China VAT registration threshold

What this value means

SERVED VALUE: this is the GENERAL VAT TAXPAYER registration threshold — CNY 5,000,000 of annual VAT-taxable sales, above which registration as a 一般纳税人 (general taxpayer) is compulsory. It is not an exemption threshold. The figure has been CNY 5,000,000 since 2018-05-01 (财税〔2018〕33号, which unified the earlier 500,000 / 800,000 / 5,000,000 standards); on 2026-01-01 its legal basis was replaced without changing the number — the figure was lifted into primary legislation at art. 9 of the VAT Law and its registration mechanics into art. 36 of the Implementation Regulations (State Council Decree No. 826, in force 2026-01-01). The superseded 增值税暂行条例 and 财税〔2016〕36号 no longer govern. PERIOD BASIS: rolling, not calendar year. 国家税务总局公告2026年第2号 (in force 2026-01-01, repealing 2018年第6号): annual VAT-taxable sales means cumulative taxable sales over a continuous operating period of not more than 12 months or four quarters. Occasional sales of intangible assets or transfers of immovable property are excluded. On crossing mid-period: registration must be lodged within the filing deadline of the month following the month the standard was exceeded, and general-method computation applies retrospectively from the period in which it was exceeded. A small-scale taxpayer below the threshold may register voluntarily if its accounting is sound (art. 9, para. 2). SEPARATE SMALL-SCALE EXEMPTION (起征点): a different test, on a different period, for a different population. VAT Law art. 23 exempts a small-scale taxpayer below the 起征点 and taxes the FULL amount once it is reached. 财政部 税务总局公告2026年第10号 sets it for 2026-01-01 to 2027-12-31 at CNY 100,000 per month, CNY 300,000 per quarter, or CNY 1,000 per transaction (day). Small-scale taxpayers above the 起征点 and below CNY 5,000,000 pay at the 3% 征收率, reduced to 1% for 2026-2027 for most transactions. NON-ESTABLISHED SUPPLIERS: NIL — and the mechanism is withholding, not registration. China operates no non-resident VAT registration at all. VAT Law art. 15: for a taxable transaction in China by an overseas entity or individual the PURCHASER is the withholding agent (save the narrow domestic-agent route; Decree 826's only agent provision is art. 35(2), overseas lessors of PRC immovable property). The Chinese purchaser withholds from the first yuan at the 税率 (6% most services/intangibles; 9%/13% otherwise), never the 3%/1% 征收率, and the 起征点 gives no shelter. Scope: art. 4(4) and Decree 826 art. 4 treat services/intangibles sold by overseas suppliers to domestic buyers as consumed in China unless physically consumed abroad. A general-taxpayer purchaser may credit the withheld VAT with a written contract, proof of payment and the overseas supplier's statement or invoice (财政部 税务总局公告2026年第13号). IMPORTED DIGITAL SERVICES: no separate regime — no B2C registration, no one-stop scheme, no platform deemed-supplier rule. Imported digital services fall under the same art. 15 withholding, which names the purchaser without distinguishing B2B from B2C; no MOF/STA instrument supplies a B2C collection mechanism, so the operative rail is B2B withholding by the Chinese business customer. Do not model China on the EU/UK/ZA pattern of a nil-threshold registration obligation on the foreign supplier — the obligation sits on the buyer. Traps: (1) CNY 5,000,000 is a registration threshold, not an exemption — below it a business is still a VAT taxpayer (小规模纳税人), still filing and paying at 3% (1% to 2027-12-31); China has no turnover below which a business is outside VAT. (2) The two numbers answer different questions: 5,000,000 = compulsory general-taxpayer registration (rolling 12 months/four quarters); 100,000 monthly / 300,000 quarterly / 1,000 per transaction = payment exemption for small-scale taxpayers per tax period. (3) The 起征点 is a cliff, not an allowance — once reached the entire amount is taxed. (4) The 起征点's legal character changed 2026-01-01: under the old regime it reached only individuals while companies used a separate concession; under VAT Law art. 23 it covers all small-scale taxpayers including companies, and the per-transaction figure moved from CNY 300-500 to CNY 1,000. (5) The 起征点 instrument is time-limited (2026-01-01 to 2027-12-31); the 5,000,000 standard is open-ended, adjustable by the State Council. (6) One-way door: Decree 826 art. 36 —once registered as a general taxpayer there is no route back; the 转登记 reversion under 财税〔2018〕33号 is gone. (7) Applying either figure to an overseas supplier is wrong on both figure and mechanism. (8) Withholding is at the 税率, never the 征收率. (9) Occasional disposals of intangibles/immovables are excluded from the 5,000,000 count. (10) Audit adjustments book back to the period the liability arose, so a later assessment can retroactively cross the line. (11) A foreign-invested enterprise or PRC subsidiary is a domestic taxpayer on the ordinary test — no separate threshold for foreign ownership.

Get it programmatically

curl https://asiaref.dev/v1/cn/vat-registration-threshold
# $0.005 per call — x402 on Base (USDC). No key, no signup.
# History:    curl https://asiaref.dev/v1/cn/vat-registration-threshold/history?from=2020-01-01
# Provenance: curl https://asiaref.dev/provenance/cn/vat-registration-threshold

Other China series: PBoC 7-day reverse repo operation rate (主要政策利率) · VAT standard rate (增值税基本税率) · Minimum wage (no national rate — province-set; highest is Shanghai) · Public holidays (国家法定节假日 + State Council annual arrangement) · CPI inflation (year-on-year, 居民消费价格指数) · Enterprise Income Tax standard rate (企业所得税) · Withholding tax rates · Statutory default interest (法定利率 / 逾期利息) · Individual Income Tax · Statutory social-insurance contributions

The same figure elsewhere: Hong Kong · India · Indonesia · Iraq · Israel · all 28