China Tax Reconciliation: Settle Your Tax
Steps to determine whether you must file, claim any treaty relief in the return, and submit the annual reconciliation during the tax authority window.
No published figure yet. The authority does not publish this cost in a form we could verify and quote, so this guide covers the procedure only: what to bring, in what order, and where it goes wrong. We will add the figures the moment there is a source for them.
In order
- Gather income and withholding records — Collect your payroll statements, employer withholding records, and details of any other income for the tax year.
- Confirm your residence status — Review your presence in China and living arrangements for the tax year, using passport records if needed, to establish your residence status.
- Determine whether filing is required — Check the tax authority's current reconciliation guidance against your income, withholding, and residence status.
- Prepare any treaty relief claim — If you seek treaty relief, identify the relevant treaty provision and enter the claim directly in the reconciliation filing.
- Submit the reconciliation filing — File through the tax authority's designated channel within the announced reconciliation window.
- Review the filing result — Open the filing result and check whether it shows an additional payment, a refund, or no further action.
- Retain your records — Save the filing confirmation, result, income and withholding records, and treaty eligibility documents.
This guide covers the annual reconciliation filing for a tax year in China. It is separate from the amounts your employer withholds from salary each month. Use it to check whether a filing is required for your situation and to complete it within the official period.
Understand the separate filing
Annual reconciliation is a filing made after the tax year ends. It is separate from the withholding your employer does each month, and it compares tax already withheld with the tax due on your income for that year.
Check whether you must file
Whether a foreigner must file depends on income received, tax already withheld, and residence status during that tax year. Review these points against the tax authority’s current reconciliation guidance before deciding that no filing is needed.
Claim treaty relief in the return
Treaty relief is claimed in the reconciliation filing; it is not applied automatically. Complete the relevant claim parts and keep documents that show why you qualify.
File during the authority window
The reconciliation window is set by the tax authority for a period each year and is not chosen by the taxpayer. Submit the filing during that window and keep the confirmation and result.
Confirm before you act
Fees and processing times change. This page was checked on 2026-10-27; confirm the current rule with the authority named in each source above before you rely on a deadline.
Last checked 2026-10-27, next review 2027-04-25. Every figure above names its source and the date it was read. This page is a guide, not legal, tax or immigration advice — confirm with the authority before acting on a deadline.