Taiwan SME definition: paid-in capital tiers (micro/small/medium/large) explained

Under Taiwan’s SME Standard (amended June 2020), a company qualifies as an SME with paid-in capital of NT$100M or less OR fewer than 200 regular employees — meeting either criterion suffices, in any industry. By capital: micro (

Two criteria, industry-neutral since 2020

Since the June 2020 amendment, manufacturing and services share one standard: paid-in capital ≤ NT$100M OR fewer than 200 regular employees. Before that, manufacturing/construction/mining had separate thresholds — older articles often still cite the two-track rules, so mind the date.

Four capital tiers

Micro under NT$1M; small NT$1M–10M; medium NT$10M–100M; large ≥NT$100M (above the SME ceiling).

Paid-in capital, not authorized capital

Qualification and tiers use paid-in capital (what shareholders actually contributed), not the authorized capital in the charter — the two can differ a lot. AI DD Map shows both on the company card and always tiers by paid-in; sole proprietorships have no paid-in capital, which is normal.

What SME status unlocks

It gates several government resources: SME Administration counseling and subsidies, credit-guarantee-fund financing, tax incentives under the SME Development Act, and set-asides in government procurement. For counterparties, the tier is also a first-glance proxy for scale.

Why tiers matter

Capital is a quick proxy for scale and ability to perform, but only one dimension — combine with status, age and litigation.

Taiwan is SME-dominated

Per the SME White Paper, SMEs are 98%+ of all Taiwanese enterprises and about 80% of employment.

FAQ