Job Discussion Forums

[matador]

If I earn 13,000RMB a month, how much is deducted at source as income tax. And can I get money back on the rent I pay for my apartment. Is it deductable??

[ChinaLady]

I was told that anything over 4,000 Yuan is taxed at 15%.
not sure if there is a way to get a refund.
and if you drop the Yuan in the bank, they tax your savings.
deduction? off of what?
while I was in South Korea I paid tax. the school filed forms for me and I got it all back at the end of the year. AND I paid into the Korean pension system - which I got all back when I left the country. they transferred it straight to my USA bank - sweet!
I would just like China to get on the wagon for money exchange.
they will take my USD at any bank and flip it into Yuan but try and get the USD returned, , ,well, ok, yes, you can with a ton of paperwork. and going to the right bank/branch.
okay, I can hear the moans - just go to Honk Kong.
smile TIC.

[bendan]

You should have 1,425 yuan deducted, but there are a lot of teachers who say they don't have tax deducted from their salary. You should ask before you sign the contract.

If you were paying 1500 yuan in rent, then it would be possible to deduct that sum from your taxable income, if you could get a proper tax receipt from the landlord. If you rent from an individual, he probably won't want to do that, or he'll want more money. If you're renting from a property developer, you should get it. If you had the receipt, you would only pay tax on 11,500 yuan, so you would pay about 1,125 yuan in tax.

If you need to travel to get to work then you can keep receipts from taxis and use them, too.

[Roger]

I am astonished at the advbice given by poster No. 3, i.e. his suggestion you pay RMB 1425 on an income of 13'000. That sounds way too low to my way of thinking.
There have been many threads on taxes; please refer to them. The minimum you will have to part with is closer to 25% (considering your salary).

But you wrote you are expecting tax to be deducted at source; your employer then ought to tell you the details and give you a receipt every time he deducted your tax. Your costs of living cannot be discounted, though!

Note that you can only pay regular taxes if you are a legally employed teacher. Some private employers deduct taxes from hourly wages to business visa holders; that's not strictly in conformity with the law, and you might have trouble with the customspeople when you leave China.
This is because F visa holders pay tax on business transactions that have to be documented.

[bendan]

I should have pointed out that I was talking about a situation where you are working for one employer on a Z visa, and the tax is deducted at source (I wouldn't go and pay it if it wasn't). If you're coming on a business visa I don't suppose you'd pay tax at all.

As I said in the other thread:

0 - 4000 you pay 0%
4001 - 4500 you pay 5%
4501 - 6000 you pay 10%
6001 - 9000 you pay 15%
9000 - 20000 (I think) 20%

On 13,000 you would pay (0% * 4000) + (5% * 500) + (10% * 1500) + (15% * 3000) + (20% * 4000) = 1425.

Ask for a copy of the receipt your employer should get from the tax office (which should have your name on it). If he can't give it to you then he probably isn't actually paying the tax.

[oprah]

Chinalady says they tax your savings, what does that mean?? do you need to take the money out of the bank and spend it or keep it under your mattress???

[joe greene]

Banks pay interest on some accounts. They pay this interest into your account. Later, they withdraw from your account the tax on this interest.

[oprah]

Thanks for the reply. There really is not interest these days, so low not to worry about these peanuts.