Buying from Japan to Taiwan

Which service is cheapest for Taiwan

The same order through all five. The postage is identical; the differences are each company's fees and whether it collects the tax at checkout. Choosing ZenMarket instead of Doorzo costs ¥997 more on this order.

Local-currency figures are approximate, converted at the US Federal Reserve's H.10 rates of 2026-09-25 (1 NT$ = ¥4.94). Your card or the proxy will use its own rate on the day.

Head-to-head for Taiwan: FROM JAPAN vs Buyee, FROM JAPAN vs ZenMarket, FROM JAPAN vs Neokyo, FROM JAPAN vs Doorzo, Buyee vs ZenMarket, Buyee vs Neokyo, Buyee vs Doorzo, ZenMarket vs Neokyo, ZenMarket vs Doorzo, Neokyo vs Doorzo.

Import tax in Taiwan

Import tax is set by Taiwan, not by the proxy service you choose. All the proxy decides is whether it takes the money at checkout or leaves you to settle with the courier at the door. The amount owed is the same either way. That is why the totals on this site are split into what you pay now and what you pay on arrival, rather than merged into one figure that would make the companies who collect honestly look dearer.

The numbers

• Import VAT / GST: 5% on goods plus shipping
• Duty-free threshold: NT$2,000

Which proxies collect this tax up front

None of the five services collect this tax up front for Taiwan. You pay it when the parcel arrives, and couriers normally add a handling charge on top.

What that means in money

Two orders to Taiwan, both from Mercari Japan, both about 1 kg packed and both with ¥700 of domestic postage inside Japan, priced through the cheapest service available for each:

Couriers usually add their own customs handling fee on top. Paying tax up front often avoids it.

Tax at six different prices

Tax starts somewhere between ¥3,000 and ¥10,000, where the item plus its postage passes NT$2,000. From there it is 5% of the goods and the international postage, which is why it comes out at more than 5% of the item price alone.

A Mercari Japan item, 1 kg packed, EMS. Tax is shown for the cheapest service; the last five columns show when each service takes it.

The limits that matter, in yen

• Taiwan's duty-free limit of NT$2,000 is about ¥9,800 (rate as of 2026-08-09). It is tested against the item plus postage, not the item alone.

Exchange-rate conversions are approximate. Near a limit, a move in the rate can put an order either side of it, and the calculator warns you when that is the case.

How Taiwan compares

Of the 7 countries where the tax can be calculated, Taiwan is the cheapest place to receive the same ¥10,000, 1 kg order, at ¥13,810. ¥610 of that is tax. The postage differs too, since EMS prices by zone.

The handling fee nobody quotes

Where tax is not collected up front, the courier or postal operator pays it for you at the border and then charges a fee for having done so. It is not part of the tax itself. None of the five services publish it and it varies by carrier, so it is deliberately left out of the totals here rather than guessed at. It is still a real reason to prefer a service that collects at checkout where you have the choice.

EMS postage to Taiwan

Japan Post puts Taiwan in EMS zone 1. EMS is charged by weight band, so a parcel pays for the whole band it falls in (the first band ends at 500 g, then 100 g steps up to 1 kg, 250 g steps up to 2 kg, 500 g steps up to 6 kg, 1 kg steps up to 30 kg). Some of the bands:

For the same 1 kg order, other Japan Post methods: Sent by airmail small packet instead of EMS, the same order comes to ¥13,013 through Buyee, ¥797 less. The trade-off is time: EMS is Japan Post's fastest service and surface parcels its slowest.

Japan Post's published rates. A service is only counted where its own site lists the method; the shipping methods guide shows which do. SAL (economy air) is not shown because Japan Post has suspended it.

The first band costs ¥2,900 per kg; at 30 kg it is ¥887 per kg. That is why sending several purchases together in one box saves money. The EMS guide compares all nine countries.

What cannot be sent to Taiwan

All five refuse model paint and thinner; spray cans and topcoat; lighters; perfume; and plants and seeds on this route. For replica swords and knives, no service says it will ship to Taiwan: some refuse, and the rest publish no rule, which means the decision is made at the warehouse after you have paid. None of these is blocked by a Japan Post rule specific to Taiwan; where something is refused, it is the company's own policy, and another service may accept it.

Company rules and Japan Post's rules for Taiwan combined. See what you cannot ship for each company's own wording.

By what you are buying

Typical orders for different kinds of item, each through the cheapest service that will take it to Taiwan. Weights and prices are assumptions; the guides explain each one.

More for Taiwan

• Cheapest proxy to Taiwan, by marketplace
• Shipping by weight to Taiwan: a manga volume, a boxed figure, a 2 kg parcel, a 3 kg parcel
• Paying import tax up front or on delivery
• Import tax in all nine countries