The same payment can have a withholding result now and a different annual settlement result later. Start with the question you are answering: the current payslip, the year’s balance, a qualifying bonus comparison, or a separately taxed income category. All examples below use yuan and the calculator’s supported formulas.
Before you start
- Collect gross or statutory income amounts, eligible deductions, actual tax relief and tax already paid for the same period.
- Confirm resident status and income category from your tax records; citizenship alone does not establish tax-resident status.
- Keep the ¥60,000 annual basic allowance out of the “other deductions” input. Annual and bonus modes subtract it automatically.
Follow the steps
Select the question before entering amounts
Use annual settlement for the whole tax year; payroll withholding for this employer’s cumulative payroll; bonus comparison for a qualifying annual bonus. Choose a fee or other income category for that category’s separate formula.
Match the time period and income basis
Payroll inputs are cumulative through this payment, not this month alone. Annual comprehensive income means the statutory income amount: service fees and royalties are generally included after the 20% expense adjustment, and author fees after that adjustment and the 70% inclusion factor.
Keep deductions, relief and prepayments separate
A deduction reduces taxable income. Tax relief reduces the calculated tax. Prepaid tax is subtracted at the end to find a balance. Enter zero for an unused field, rather than subtracting it manually from income and also entering it again.
Reproduce an example before using your own figures
Select the relevant mode and load its example, then compare the steps and total. Replace every example value with your records. Changing modes changes the required basis; the same gross number is not interchangeable across all modes.
Read the result in context
Annual settlement can show a refund or additional balance. Current payroll withholding bottoms out at zero and does not issue a refund. The bonus comparison shows total annual tax before relief and prepayments, not the bonus tax alone.
Worked examples
Annual settlement: a ¥120 refund
Enter income ¥180,000, deductions ¥36,000, relief ¥0 and prepaid tax ¥6,000. Taxable income is 180,000 − 60,000 − 36,000 = ¥84,000. Tax is 84,000 × 10% − 2,520 = ¥5,880. Subtracting the prepayment gives −¥120, shown as an estimated refund.
The entered ¥180,000 is statutory comprehensive income, not necessarily all cash received. This estimate does not determine whether you are required to file.
Payroll: why March can withhold ¥2,000
Use 3 allowance months, ¥90,000 cumulative gross salary, ¥1,000 exempt pay, ¥14,000 other deductions, ¥80 relief and ¥1,400 tax withheld before this payment. The taxable amount is ¥60,000. Cumulative tax after relief is 60,000 × 10% − 2,520 − 80 = ¥3,400. This payroll withholds 3,400 − 1,400 = ¥2,000.
Use the basic-allowance month count actually applied by payroll. Eligible first-job and full-year upfront allowance arrangements require the corresponding employer treatment; do not assume the current calendar month always equals the count.
Bonus: compare both annual totals
With other annual income ¥180,000, other deductions ¥24,000 and a qualifying bonus ¥36,000, ordinary annual tax is ¥7,080. Separate bonus tax is 36,000 × 3% = ¥1,080, so the separate annual total is ¥8,160. Combining gives taxable income ¥132,000 and tax ¥10,680: separate treatment is ¥2,520 lower.
With other income ¥40,000 and no other deductions, the same bonus instead gives combined tax of ¥480 versus ¥1,080 separately. Unused basic allowance changes the comparison. The qualifying separate method is available once per tax year through 31 December 2027; it is not a rule for every bonus payment.
Fee withholding is not annual settlement
Resident service fees use progressive withholding rates; resident author fees and royalties use a 20% withholding rate after their applicable income adjustments. For nonresidents, choose the salary or fee subtype inside that mode: it uses the monthly rate table rather than the resident annual table.
| Mode | Example input | Calculator result |
|---|---|---|
| Resident service fee | One gross fee ¥3,000 | (3,000 − 800) × 20% = ¥440 withheld |
| Resident author fee | One gross fee ¥5,000 | 5,000 × 80% × 70% × 20% = ¥560 withheld |
| Resident royalty | One gross fee ¥5,000 | 5,000 × 80% × 20% = ¥800 withheld |
| Nonresident salary | One month gross salary ¥10,000 | (10,000 − 5,000) × 10% − 210 = ¥290 |
Other categories need different inputs
The following examples deliberately leave special relief and exemption options off. Those switches require eligibility, which the calculator cannot establish. Rental is one month; transfer is one transaction. Business starts with an already calculated taxable amount, not turnover.
| Mode | Example input with special options off | Estimated tax |
|---|---|---|
| Business | Annual taxable income ¥80,000; relief and prepaid tax ¥0 | 80,000 × 10% − 1,500 = ¥6,500 |
| Rental | Non-housing rent ¥5,000; taxes, subrent and repairs ¥0 | 5,000 × 80% × 20% = ¥800 |
| Property transfer | Proceeds ¥100,000; original cost ¥75,000; fees ¥2,000 | (100,000 − 75,000 − 2,000) × 20% = ¥4,600 |
| Interest/dividends | Ordinary taxable dividend ¥1,200 | 1,200 × 20% = ¥240 |
| Incidental income | Ordinary taxable prize ¥12,000 | 12,000 × 20% = ¥2,400 |
Do not extrapolate across a bonus threshold
A qualifying bonus of ¥36,000 selects 3%; ¥36,000.01 selects 10% with a ¥210 quick deduction. In the separate method, the bonus tax jumps from ¥1,080 to ¥3,390 after cent rounding. Enter exact amounts and compare both methods again instead of estimating with the previous rate.
Check the result
- The mode, resident status, period and income category match the records being checked.
- Basic allowance, other deductions, relief and prepayments are each counted once.
- Compare the estimate and its assumptions with the official Individual Income Tax app before submitting a tax return.
Limits and boundaries
- The calculator estimates specified formulas. It does not submit returns or determine residency, deduction eligibility or whether a filing exemption applies.
- Overseas tax credits, treaty treatment, equity incentives, assessed collection and complex mixed-income allocations require additional rules.
- Special options for individual businesses, housing, listed-share dividends or lottery prizes apply only when their stated conditions are met.
- Amounts accept up to two decimals and ¥10 billion; payroll allowance months must be whole numbers from 1 to 12. Rules and sources were checked on 3 November 2026.
Official sources
These sources support the tax rules discussed above. Check the rules that apply to your income year and circumstances.
- Individual Income Tax Law — income categories and tax bases
Legal basis for comprehensive income, nonresident income and separately taxed categories.
- STA explanation of withholding rules
Cumulative payroll, resident fee withholding and the nonresident rate table.
- Annual settlement administration, STA Order 57 (2025)
Annual balance formula and separation of deductions, relief and prepayments.
- Annual bonus policy, Announcement 30 (2023)
Separate or combined treatment, monthly bracket selection, valid through 2027.
- Shanghai tax office annual bonus FAQ
Qualifying annual bonuses and the once-per-tax-year condition.