Tax issue Part II: What's the procedure and how the system works

Here is a guide to make clear the process of how Shanghai's tax payments are collected and what is special for the expat community in tax payments.

The guide is divided into three parts and the following is the second part.

Q: How does a foreign individual register for the Individual Income Tax app?

A: 1. Register by face recognition (applicable to the registration of resident identity card, Chinese passport, the mainland travel permit for Hong Kong and Macau residents, mainland travel permit for Taiwan residents, foreigner permanent residence permit, residence permit for Hong Kong and Macau residents of the PRC, residence permit for Taiwan residents of the PRC)

Verify users by face recognition. This method is used to compare and verify the real-time face image and the photos retained by the public security bureau, and real-name registration can be completed after passing the verification.

2. Register by registration code certification (applicable to all certificate types)

Firstly, foreign individuals must apply for a registration code from the nearest Taxpayer Service Hall, and use this code to open an account on the website of the Natural Person Electronic Tax Service or in the Individual Income Tax app.

Q: What are the conditions for binding bank cards on the Individual Income Tax app?

A: 1. The bank card must be the taxpayer's own bank account in China.

2. In order to avoid failures in tax refund, it is recommended that you fill in the class I account. You can inquire or consult through online banking or contact your bank directly.

3. The bank card status is normal. Avoid being in the state of cancellation, loss reporting, inactivation, limited revenue/expenditure, freeze, etc.

Q: How does a foreign individual merge the individual income tax information after renewing his/her passport?

A: If there are any wrong filling for the identity information (for example, incorrect certificate type, wrong certificate number, or changed passport number due to the replacement, etc), you need to contact your company's fiscal personnel who can set the "personnel status" to "abnormal" in "personnel information collection," click "save" and then enter correct information before reporting the current month's data.

After the completion of the current month's filing, you can bring a valid identity card to the Taxpayer Service Hall to handle the tax information merging matter.

Q: How to fill in the special additional deduction information?

A: There are four ways:

1. Fill it in the Individual Income Tax app by yourself.

2. Submit it on the website of the Natural Person Electronic Tax Service.

3. Report it to the tax authority at the Taxpayer Service Hall.

4. Submit it to the withholding agent who would declare it at the withholding client side of the Electronic Tax Service.

Q: Is final tax settlement necessary before leaving the country?

A: Taxpayers without domicile in China who leave the country before the final settlement of individual income tax may handle the annual final settlement before leaving the country.

Q: How does a foreign individual obtain his/her taxpayer identity number?

A: If you have a Chinese citizen ID number, you can use it as the taxpayer identity number. If you do not have a Chinese citizen ID number, the tax authorities will give you a taxpayer identity number.

When handling tax affairs for the first time, foreign taxpayers must present valid identification to the tax authority or the withholding agent, and submit the relevant basic information to obtain the taxpayer identity number.