My Living in Taipei page covers my story and the basics of renting. This page picks up once you have the keys. It is written for people who now live here; if you are visiting, the short version is on my everyday Taipei page.
- Bills get paid at the convenience store. Bring the paper bill, or a barcode from the company's app, to the counter.
- Rubbish goes in the city's official bags, food waste goes in its own bin on the truck, and recycling goes to the truck that follows.
- Two numbers answer in English: 1999 for anything about Taipei City, 1990 for life in Taiwan as a foreigner.
- Install EZ WAY before you order anything from abroad.
- Two deadlines: National Health Insurance after six months for most residents, and 30 days to report a new address.
Paying bills at the convenience store
The kiosk and counter you already use for tickets also take your household bills. Hand the paper bill to the cashier and pay there.
- Electricity. Taipower lists FamilyMart, 7-Eleven, OK Mart, Hi-Life and Simple Mart (美廉社) as places to pay. If you link your account number in the Taipower app, it shows a barcode you can pay with at the counter instead of the paper bill. Lost the bill? The store kiosks can print a new one from your account number.
- Water. The Taipei Water Department takes payment at convenience stores and bank counters, online, by automatic debit from a bank, post office or credit card, or at its own counter. Switch to an e-bill with electronic payment and it takes NT$10 off your next bill.
- Health insurance premiums. Once you are in National Health Insurance, premium bills of up to NT$30,000 can be paid at a convenience store. The NHI app can also show a barcode for the counter.
Good to know: automatic debit is the set-and-forget option for water and electricity, once you have a local bank account.
Rubbish at home
The music trucks are the visitor's view. As a resident you will be the one on the corner with a bag, so here is the rest.
Official bags
Household rubbish has to go in Taipei's official bags (專用垃圾袋). The price is the city's rubbish fee, NT$0.36 a liter, unchanged since 2013:
| Bag size | Bags per pack | Price per pack |
|---|---|---|
| 3 liters | 20 | NT$21 |
| 5 liters | 20 | NT$36 |
| 14 liters | 20 | NT$100 |
| 25 liters | 20 | NT$180 |
| 33 liters | 20 | NT$237 |
| 76 liters | 10 | NT$273 |
| 120 liters | 5 | NT$216 |
A smaller bag is cheaper, so the more you recycle and compost, the less you pay.
Food waste
Since January 1, 2026, all household food waste in Taipei goes in one bin, the blue one at the back of the rubbish truck, and is composted. (Until the end of 2025 there was a second bin for pig feed; the Cabinet banned feeding household food waste to pigs in December 2025 because of African swine fever.)
- Drain it first. Raw and cooked food, peel, coffee grounds, tea leaves, shells and pits all go in.
- No plastic bags or chopsticks in the bin. Coconut and durian shells go to the truck in a bag of their own.
- Mixing rubbish into the food waste can bring a fine of NT$1,200 to NT$6,000.
Recycling, batteries and big items
- Recycling doesn't need official bags: sort it and hand it to the recycling truck that follows the rubbish truck.
- Batteries and power banks never go in the rubbish. The Ministry of Environment asks you to wrap power banks on their own and give them to the recycling truck or the collection boxes in convenience stores and hypermarkets. Stop using a swollen one.
- Furniture and other bulky items are collected free, at a time and place agreed with the city's Department of Environmental Protection. Call 1999 to find out how to book in your district.
Good to know: many apartment buildings collect rubbish, recycling and food waste in a room downstairs with their own rules. Ask the building manager on the day you move in.
Hotlines that answer in English
- 1999, Taipei City. For questions and reports about anything the city runs: a broken streetlight, the rubbish truck, a city service. It is free and open 24 hours, and has English and Japanese lines. From outside Taipei, or from a phone that can't reach 1999, call 02-2720-8889. The Taipei Pass app (台北通) can also call it free over the internet. Illegal parking and traffic problems go to the police on 110 instead.
- 1990, Foreigners in Taiwan. The National Immigration Agency's hotline for life in Taiwan: residence, work, daily questions. Chinese, English and Japanese are answered 24 hours; Vietnamese, Indonesian, Thai and Khmer on weekdays from 09:00 to 17:00. From abroad, call +886-800-001990.
- Emergencies: 119 for an ambulance or fire, 110 for the police. → Emergencies and help
LINE
Many people in Taiwan keep in touch on LINE, and Taipei City Government has an official LINE account, @taipei, for city news and flood alerts. Add it once you have the app.
Parcels from abroad: install EZ WAY first
Parcels from overseas shops clear Taiwan customs under real-name verification, done in the Customs Administration's EZ WAY app (易利委). Foreign residents with a residence permit (ARC) have been able to register since March 30, 2021. Set it up before your first order arrives, and confirm the declaration in the app when it asks. → EZ WAY on the Customs Administration site
Two deadlines worth knowing
- National Health Insurance. Foreign residents with an ARC join after six months of living in Taiwan; one trip abroad of up to 30 days doesn't reset the count. If you work for an employer here, you are covered from your first day of work.
- A new address. If you move, report your new address (or a new workplace) to the National Immigration Agency within 30 days. Missing it can bring a fine of NT$2,000 to NT$10,000.
Your phone, typhoons and the rest
The things visitors need are true for residents too, and they are on my everyday page: reading an address, the phone alarm, typhoon days, the receipt lottery and free wifi. For a wider look at daily life in Taiwan, from health care to deliveries, Inside Hsinchu's guide to everyday Taiwan goes further.
Check for yourself. This is what official sources said when I checked (November 2026). Fees, rules and phone numbers change. For anything about your residence or insurance, ask the National Immigration Agency or the National Health Insurance Administration directly.
Sources
Electricity: Taipower, paying at collection points; reprinting bills at store kiosks: CNA, January 3, 2022. Water: Taipei Water Department, ways to pay and e-bill discount. NHI premiums at convenience stores: Ministry of Health and Welfare. Rubbish bag prices: Taipei Department of Environmental Protection. Food waste: Department of Environmental Protection, December 31, 2025 and household food waste rules. Bulky waste: Taipei rubbish fee ordinance, article 3. Batteries and power banks: Ministry of Environment. 1999: Taipei City Government and Research, Development and Evaluation Commission. 1990: National Immigration Agency and CNA, March 2, 2022. LINE @taipei: Taipei City Government. EZ WAY for ARC holders: National Immigration Agency. Health insurance: National Health Insurance Administration. Address changes: Immigration Act, articles 31 and 85. Checked November 2026.