Shall a whistle-blower reward granted by the tax authority be added to the gross consolidated income of an individual when declaring his/her income tax for the current year?

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The National Taxation Bureau of the Central Area, Ministry of Finance (NTBCA) indicated that some people recently inquired whether a whistle-blower reward granted by the tax authority shall be added to the gross consolidated income when declaring his/her annual income tax.

The Bureau stated that according to the Income Tax Act and Standards of Withholding Rates for Various Income, a whistle-blower reward shall not be added to the gross consolidated income, but shall be withheld at a 20% tax rate of the full payment at the time of payment by the tax withholder involved; therefore,when granting a whistle-blower reward, the tax authority must withhold a 20% tax rate of the full payment.

The Bureau provided an example of how much tax shall be withheld when granting a reward. In 2020 when receiving specific and credible information of a case where a taxpayer evaded tax through under-reporting the 2018 individual income tax return, the Bureau, upon verification of the information, fined the taxpayer NT$ 565,503 and rewarded the whistle-blower NT$113,100 (20 %  of the fine received). Therefore, after withholding NT$22,620(20% tax rate of the reward) in accordance with the regulations as previously mentioned, the whistle-blower actually received NT$90,480.

For questions or concerns, you are welcome to call our toll-free phone number 0800-000321. NTBCA will serve you with all sincerity.

Contact person, Mr. Tsai, Legal Affairs Division
Tel. No.: 04-23051111 Ext. 8154

Reference URL：https://www.mof.gov.tw/Eng/singlehtml/f48d641f159a4866b1d31c0916fbcc71?cntId=64c7ba59435a47f69c965b430402d9c0