Before you start

Work permit and residence permit
Employment contract showing salary and allowance structure
A contemporaneous record of days in and out of mainland China
Details of foreign income and any applicable tax treaty

Step-by-step

1
Determine residence status by counting days
An individual without a domicile in China present for 183 days or more in a calendar year is a tax resident for that year. Below that, non-resident and taxed on China-sourced income only. Keep the count from your passport as you go, and remember Hong Kong and Macau crossings are exits from the mainland.
OnlineWho: You
2
Diarise the six-year rule from your first year
Worldwide income becomes taxable only from the seventh consecutive year of 183-day residence, and the count resets if any year falls below 183 days or if you take a single trip abroad of more than 30 consecutive days. Plan this in advance; it is invisible until it bites.
OnlineWho: You
3
Apply for the Greater Bay Area subsidy — it does not arrive automatically
Qualifying overseas high-end talent and talent in short supply can have individual income tax paid above a 15% effective rate refunded by the municipal government, and the refund is itself tax-exempt. You apply through the Guangzhou human resources bureau within an annual window, with employer support.
OnlineWho: YouAnnual application window
4
Make the annual election between expatriate benefits and itemised deductions
Foreign nationals choose either the tax-exempt treatment of employer-provided housing, children's education, language training, meals, laundry, relocation, business travel and home leave, or the standard special additional deductions. Not both, and the election is locked for the year.
Via employerWho: YouStart of each tax year
5
Confirm the current expiry of the expatriate benefits policy
The concession has been given sunset dates and extended repeatedly, most recently to 31 December 2027 — the same date as the Bay Area subsidy. Confirm each year rather than assuming.
Via employerWho: You
6
File the annual reconciliation, 1 March to 30 June
Residents reconcile the previous calendar year's comprehensive income through the Individual Income Tax app or the tax bureau. The obligation is yours even when the employer helps.
Mobile appWho: You1 March – 30 June

Documents you’ll need

Passport with all entry and exit stamps, including Hong Kong and Macau crossings
Employment contract and monthly payslips
Employer withholding statements
Rental and school fee invoices (fāpiào) for any expatriate benefits claimed
Evidence supporting the Greater Bay Area talent classification

Things most newcomers don’t know

The Bay Area subsidy caps your effective rate at 15%, and nobody applies it for you.

A Ministry of Finance circular continues the preferential policy across the nine mainland GBA cities to 31 December 2027, refunding individual income tax paid above a 15% effective rate for qualifying overseas high-end talent and talent in short supply, with the refund itself tax-exempt. Against a 45% top band this is the largest single financial variable in a senior Guangzhou package. It is a municipal application with an annual window and locally-set criteria.

Source: Ministry of Finance GBA individual income tax circular

One absence of more than thirty consecutive days resets the six-year clock.

China taxes a non-domiciled resident on worldwide income only from the seventh consecutive year of 183-day residence, and the count resets if any year falls below 183 days or contains a single absence exceeding 30 consecutive days. In a trading city where people travel constantly on short trips, it is worth noting that ten trips of three days do nothing — the rule requires one continuous absence over thirty days.

Source: State Taxation Administration

No fāpiào, no housing exemption — and Guangzhou landlords often will not issue one.

The expatriate housing exemption requires the official tax-registered invoice rather than a receipt or a bank record. Many private landlords do not issue one by default because it exposes rental income; obtaining it later means a tax office visit and a levy the landlord will resist. Negotiate it into the lease at signing. Claiming the exemption and then failing to produce invoices means losing it retroactively.

Source: State Taxation Administration

Both major concessions expire on the same date, 31 December 2027.

The expatriate fringe-benefit exemption was extended by MOF and STA Announcement [2023] No. 29 to the end of 2027, and the Greater Bay Area subsidy circular runs to the same date. Both have histories of late extension and neither is guaranteed. A package negotiated for a five-year posting should not assume either survives the whole term, and should be re-examined each January.

Source: Ministry of Finance and State Taxation Administration

Common mistakes to avoid

Never applying for the Greater Bay Area subsidy, or missing its annual window.
Assuming frequent short trips reset the six-year clock — only one absence over 30 days does.
Claiming the housing exemption without collecting rental fāpiào.
Not tracking Hong Kong and Macau crossings in your day count.
Assuming the 2027 sunset dates will automatically be extended again.

Some of this may be out of date. Spotted something inaccurate? Help us keep it right for the next newcomer.