How does Chinese individual income tax work?

China taxes comprehensive income on an annual basis using seven progressive brackets from 3% to 45%. Tax is computed as taxable income times the marginal rate minus a fixed quick deduction for that bracket, which avoids slice-by-slice calculation.

What is the basic deduction?

Every taxpayer gets a standard basic deduction of 60,000 yuan per year (5,000 yuan per month). This is subtracted from gross income before social insurance and special deductions are applied.

What are the six special additional deductions?

They are children's education, continuing education, major medical expenses, housing-loan interest or housing rent, elder-care support, and infant/childcare under three. Each has its own cap and eligibility rules and reduces taxable income further.

What is the quick-deduction method?

Instead of taxing each income slice at its own rate, you apply the top marginal rate to the whole taxable amount and subtract a precomputed quick deduction for that bracket. The result is identical but the arithmetic is one line.

Do expats pay Chinese income tax?

Expats who are tax residents in China are generally taxed on comprehensive income under the same brackets. Some allowances and treaty provisions may apply. This tool estimates the standard resident calculation; confirm your status with a tax adviser.

China Individual Income Tax Calculator

China’s individual income tax (IIT, 个人所得税) on salaries is an annual, progressive tax with seven brackets running from 3% to 45%. Withholding happens monthly on a cumulative basis and is then reconciled once a year. This calculator estimates the annual figure using the official quick-deduction method, entirely in your browser.

How it works

Taxable income is built up by subtracting allowances from gross salary:

taxable = gross
        − 60,000 (basic deduction)
        − social insurance + housing fund (employee share)
        − six special additional deductions

Then the annual schedule applies, using the quick-deduction shortcut so the whole taxable amount is taxed at one marginal rate and a fixed deduction is removed:

0       – 36,000   3%    QD 0
36,000  – 144,000  10%   QD 2,520
144,000 – 300,000  20%   QD 16,920
300,000 – 420,000  25%   QD 31,920
420,000 – 660,000  30%   QD 52,920
660,000 – 960,000  35%   QD 85,920
960,000 +          45%   QD 181,920

tax = taxable × rate − quick deduction

Notes

The six special additional deductions (education, medical, mortgage or rent, elder care, childcare) each have their own caps; enter the qualifying total. The effective rate shown is annual tax divided by gross income. Monthly withholding under the cumulative method will differ from one twelfth of this figure early and late in the year. Confirm current thresholds with your local tax bureau.