax authorities moving quickly to align traditional VAT concepts with new digital business models. The guidance brings much-needed structure to how VAT applies across multi-party influencer ecosystems – but it also places clear expectations on platforms and, indirectly, influencers to understand their data, their counterparties and their evolving compliance obligations.
