File IIT (个人所得税) for foreign employees, CIT (企业所得税) quarterly, and VAT (增值税) monthly or quarterly — all via the e-Tax portal.

Even a single-member WFOE triggers a full calendar. IIT due 15th monthly. CIT within 15 days post-quarter. VAT frequency depends on taxpayer type. All use the 电子税务局 with a CA certificate.

Zero staff does not mean zero compliance. Budget CNY 2,000–5,000/month for a tax agent or software.

Yes. Over 95% of filings are completed through the national 电子税务局 (diànzǐ shuìwù jú) using a CA digital certificate.

Covers IIT, CIT, VAT, stamp duty, surcharges, and social insurance. First-time taxpayer registration (一般纳税人 / 小规模纳税人) may require a one-time visit or notarized power-of-attorney. City portals share one backend.

The only in-person barrier is initial certificate registration. After that, everything is online.

A licensed professional (税务代理, shuìwù dàilǐ) authorized to prepare and submit tax filings. Not legally required, but 80%+ of foreign companies without staff use one.

Agents must hold a practicing license (税务师执业资格). They handle IIT, CIT, VAT, annual reconciliation (汇算清缴, huìsuàn qīngjiǎo), and social insurance. Costs: CNY 1,500–5,000/month. Using an agent does not shift legal liability.

Hire a licensed agent with FIE experience and good English capability.

Register employees in the 自然人电子税务局 and file IIT withholding monthly by the 15th. Use a tax agent or payroll software with IIT modules.

Employees at 183+ days/year are tax residents (居民纳税人), taxed on worldwide income at 3%–45% progressive rates. Key deductions: CNY 5,000/month standard, housing, language training, children’s education. Withholding is the employer’s responsibility — failure triggers a 0.05% daily surcharge.

IIT is the highest-risk remote filing. Use expat-specific software or a tax agent.

IIT & VAT: due 15th monthly. CIT quarterly: 15 days after quarter-end. Annual CIT reconciliation: May 31. Late penalty: 0.05% daily surcharge (万分之五, wàn fēn zhī wǔ).

CNY 100,000 owed + 30 days late = CNY 1,500 penalty. Deliberate evasion (逃税, táoshuì) draws fines of 50%–500%. Late zero returns incur CNY 50–200 each.

Set calendar alerts for the 15th every month. One missed IIT filing on CNY 50,000 salary costs CNY 750/month in surcharges.

Log into 电子税务局, enter sales and purchase invoices (发票, fāpiào), and submit. Small-scale (小规模纳税人) file quarterly; general taxpayers (一般纳税人) file monthly.

Rates: 13% (goods), 9% (services/construction), 6% (intangibles), or 3% (small-scale simplified). The portal auto-populates fapiao data if using the national system. Export-oriented companies can claim VAT refunds (出口退税). Use a cloud fapiao platform like 51Fapiao to avoid manual errors.

VAT is straightforward with digitized fapiao management. Don’t skip software integration.

The tax number (纳税识别号, nàshuì shíbié hào) is issued during standard incorporation. Remote filing requires a CA digital certificate.

Your tax number links to the Unified Social Credit Code (统一社会信用代码). Obtain a CA certificate (数字证书) — a USB key (税务UKey) or cloud certificate. Some cities accept facial recognition (人脸识别) via mobile app for fully remote issuance.

Complete tax registration at setup. Request a cloud CA certificate if your city supports it.

Yes. Every FIE must register a responsible person (办税人员, bànshuì rényuán) — the legal representative, a director, or an appointed agent.

The representative must have a Chinese ID or valid residence permit. If your legal representative lacks a permit, hire a third-party agent as 办税人员. All tax notifications go to that contact. Changes require a notarized board resolution.

Appoint a tax agent as 办税人员 if no team member holds a Chinese residence permit.

File the full-year CIT return by May 31 with audited financial statements. Requires a China-licensed CPA.

Adjusts book to taxable profit — adding back non-deductible expenses, applying R&D deductions and loss carryforwards (up to 10 years). Must include an audit report (审计报告). Late filing triggers the 0.05% daily surcharge.

Budget CNY 5,000–20,000 for audit plus CPA preparation. Start by March.

China has DTTs with 100+ countries. They reduce withholding tax on dividends (5%–10%), interest (7%–10%), and royalties (6%–10%) when claims are filed via e-Tax.

File a 协定待遇申请 (xiédìng dàiyù shēnqǐng) with a home-country tax residency certificate and beneficial ownership declaration. Processing: 10–30 working days. Common issues: insufficient ownership proof, treaty article mismatches, late filing. Most treaties follow the OECD model with China-specific variations like the “5-year rule” on share disposals.

File treaty applications before cross-border payments leave China. Use an agent familiar with your home country’s treaty.

Social insurance (社会保险, shèhuì bǎoxiǎn) is filed monthly via the 社保网上服务平台. Most companies outsource this.

Contributions: pension (16% + 8%), medical (8%–10% + 2%), unemployment (0.5%–1% each), work injury (0.2%–1.9%), maternity (0.5%–1%). Foreign employees must participate — exceptions under bilateral totalization agreements with 12+ countries (Germany, South Korea, Japan, Canada). Outsourced agencies charge CNY 300–800/employee/month.

Social insurance is mandatory including expats. Outsource it.

Kingdee (金蝶), Yonyou (用友), and cloud-based TMF Group or Dezan Shira platforms automate IIT, CIT, and VAT preparation.

Costs: CNY 500/month (fapiao-to-VAT) to CNY 10,000+/month (full ERP). Look for fapiao OCR, IIT treaty-aware calculators, and e-Tax API submission (Shanghai, Shenzhen pilot cities). Open-source options don’t exist due to restricted tax bureau APIs. Pair software with a tax agent for final review.

Software alone is rarely enough. You still need a licensed preparer for authorization.

Yes. Local bureaus in Shanghai, Beijing, Shenzhen, and tier-2 cities have different portals, grace periods, and document requirements.

Shanghai is fully digital with e-invoice mandate. Beijing requires stricter paper for treaty claims. Shenzhen is startup-friendly with simplified quarterly filings. Tier-2 cities have less English support. Local surcharges (城市维护建设税) range 1%–7%. Pilot zones like Lingang and Qianhai offer 15% CIT rates for qualifying industries.

Engage a tax agent specializing in your city — local nuance is the #1 error source for remote teams.

All FIEs need an annual statutory audit (审计报告, shěnjì bàogào) by a China-registered CPA firm for CIT reconciliation and the annual report (企业年度报告).

Costs: CNY 3,000–10,000 (dormant WFOE) to CNY 8,000–25,000 (active). Even zero-revenue companies need this by June 30. Simplified audit exemptions (审计豁免) exist only in select free-trade zones.

Don’t skip the audit. A dormant company audit costs ~CNY 5,000 but missing it blocks 汇算清缴 and annual report filing.

Monthly (15th): IIT + VAT + social insurance. Quarterly (15 days post-quarter): CIT prepayment. Jan–May 31: Annual CIT 汇算清缴. By June 30: Market regulator annual report.

Create a compliance calendar with 10+ reminders. Miss one deadline and cascading effects hit multiple filings.