Household Bills in Taiwan

Maybe some of you don't have any idea when you should pay household bills such as gas, electricity, or water in Taiwan. Well, those bills are billed every two months. The bills are usually sent via postal mail so you gonna check your mailbox regularly. For those who rent an apartment/ house in Taiwan, the due date of those bills may depends on the property owner.

1. Billed every two months

a. Gas Bill
You will receive gas bills every two months, usually for consumption period from 18th to 18th of the next two months. The due date is around 2th to 5th of the month. Taiwan government has been cooperating with several LPG companies to supply LPG for household need. We can’t choose LPG companies by ourselves, it is decided by government and our location. Because every household in different locations get LPG supply from different LPG companies so the due date may vary slightly between households.

b. Electricity Bill
Electricity bills come every two months too (every 60-63 days). Started from May 2012, electricity cost in Taiwan has been hiked by 17%. The electricity price rise is very disappointing for Taiwanese too. Many of small business owners feel it is very difficult to maintain their business nowadays.
You may receive high electricity bills if you are a heavy user of energy, especially in the summer. The rate for electricity usage per kWh in summer season is higher than in any other seasons. Turning on AC for 24 hours a day during summer is not recommended except your AC is kind of energy saving air conditioners.

c. Water Bill
You will receive water bills every two months (approximately every 60 days). The amount of water bill you have to pay depends on the two-month-usage of water. In my case, it costs around 400NTD to 650NTD for household with 2 persons.

Month	Bill Categories	Due date
January	Gas bill Electricity bill	# 5th January # 13th January
February	Water bill	# 8th February
March	Gas bill Electricity bill	# 5th March # 16 March
April	Water bill	# 9th April
May	Gas bill Electricity bill	# 4th May** # 17th May
June	Water bill	# 8th June
July	Gas bill Electricity bill	# 4th July** # 17th July
August	Water bill	# 8th August
September	Gas bill Electricity bill	# 3th September** # 18th September
October	Water bill	# 8th October
November	Gas bill Electricity bill	# 3th November** # 16th November
December	Water bill	# 8th December

# = The due date for each year may slightly different from year to year, depends on the total number of days in a year. Estimated due date = minus(-)/plus(+) 3 days from  the due date presents on table above.

** = pay attention to bills which are due before 5th of the month, because it will be paid by previous month of salary. (In Taiwan, salary is paid on the fifth of each month.)

2. Billed every month

It is easier to remember household bills which are billed every month. Here is list of monthly household bills. For example:

• Maintenance Fee: If you buy an apartment, you may have to pay monthly maintenance fee. The fee consists of monthly trash service cost (so you don’t need to wait and chase trash truck by yourself), security & safety fee (24 hours guard) and so on. The amount may vary depending on management of your apartment. It cost me around NTD$2.450 per month. However, if you rent an apartment or a room, the occurrence of maintenance cost depends on the property owner’s decision. 
• Rent cost, occurs when you rent a room or an apartment.
• Gasoline cost, occurs when you have vehicle(s)
• Cell phone bill
• The package of fixed line + TV cable fee. It costs me around NT$ 750-850 per month in total.
• Home internet (ASDL) bill. It costs me around NT$ 209 per month.
• etc.

Besides household bills, you may check taxes payment schedules in Taiwan here.

Hope you find it useful!