Tax Me Not
Posted in Working in Beijing on 03/28/2010 09:18 pm by Claudine | Viewed 426 times
It’s that time of the year where locals and expats alike who earn more than RMB 120,000 a year are asked to file for their income tax return. Income includes salary, bonuses, freelance gigs and property sale. This is the first time I’ve filled the form and it was a little bit daunting especially for a foreigner who can’t read Chinese.
Taxation in China is quite different from other countries. My sister who’s working in the US always talk about getting tax refunds. In the Philippines, you’re taxed according to your civil status, whether you have dependents and your work status. I haven’t heard of any refunds but they usually have deductions when the annual income tax deadline looms.
In China, expats are being taxed for income of more than RMB 4,800 a month. After the first RMB 4,800, you have to look at your tax bracket on how much they will charge you. In any case, whether you have kids or not, whether you work the whole year or not, you would still be taxed for any income more than RMB 4,800 (expats) and RMB 1,800 (locals). No refunds whatsoever so tough luck!
After filling up the form on their website, http://gs.tax861.gov.cn/index.htm, you will get a “Thank you for filing your tax” screen. In any case, I still prefer it here as I pay less taxes than in the Philippines and life is a bit better here in Beijing.
So don’t wait till the last minute, tax filing deadline is on MARCH 31, 2010.
