OBJECTIVES: Psoriatic arthritis (PsA) is an inflammatory arthritis associated with skin psoriasis. PsA causes swelling, stiffness and pain in joints, it may also affect the spine, ankles and wrists. It is also associated with decreased quality-of-life in its patients. Treatment of PsA includes both pharmacological and non-pharmacological treatments. The research aims to estimate the economic burden of PsA in Taiwan. METHODS: The National Health Insurance Research Database (NHIRD), a claims-based dataset encompassing 99% of Taiwan’s population, was applied. The database measures direct costs to the healthcare system and does not take into account indirect costs such as absenteeism or loss of productivity. We used a micro-costing approach for direct health care costs by estimating the quantities and prices of cost categories.  Direct costs included surgeries, ward usage, medical devices and materials, lab tests, PUVA therapy and medications.  The costs and quantities of the direct economic burden were calculated based on 2011 data of NHIRD. We identified PsA patients and a control cohort matched 1:4 on demographic and clinical covariates to calculate the incremental cost related to PsA. RESULTS: A total of 4,053 PsA patients were included in the database with incremental total direct cost of $13,282,615. This resulted in an average incremental direct cost of $3,277 per PsA patient.  Direct costs were mostly influenced by medication costs ($11,991,479; 90.28%), while lab tests ($576,403; 4.34%), PUVA therapy ($348,741; 2.63%), surgery ($150,471; 1.13%), ward usage ($130,978; 0.99%) and medical devices/materials ($84,543; 0.64%) made up the balance. Within medication costs, biologic and tablet disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs accounted for 45% and 22% of all medication costs, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings highlight the significant economic burden PsA places on Taiwan’s economy. The direct costs of PsA in Taiwan are driven by medication costs and lab tests. Efficient management of PsA could reduce the economic impact of the disease.