New Tax Policy Requires Registering at the Tax Bureau in Person

Original Joey Knotts theBeijinger

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A new tax policy now requires most employees in China to register through an app that can be downloaded on the country’s tax bureau website (etax.chinatax.gov.cn). Though that might sound simple enough, the catch is that the app requires an individualized tax code, and in yet another case of "things you can’t do without an official Chinese ID number," foreigners will have to go to a tax bureau office in person to obtain the code. (The only exception is for those who hold an elusive permanent residence card.)

The tax declaration cutoff date for 2020 is Jun 30, so you will need to have registered before then.

Who needs to register in the app?

Anyone who meets any of the following criteria must register on the tax app:

You earned more than RMB 60,000 this year in China;
You have more than one employer in China;
You paid, underpaid, or overpaid in taxes this year.

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What should I bring to the tax bureau?

All you need to bring is your passport and yourself. However, if you obtained a new passport in 2019 or 2020, you will have to bring the old passport as well, unless your employer has already updated your tax information with the bureau.

If you're worried about communication, you can copy the following message into a note to show the administrators: 我需要注册码来注册我的个人所得税APP (Wǒ xūyào zhùcè mǎ lái zhùcè wǒ de gèrén suǒdéshuì APP, "I need a registration code to register my personal income tax app").

After a bit of waiting, you should be handed a slip of paper with your code, and you're ready to go!

Where the heck is the closest tax bureau office?

The state tax administration has a map of all tax offices in Beijing that can be navigated by district. Access the map on their website (beijing.chinatax.gov.cn).